Rosa María Payá announces the creation of the initiative “Cuba Decides”

Rosa María Payá announces the creation of the initiative “Cuba Decides”
/ 14ymedio
Posted on April 7, 2015

14ymedio, Havana, April 6 2015 – Rosa María Payá, daughter of the late
Cuban activist Oswaldo Payá, has announced this Monday the creation of
the citizen initiative Cuba Decide, or “Cuba Decides.” The goal of the
project, presented during the Forum of Youth Movements in Panama, is for
Cubans to pronounce themselves through a plebiscite regarding the
changes they would like to implement on the Island.

“We are conscious that only Cubans should define and decide on the
changes that our society needs,” states the group’s website. “In order
for citizens to be able to design, decide and construct their future,
their rights should be guaranteed by the law and an atmosphere of trust
and respect for all should also be achieved. That is what we proclaim
and we work for a plebiscite that will consult the people in that
matter. There will be no transition to democracy in Cuba if Cubans are
excluded once again.”

The initiative advocates for the calling of “free, just, and plural”
elections in an atmosphere in which the freedoms of expression, press,
and assembly into political parties and plural social organizations are
respected.

“No one should question that the changes desired by the Cuban people are
those of freedom, reconciliation and full and guaranteed rights.
Opposition within Cuba and abroad works and battles peacefully to
achieve these goals. However, our greatest deficiency is that we have no
voice, nor the democratic tools needed to express ourselves while the
government and some others around the world pretend to speak on behalf
of our people,” reads Cuba Decide’s website.

The project presented by Rosa María Payá accuses the Cuban government of
being responsible for repression and violence against those with
alternative opinions and initiatives and blames the absence of an
environment that respects the law and self-determination for the “social
and economic failures, as well as the constant and massive exodus of
citizens” from the Island.

The proposal seeks to give continuity to the Varela Project, promoted in
1998 by Oswaldo Payá with the aim of enlarging individual liberties in
Cuba. Payá achieved the collection of the more than 10,000 signatures
required by the Cuban Constitution for the proposal of legislative
amendments. The National Assemble, however, rejected the proposal as
inconsistent with the law.

Translated by Fernando Fornaris

Source: Rosa María Payá announces the creation of the initiative “Cuba
Decides” / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba –
http://translatingcuba.com/rosa-maria-paya-announces-the-creation-of-the-initiative-cuba-decides-14ymedio/