I don't think it's a secret that I have a deep love for the island of Cuba. This is great news in my eyes, and one step closer to American/Cuban relations.
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/061/world/U_S_congressmen_meet_with_Cuba:.shtml
U.S. congressmen meet with Cuban opposition leader
By Anita Snow, Associated Press, 3/2/2003 18:03
HAVANA (AP) Two U.S. congressmen met with a Cuban opposition leader Sunday and expressed support for his attempt to ensure freedom of speech and other civil rights for Cubans.
Reps. Jim Davis, D-Fla., and Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., were the first American congressmen to meet with Oswaldo Paya, a top organizer of the Varela Project, at his Havana home.
''We are in the presence of an individual who has truly moved ahead the dialogue in Cuba,'' Kolbe, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations, said in Paya's living room.
''Anyone in the world with aspirations for liberty and democracy would support this project.''
The Varela Project seeks a referendum on several proposals that would guarantee civil liberties such as freedom of speech, assembly and the right to private business ownership. It also seeks deep electoral reforms and an amnesty for political prisoners.
''We Cubans deserve these rights that we are seeking ... we are human beings,'' Paya said after meeting the congressmen.
He added, ''Something new is happening here, something important. There's not just a government here, there's also a movement fighting for the rights of the people.''
In May, project organizers delivered more than 11,000 signatures to the National Assembly requesting the referendum. Soon after, the single-house parliament amended the constitution to say Cuba's social, economic and political systems were ''irrevocable.''
Cuban authorities since have said the request has been shelved. But Paya and other project organizers keep gathering signatures while demanding that state media publish the proposed referendum's text.
Although many Cuban-Americans support Paya's efforts, some hard-liners have rejected the Varela Project because they do not believe it goes far enough.
Davis, whose congressional district includes Tampa, Fla., home to a large Cuban-American community, said, ''This is democracy at its best: people expressing their voice to their government and others. We are looking for signs of willingness to change on the part of the Cuban government.''
This was the first visit to Cuba for both congressmen, who arrived Friday with the Inter-American Dialogue, a nonprofit policy group that promotes communication among public and private leaders from across the Americas. The policy center does not take political stands.
The group's visit ends Tuesday.
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/061/world/U_S_congressmen_meet_with_Cuba:.shtml
U.S. congressmen meet with Cuban opposition leader
By Anita Snow, Associated Press, 3/2/2003 18:03
HAVANA (AP) Two U.S. congressmen met with a Cuban opposition leader Sunday and expressed support for his attempt to ensure freedom of speech and other civil rights for Cubans.
Reps. Jim Davis, D-Fla., and Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., were the first American congressmen to meet with Oswaldo Paya, a top organizer of the Varela Project, at his Havana home.
''We are in the presence of an individual who has truly moved ahead the dialogue in Cuba,'' Kolbe, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations, said in Paya's living room.
''Anyone in the world with aspirations for liberty and democracy would support this project.''
The Varela Project seeks a referendum on several proposals that would guarantee civil liberties such as freedom of speech, assembly and the right to private business ownership. It also seeks deep electoral reforms and an amnesty for political prisoners.
''We Cubans deserve these rights that we are seeking ... we are human beings,'' Paya said after meeting the congressmen.
He added, ''Something new is happening here, something important. There's not just a government here, there's also a movement fighting for the rights of the people.''
In May, project organizers delivered more than 11,000 signatures to the National Assembly requesting the referendum. Soon after, the single-house parliament amended the constitution to say Cuba's social, economic and political systems were ''irrevocable.''
Cuban authorities since have said the request has been shelved. But Paya and other project organizers keep gathering signatures while demanding that state media publish the proposed referendum's text.
Although many Cuban-Americans support Paya's efforts, some hard-liners have rejected the Varela Project because they do not believe it goes far enough.
Davis, whose congressional district includes Tampa, Fla., home to a large Cuban-American community, said, ''This is democracy at its best: people expressing their voice to their government and others. We are looking for signs of willingness to change on the part of the Cuban government.''
This was the first visit to Cuba for both congressmen, who arrived Friday with the Inter-American Dialogue, a nonprofit policy group that promotes communication among public and private leaders from across the Americas. The policy center does not take political stands.
The group's visit ends Tuesday.
