Speaking with one voice

Speaking with one voice / Antonio Rodiles
Posted on February 7, 2015

ANTONIO G. RODILES, Havana, 4 February 2015 – Days ago the attorney Rene
Gomez Manzano wrote an article about the similarities of the Roadmap
formulated by the Forum for Rights and Freedoms and the four points of
the Civil Society Open Forum. Upon hearing yesterday of the regime
opponent Manuel Cuesta Morua's remarks at the US Senate hearing on Cuba,
it seems appropriate to me to point out as clearly as possible what are
the points on which the two predominant positions within the Cuban
opposition agree and differ.

The announcement by President Barack Obama last December 17 polarized
the opposition into two trends. The essential differences between the
two groups are not only about whether or not they support the measures
launched by Obama, but the focus on how we conceive the transition and
the kind of country we see in the future.

Both positions show our commitment to democracy, human rights and the
end of totalitarianism. But are we giving the exact same same
connotation to these terms?

Obama's policy is applauded by those joined together in the Open Space,
which has several visible elements:

1. It gives legitimacy to the regime to restore diplomatic relations,
that is it accepts the government as legitimate.
2. There is no roadmap or preconditions for the political process
although it mentions four points without fixing a methodology.
3. It accepts that the transition process will be principally, at least
at the beginning, in the hands of the political actors of the regime,
which presupposes that they will be part of the future of the island.
4. It considers that the democratic changes will come as an evolution of
supposed economic transformations that the regime will be motivated or
pressured to pursue from the new measures implemented.
5. And something that has not formed part of the measures but that has
happened in practice, it accepts that the Obama administration gives
preference to those from the opposition and within the Island, who share
this view.

Those of us who join together in the Forum believe that the political
process must be based on a different logic:

1. The Cuban regime is not a government elected by the people and
therefore is not legitimate for representing a sovereign people,
although for reasons of logical survival we have to accept certain
rules. As a sovereign people, i.e. as Cubans, we have the right to
demand with regards to the relations of democratic nations with our country.
2. We do not conceive the future of Cuba in the hands of the political
heirs and relatives of the Castro. We will not join the construction of
a new authoritarianism that will continue the process of destruction of
our nation.
3. We consider that any political process must have full transparency in
its objectives, must be well considered if it is to at least have some
certainties at the end. Hence the Roadmap with the points raised.
4. Human rights and the promotion of democracy, as primary objectives,
should not be masked by other elements. They must be shown especially to
the Cuban people, confused after 57 years of dictatorship, so they can
decide in what direction they want to take this country.
5. So yes, it belongs to Cubans, inside the Island and in exile, to find
their way, giving space to the political actors of civil society to give
direction to the real changes.

It is time to discuss with total clarity. The serious and direct debate
should be in the maturation of the actors and the political scenario.
The distinct visions about how to construct a nation are natural and
healthy, but we can play our roles effectively only if there is a
certain political confidence among the actors. Perhaps we do not form a
symphony orchestra, although we could be a jazz ensemble, where everyone
plays their parts without strident or abusive sounds.

Source: Speaking with one voice / Antonio Rodiles | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/speaking-with-one-voice-antonio-rodiles/