Petition seeks freedom of movement for Cubans to travel, invest
Posted : Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:34:03 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Travel (General)
Havana - A former government official petitionedthe Cuban national
assembly Tuesday to allow citizens to travel freely off the island, he
told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. Pedro Aníbal Riera Escalante, a former
state intelligence officer and consul in Mexico, said he petitioned the
Cuban parliament to reform migratory laws to eliminate the requirement
for permission to leave and enter the country.
Eliminating the so-called "white card" permissions is one measure that
some expect of Raul Castro's government. Officials acknowledged that
such a move was "under consideration," but no government reform
legislation has been proposed.
Riera Escalante's proposal aims to "apply the article of the
constitution that establishes that all citizens are equal under law," he
said.
It would stop the practice of confiscating property of Cubans who have
left the island, and permit those living abroad to invest in the country
and have voting rights.
Riera Escalante said he also asked for the resources necessary to
promote a national debate on the initiative.
"The proposal conforms strictly to the law, it is not a subversive
activity," said the former consul, who serve a prison sentence in Cuba
after being arrested in Mexico and de****ted in 1999 for having used
false do***ents to seek political asylum.
According to Cuban law, petitions to the legislature must be accepted or
rejected within 60 days. Riera Escalante said he would not wait for the
answer before starting to collect the 10,000 signatures necessary to
move the petition forward and recruit sup****t from different sectors of
society.
The former army major in the state intelligence apparatus said he
proposed similar reforms without success when he was consul to Mexico in
1991. But he said the current government under the direction of Raul
Castro might be more open the idea now.
"There is great interest and disposition on the part of the government
toward change, but I am afraid the changes could end up being
superficial and not address the core problems," he said.
He said Raul Castro himself opened the door when he urged citizens to
speak "with courage" about what works and what doesn't in Cuban society,
during a July 26, 2007 speech.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/199157,petition-seeks-freedom-of-movement-for-cubans-to-travel-invest.html
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