The Cuban platform D Frente has addressed a letter to the former American presidents who, last week, asked the US to end the embargo on Cuba, to invite them now to pronounce on the situation of rights and freedoms on the Island. In addition, asks them to contribute their knowledge for a transition to democracy.
D Frente, formed last September by six opposition organizations inside and outside the island, presents itself in its letter as a “coordination of civic and political actors, plural Cubans, individual and institutional, that seeks the refoundation of the Republic, under the Marti maxim of ‘With everyone and for the good of all'”.
His text is a response to the letter signed by some twenty former presidents, many of them close to or belonging to the current known as 21st century socialism
His text is a response to the letter signed by a score of former presidents, many of them close to or belonging to the current known as 21st century socialism, with Dilma Rousseff, Rafael Correa and Evo Morales as major exponents. Also in the group are former Colombian president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos and his predecessor in office until 1998, Ernesto Samper.
The petition to the US was also signed by the Uruguayan José Mujica, the Panamanian Martín Torrijos, the Dominican Vinicio Cerezo and the Dominican Leonel Fernández, as well as several former presidents of English-speaking Caribbean countries.
In the response letter, D Frente affirms that it shares the concern for the serious Cuban crisis and affirms that “urgent and comprehensive action” is necessary to solve it. “A solution that, in a complex world like the one you have led, depends on respect for fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and human rights,” they stress.
The platform demands that the signatories, due to “their political journey and the defense of freedom and democracy and the respect that they have shown in their governments for human dignity” help to “achieve in a civic and peaceful manner, a transition to democracy” such as those that have developed in their respective countries.
“Excellencies, as Cuban citizens concerned about the moment that our country is going through, we ask you to speak out, in the same way, in favor of the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba. Your good offices would help a lot, both for society as well as the Cuban State, at a peculiar moment in our history,” they claim.
The letter ends by thanking the leaders for their concern for Cubans and the crisis that affects them.
In the letter released a week ago by the US agency Associated Press, the leaders explained that the difficulties of Cubans “for the supply of medicines, the arrival of humanitarian aid, the restrictions imposed on financial services, the arrival of tourists and investments of third parties” required the lifting of Washington’s sanctions.
“We ask you, Mr. President, to take into account this dramatic situation that thousands of Cubans are experiencing and do everything necessary to lift the restrictions that affect the most vulnerable.”
“We ask you, Mr. President, to take into account this dramatic situation that thousands of Cubans are experiencing and do everything necessary to lift the restrictions that affect the most vulnerable,” they urged Joe Biden in the text, where they also called for Cuba from the list of State sponsors of terrorism, taking into account its “support for the peace process in Colombia with the National Liberation Army (ELN)” and its commitment to “complying with the protocols signed with the Colombian State”.
D Front is represented by Luis Rodríguez Pérez, from the Association of Mothers and Relatives of Political Prisoners for Amnesty; Ileana de la Guardia, from the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba; Enrique Guzmán Karell, from the Center for Studies on the Rule of Law and Public Policies Cuba Próxima; Yunior García, from Archipelago; Jorge Masetti, from the French Association for Democracy in Cuba; and Yanelys Núñez, from the San Isidro Movement.
In its founding document it stated that it considers “democracy and the rule of law” as “the best way to achieve inclusion, political pluralism, the sovereignty of citizens and civilized rules of coexistence.”
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