Havana, Cuba, Dec 11, 2009 / 20:59 pm
The Christian Liberation Movement this week urged Cuba's National Assembly to return sovereignty to the people because Cubans have fought for the “well-being of all, not for the power of only a few.”
“If lawmakers are not willing to fulfill this duty immediately, they should hold the referendum proposed by the Varela Project so that the people can vote on the beginning of a new age of liberty with rights for all, the liberation movement said in a statement.
The Varela Project seeks peaceful democratic change in Cuba
The movement added that Cubans lack fundamental rights that are denied by the Communist government. “They deny freedom in the name of justice, but power is monopolized by a small group that has all of the privileges while the poor majority continues to be poor and has no voice to express themselves.”
The poor also do not have opportunities “to improve their lives.”
For this reason, the movement said, it is the duty of the National Assembly to give Cubans the possibility to freely associate, to establish their residence in any province, to be able to leave and re-enter the country without asking permission, to generate their own sources of work, to elect their leaders and to express themselves freely without fear of incarceration.”
“History confirms that when power is the goal of those who govern, they are not at the service of the people, but rather they put the people at the service of their own power. They call this a revolution, which they want us to accept unconditionally, although many Cubans have dreamed and fought for the well-being of all and not for the permanent power of a few,” the movement said.
“Rights are not negotiable,” the movement said, and “Cubans have a right to have rights because we are human beings and God created us freed.”
The CLM said Cubans who want change must demand it without fear. “We Cubans can and should be the protagonists of our history. Let us unite in hope because we can peacefully achieve these changes that will mean freedom, rights and reconciliation.”