| Varela Project |
Website Links For Varela |
Information AboutVarela Project |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT VARELA PROJECT | |
| politics of cuba | |
| cuban society | |
| human rights | |
| opposition to fidel castro | |
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The organization reported having collected more than the requisite number of signatures but was rejected by the government per Article #75(b) of the Constitution, and the government also responded with its own initiative. This initiative, for which the government claimed 99% voter approval, provided the constitution be amended to make permanent the Socialist nature of Cuba's government. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2069057.stm] A BBC reporter noted that many Cubans said they felt pressured into signing the government's petition.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2069057.stm] Oswaldo Payá, a long-time opponent of the Cuban government, remains free, but the resulting crackdown by the authorities has resulted in the incarceration of 75 political prisoners with terms of up to 28 years, after being charged and convicted of accepting payments from the head of the US interests office in Havana . While the Varela Project was lauded by some outside observers such as former Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry called the initiative and its results "counterproductive". {Link without Title} EXTERNAL LINK
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