Editorial. Published Friday, March 9, 2001, in the
Miami Herald
Dissidents demand rights, representative government.
Those of us who take freedom for granted may never be tested as are
dissidents in totalitarian Cuba. To their credit, those dissidents show us time
and again just how resilient the human spirit can be. They did so again this
week, publicly calling for a national referendum in support of changing the
one-party system into one that respects fundamental human rights.
In a country that criminalizes free speech, unauthorized meetings and
opposition groups, 119 such illegal groups accomplished the remarkable: They've
banded together to promote the referendum they call the "Varela Project''
after a celebrated 19th Century Cuban priest-scholar who advocated for basic
freedoms.
"Cuba needs changes at every level. It is up to Cubans to define what
those changes should be and to realize them in a process in which all
participate and no one is excluded,'' said the manifesto signed by leaders of
all 119 groups.
While these dissident groups vary from independent trade unions to those
focused on civic, political and human rights, they share one thing in common:
All are blocked from legitimate participation in Cuba's governing system, which
the Communist Party has monopolized for 42 years.
The coalition is led by some of the island's best known and most harassed
dissidents: Oswaldo Payá, of the Christian Liberation Movement; Elizardo
Sánchez, of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights; Gustavo Arcos, of the
Cuban Human Rights Committee; and Héctor Palacios, of the Democratic
Solidarity Party.
The immediate goal is to take 10,000 signatures supporting the project to
the National Assembly -- which is the only legal way to generate
citizen-sponsored legislative change according to Cuba's present constitution.
Ultimately they seek laws guaranteeing for Cubans' economic, social and
political freedoms.
Cuba's repressive regime, of course, will do all it can to quash the Varela
Project and all its supporters. Then again, that's what it's been trying to do
since the referendum idea surfaced in 1998.
Cuba's dissidents may not win this time, but there will be a next time. New
activists will replace those jailed or exiled, until Cuba begins a transition
toward a free, democratic government. The human spirit will not remain chained
forever.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 