The Varela Project was a citizen's initiative undertaken by Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas of the Christian Liberation Movement and others in Cuba. It relied on provisions in the Cuban constitution, adopted after Fidel Castro came to power, which provides for citizen initiatives on a petition of 10,000 signatures. "Proyecto Varela" was named after Félix Varela, a Cuban religious leader. Their proposed legislation (if it had been accepted by the government, and approved by a vote of the people) would have established freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, free elections, freedom of worship, freedom to start private businesses, and amnesty for political prisoners. Project members gathered more than the required signatures for a referendum to take place, but were rebuffed by the Castro government, because apparently a referendum cannot be used to change the constitution itself. Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas (born February 29, 1952 in Havana Cuba) is the founder and organizer of Proyecto Varela. External link Proyecto Varela full text in Spanish ... Cuba has had several constitutions. ... Cuban President Fidel Castro Fidel Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) has led Cuba since 1959, when, leading the 26th of July Movement, he overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista, and transformed Cuba into the first Communist state in the Western Hemisphere. ... In political science, the initiative (also known as popular or citizens initiative) provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or ordinance. ... Look up Petition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A petition is a request to an authority, most commonly a government official or public entity. ... Father Félix Varela Stamp, 1997 Félix Varela y Morales (November 20, 1788-February 27, 1853) was born in Havana, Cuba and died in St. ... Freedom of association is the right enjoyed by free adults to mutually choose their associates for whatever purposes they see fit. ... A public demonstration Freedom of speech is the liberty to say what one pleases, as well as the related liberty to hear what others have stated. ... Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public speech for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... Amnesty (from the Greek amnestia, oblivion) is an act of grace by which the supreme power in a state restores those who may have been guilty of any offence against it to the position of innocent persons. ... A political prisoner is anyone held in prison or otherwise detained, perhaps under house arrest, because their ideas or image either challenge or pose a real or potential threat to the state. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

Oswaldo Payá, a long-time opponent of the Castro 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. These prisoners, however, have been convicted for allegedly accepting payments from the head of U.S. interests in Havana. Receiving payments from foreign interests in order to destabilize one's government is illegal in many nation-states. See Carson Affair.

While the Varela Project was lauded by some outside observers such as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the European Union, which awarded Payá the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, other observers, notably the 2004 Democratic nominee for President of the United States, John Kerry, are skeptical about the effectiveness of the project's tactics.[1] Order: 39th President Vice President: Walter Mondale Term of office: January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981 Preceded by: Gerald Ford Succeeded by: Ronald Reagan Date of birth: October 1, 1924 Place of birth: Plains, Georgia First Lady: Rosalynn Carter Political party: Democratic James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ... The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1985 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or organizations who had dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedoms. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ...

External links

• Proyecto Varela -Official Web Site for Proyecto Varela. The front page says "Cuba will be reborn free and in peace!"

Reference

• Adapted from the Wikinfo article, "Varela Project" http://www.internet-encyclopedia.org/wiki.php?title=Varela_Project