Blueprint offered for new Cuba

Blueprint offered for new Cuba

Dissident urges referendum on civil liberties
By Ian Katz
Havana Bureau

May 11, 2006

HAVANA · Dissident Oswaldo Payá released on Wednesday a blueprint for a
new Cuban constitution that would allow free elections and create a
system that decentralizes authority.

The 170-page proposal "describes a process to carry out elections" after
a national referendum on civil liberties and freedoms, said Payá,
founder of the Christian Liberation Movement and one of the country's
most prominent pro-democracy activists. "This process should exclude no
Cuban."

The proposal calls for a system "that does not depend on any one leader"
and strengthens the country's institutions, Payá said in a phone interview.

The proposed constitution also would make it easier for Cubans to
travel, and would give those living off the island but maintaining Cuban
citizenship the right to vote.

Cuba's Communist government did not immediately respond.

Two keys to the draft constitution are "humanity and reconciliation,"
Payá said. It does not call for an overhaul of Cuba's social or public
services. "Those are things that must be maintained," he said.

Reconciliation between political opponents is important because "we know
there are wounds," Payá said. "We don't think we have a monopoly on the
truth." The document was the product of input from thousands of Cubans
and could be changed with suggestions from others, he said.

Payá has led the Varela Project, which proposes steps to guarantee
specific freedoms for Cubans. The project, which gathered 25,000
signatures demanding a referendum on freedoms, has been the most
extensive reform effort since President Fidel Castro took power 47 years
ago.

The Cuban government responded to the Varela Project with a petition
drive of its own to declare socialism an "irrevocable" part of the
constitution. Signatures from the majority of registered voters were
collected and legislators voted unanimously for that change in the
constitution.

The proposal Wednesday comes four years after Payá delivered the first
group of signatures to Cuba's parliament.

Asked how he thought the government might reply to this latest proposal,
Payá said: "I really don't know, but this was done with a lot of
transparency."

The proposal would prohibit propaganda and confiscation of private
property. It would allow people to own businesses and criticize those in
power.

"No one can be antagonized because of their opinions or criticisms, even
if these are directed against the government, government officials or
any other person or sector of the society," the document states.

The document also focuses on a big source of discontent in Cuba:
preferential treatment for foreigners. Foreign companies can invest in
Cuban enterprises, and tourists have access to many facilities closed to
most Cubans.

All citizens must have the right to "enjoy the same bathing resorts,
beaches, parks," according to the document.

Information from The Associated Press was used to supplement this
report. Ian Katz can be reached at Katzincuba@yahoo.com.

Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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