Dissident asks Norway to facilitate 'dialogue between Cubans'

Havana, Cuba, Apr 14, 2010 / 15:48 pm

The coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement, Oswaldo Paya, has asked the government of Norway to facilitate dialogue between Cuban citizens wanting peaceful change and the country's leaders.

Paya made his request after a meeting with the ambassador of Norway, Jan Tore Holvik, on April 7.

In a statement, Paya acknowledged that most Cubans want peaceful change “in order to overcome difficulties of all sorts, to move toward reconciliation among Cubans, and to progress in the guarantee of all rights for all citizens.”

Paya then emphasized the importance of dialogue between citizens who work for peaceful change and government officials.  However, he warned, “dialogue cannot be conditioned or limited by political programs or agendas, but rather it must be a place for the common search for solutions and for working together for the good of our people.”

He added that the document entitled, “United in Hope,” which is the result of a joint effort between hundreds of peaceful Cuban dissidents is not a set of conditions or a rigid agenda, but rather a synthesis of our vision for the first steps we are proposing and which we now deliver to the government of Norway.”

Paya asked Norway to present this document “to the Cuban government, to the Norwegian parliament and society, and to world public opinion.”