Cuban Dissidents Meet In Puerto Rico To Seek A Common Position Against The Regime

Cuban Dissidents Meet In Puerto Rico To Seek A Common Position Against
The Regime / 14ymedio, EFE
Posted on August 15, 2015

EFE/14ymedio, San Juan, 14 August 2015 — Leaders of the Cuban dissidence
arrived on the island and everyone met this Friday in Puerto Rico to
work towards a common position with regards to the new scenario that is
opening with the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba.

The Cuban National Conference brought together in San Juan one hundred
dissidents who are trying to achieve a single strategy among all the
groups who are fighting against the regime in Havana, with regards to
the steps they should follow to bring democracy to the island, according
to what regime opponent Guillermo Fariñas told EFE.

"There is a new context with the change in relations – between the
United States and Cuba – and therefore it is necessary to achieve
unity," said Fariñas, who emphasized that it can't be ignored that the
rapprochement between Washington and Havana has repercussions on the
strategy of the dissidence.

"We are working to be heard as a single voice for the democratization of
Cuba," said Fariñas about the objective of the meeting, scheduled before
learning of the change in relations between the US and Havana, which
culminated this Friday with the raising of the American flag over its
embassy in the Caribbean capital in the presence of US Secretary of
State John Kerry.

The dissident outlined that although the change in relations is a
relevant event, the ultimate goal of the National Cuban Conference being
held in Puerto Rico is to mend fences between all the opposition groups
inside and outside the island to agree on a common strategy that will
bring democracy to Cuba.

Fariñas added that the work undertaken during the meeting will result in
a Declaration of San Juan, this coming Monday, in which a joint strategy
will be announced to ensure that democracy comes to Cuba.

Eliecer Avila, the young regime opponent and collaborator on the digital
newspaper 14ymedio directed by the critical blogger Yoani Sanchez, told
EFE that the change in direction in relations between the United States
and Cuba opens a new stage, which civil society on the island must adapt
itself to.

"Unity of action is paramount, and so far it has been a struggle against
a regime marked by dispersion and by the actions of groups with isolated
agendas," said Eliecer Avila

"The objective is to capture all opinions to prepare a joint document,"
said Avila, for whom this is the time to unite on a strategy that
facilitates the return of democracy to Cuba, despite the fact that among
the dissidents there are those who see the rapprochement as a positive
thing, and others who are critical of it.

Thirty papers, prepared over the last year, have been presented during
the meeting.

"Unity of action is paramount, and so far it has been a struggle against
a regime marked by dispersion and by the actions of groups with isolated
agendas," said Avila.

Sylvia Iriondo, president of the human rights organization MAR for Cuba
(Mothers and Women Against Repression), told EFE that the San Juan
meeting arose in order to "unite democratic Cuban forces committed to
change on the island."

Iriondo, who lives in Miami, expressed her rejection of the
rapprochement between Washington and Havana, given that Raul Castro's
regime does not represent the Cuban people.

The Cuban National Conference, in preparation for over a year, was
promoted by United Cubans of Puerto Rico, an organization founded in
1967 with the aim of supporting opposition to the Havana regime from the
Puerto Rican commonwealth.

The presence of nearly 20,000 Cubans in Puerto Rico and the cultural
affinity were some of the reasons to bring the meeting to San Juan,
according to the organization.

The work has been divided into two thematic areas, the first being the
coordination of efforts between the interior of the island and the
exile, and the second on strategies for democratic change.

Source: Cuban Dissidents Meet In Puerto Rico To Seek A Common Position
Against The Regime / 14ymedio, EFE | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-dissidents-meet-in-puerto-rico-to-seek-a-common-position-against-the-regime-14ymedio-efe/