By Nancy San Martin. nsanmartin@herald.com.
The Miami Herald, October
24, 2002.
In a major boost for Cuba's beleaguered dissident movement, the European
Union on Wednesday named Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas winner of the
prestigious Sakharov Prize, an award given annually to an internationally
recognized human rights leader.
For the European leadership, once loath to criticize Cuba's communist
government, the decision confirms a significant change in attitude toward Fidel
Castro that has been building for some time and an implicit message that
democratic reform is overdue.
Payá, coordinator of the Varela Project -- a referendum initiative
seeking sweeping changes in the four-decade-old socialist system -- accepted the
European Parliament's 2002 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in the name of
all dissidents.
''The European Union now sympathizes with Cuba's struggle,'' Payá,
50, said by telephone from Havana. "I accept this in the name of all those,
inside and outside of Cuba, who fight for peaceful changes.
''For a long time, we complained that nobody was listening,'' Payá
said. "Now, we are finally being heard.''
Other government opponents within Cuba also were delighted with the honor.
''This is exceptional news,'' said Héctor Palacios of the Democratic
Solidarity Party, another dissident group. "It's a recognition of a
peaceful struggle to bring solutions to the grave problems in this country. It's
reinforces our optimism and gives our struggle worldwide recognition.''
Vladimiro Roca, who was released from jail in May after serving nearly five
years on charges of sedition, said the award gives credibility to the dissident
movement on the island.
''It puts us on a high level and summons the government to respond to
Project Varela,'' Roca said. "Its puts the issue on an international
platform.''
The recognition places Payá within the circle of some the most
internationally respected human rights crusaders, including former South African
President Nelson Mandela; Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi; and
Argentina's human rights movement, Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo.
CEREMONY IN FRANCE
The prize will be formally awarded on Dec. 18, during a plenary session in
Strasbourg, France, the Parliament's Conference of Presidents said.
Graham Watson, Leader of the Liberal Group in the European Parliament, said
Payá was deemed worthy of the award because "he has made an
outstanding contribution in seeking a nonviolent way to change . . . a very
oppressive regime.''
''He is trying to seek dialogue and, as a result, he is highlighting the
hypocrisy,'' of Castro's government, Watson said in a telephone interview. "Payá
will be invited to come to receive this award and the Cuban government will have
to decide whether to give him a visa or not allow him to come here and address
the assembly.''
"If they don't give him the visa, it will highlight the lack of
democracy in Cuba.''
The prize, named after the late-Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been
issued yearly since 1988 to people who defend human rights and democracy. Most,
if not all, of the previous recipients have condemned regimes in places such as
China and Angola.
Joaquin Roy, co-director of the European Union Center, a joint think-tank
between the University of Miami and Florida International University,
characterized the award as ''a symbolic slap on the face'' to Castro's regime.
The award serves as reaffirmation of the EU's long-standing support of human
rights and the call for democracy in Cuba. The EU has been equally as critical
of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
Over the past decade, the EU has admonished Cuba for its human rights
record, but the Sakharov award represents a new level of condemnation.
''It's a collateral sign that [the Europeans] would elect to endorse and
support change from inside Cuba,'' Roy said. "Change from within, instead
of change being forced from the outside.''
Payá has already received international recognition.
Former President Jimmy Carter brought the Varela Project to the forefront
during his visit to the island this summer and Czech President Vaclav Havel has
promoted Payá for the Nobel Peace Prize. Last month, Payá also was
honored by the National Democratic Institute, becoming the first Cuban to
receive that award.
''This is a growing recognition on the part of the international community
for Payá and the Varela Project and its movement,'' Ken Wollack,
institute president, said of the Sakharov Prize. ''Now, it resonates among
democrats of the world and the community of democracy,'' he said.
''Awards like this help break a sense of isolation and loneliness for those
struggling on the ground,'' Wollack said. "It also provides a form of
protection by shining an international spotlight.''
FOUNDED MOVEMENT
Payá founded Cuba's Christian Liberation Movement in 1987. The
nonviolent, nondenominational opposition movement calls for deep political and
economic changes in Cuba's socialist system.
Payá also serves as coordinator of the
Varela Project, an
island-wide petition drive aimed at forcing a national referendum for political
and economic reforms by asking voters if they favor guarantees for basic civil
rights such as freedom of speech and private ownership of a business, broad
electoral reforms, and freedom for political prisoners.
In May, organizers turned in 11,020 signatures asking Cuba's National
Assembly for a voter's initiative on the proposed referendum. The Cuban
Constitution requires 10,000 signatures.
The National Assembly, which was to convene in July, suspended its session
and has not responded. Castro, however, said in a TV interview with Barbara
Walters that an answer to the Varela Project would come "in due course.''
Supporters of the project said the time is now.
Born in Havana on February 29, 1952, Paya is an electrical engineer.
He has been detained numerous times as a result of his openly critical
attitude toward the regime.
He has repeatedly called for profound changes toward democracy in Cuban
society.
Herald writer Larissa Ruiz Campo contributed to this report. |