Cuban editors, pressured to leave magazine, announce new venture

Cuban editors, pressured to leave magazine, announce new venture
By Daniel Trotta and Rosa Tania Valdés

HAVANA (Reuters) - Two editors who helped turn a Roman Catholic magazine
into a rare forum for open debate in Communist-ruled Cuba, then resigned
under pressure this spring, announced on Tuesday that they will launch a
new forum to air a broad range of views.

Roberto Veiga and Lenier Gonzalez said their new project would be called
Cuba Posible. No start date was given for the venture, which they said
would be primarily online.

The editors resigned from the church magazine Espacio Laical this
spring, citing pressure from inside the church and raising concerns
about one of the most dynamic, non-official areas of public discourse in
a country where authorities monopolize the media, leaving little space
for critical voices.

Besides the printed magazine, Espacio Laical published on the Internet
and sponsored forums for public debate. The church said it will become
less political and put more emphasis on culture and the arts.

Veiga and Gonzalez said they intend to create "a project of transitional
change for our country," citing the words of a priest who inspired them,
the late Monsignor Carlos Manuel de Cespedes.

It would not be a political party or platform, but rather open to a wide
range of viewpoints, Gonzalez said in a separate statement.

They also promised to promote "the responsible exercise of freedom" and
"the continuous design of a democracy that is each day more complete,"
in addition to education, the arts and better Cuban relations with the
United States, Europe and Latin America.

"There are always fears referring to censorship, but we are not overly
worried about it," Gonzalez said, adding they would operate much as they
did for 10 years with Espacio Laical.

"We are here to serve, to help and be brothers, not to polarize or
destabilize," Gonzalez said.

While with Espacio Laical, Veiga and Gonzalez used the Internet to
promote debate on political issues such as the need for a multiparty
system, Internet expansion, reintegration with the diaspora and the
strengths and weaknesses of reforms under President Raul Castro.

They quit this spring after 10 years on the job. Their resignation
letter said they left not because of government pressure but due to
pressure from people inside the church hierarchy who did not want the
church to get involved in politics.

While Cuba's Catholic church is small by Latin American standards, it is
by far the largest and best organized institution on the Caribbean
island with a different ideology than the Communist Party.

(Editing by David Gregorio)

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