Opposition Alliance Calls To Open An Inclusive National Dialog

Opposition Alliance Calls To Open An Inclusive National Dialog / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 1 December 2016 – The Democratic Action Unity
Roundtable (MUAD) has made a call to open a national dialog a few days
after the death of former Cuban president Fidel Castro. The opposition
alliance believes that the country is entering a new stage in its
history, according to a declaration signed by its spokesperson, Boris
Gonzalez Arenas.

MUAD said that for many Cubans the memory of the political leader is
marked by "injustices and inhumane detentions" and the "unjustifiable
loss of human lives." The statement also references the "uprooting
suffered" by thousands of islanders "on seeing themselves forced to
abandon (…) the land in which they were born." For these people, Fidel
Castro will remain "a totalitarian dictator" the document emphasized.

However, for other Cubans he will always be considered as the ruler "who
opened the doors and gave them opportunities for themselves and their
families that they did not have before the revolutionary process
initiated in 1959." In the memories of this part of the population
Castro will remain "the hero, the father, the 'at your orders' Commander
in Chief," the statement says.

The declaration focuses on "a new generation of Cubans" who have "their
own interpretation of our history and our reality." They are individuals
with "desires for a respect for diversity of thinking and for freedom,"
and who dream of "a truly plural Cuba with respect for human rights and
oriented to the benefit of all."

The challenge for the current government is to put into practice "a set
of measures that really impact the economic and social environment" and
that allow "wide participation of all Cubans, wherever they are," MUAD
emphasizes.

The renewal of the national legislative political order also is called
out as an urgent matter, in the document made public by the opposition
coalition.

"The only path we have to achieve all the economic, social and political
transformations that we want for Cuba is an inclusive dialog," says the
final paragraph of the statement.

MUAD brings together more than thirty independent civil society
organizations. In the middle of this year the alliance suffered a
serious reversal with the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), the largest
opposition organization in the country, left its ranks. The same thing
occurred with the United Anti-Totalitarian Front (FANTU), led by
Guillermo Fariñas.

Source: Opposition Alliance Calls To Open An Inclusive National Dialog /
14ymedio – Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/opposition-alliance-calls-to-open-an-inclusive-national-dialog-14ymedio/