: BUILDING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE VARELA PROJECT AND SOLIDARITY WITH THE DISSIDENTS

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS CONCEPT PAPER July 1, 2003

Introduction

After more than 40 years of political and economic control by President ’s government, an unprecedented initiative is occurring within Cuba. Known as the Varela Project, the initiative calls for a referendum on political, economic and civil liberties by drawing upon a constitutional provision that enables citizens to introduce legislation when accompanied by 10,000 signatures. However, the Project has faced many obstacles. In January, a committee within the National Assembly declared the Project ineligible for further discussion. In March, the government arrested and sentenced more than 80 human rights and democracy activists in the most severe wave of repression in Cuba in years. More than half were Varela Project organizers.

The Varela Project is significant because it has planted the seeds of a genuine grassroots democracy movement. For the first time, calls on the island for peaceful political change are not emanating solely from a handful of courageous individuals whose appeals could be dismissed by the regime, but from tens of thousands of ordinary citizens. In seeking to expand freedom through peaceful and legal means, the Varela Project has broken the cycle of fear that has permeated Cuban society. It has also provided hope for thousands of citizens by pressing forward in the signature campaign despite the repression – securing an estimated 30,000 signatures to date.

Representatives of the Varela Project have stated that international attention on the initiative is critical to provide protection for the organizers and citizens who have signed the petition and face harassment, intimidation and violence. They also believe that international attention makes it more difficult for the Cuban government to undermine the effort and provides a sense of solidarity for often-isolated organizers who continue to collect signatures. To meet these international needs, three international representatives have been designated to represent the Project and coordinate international solidarity efforts.

For more than a year, NDI has been helping to strengthen the ability of the international representatives to promote the Project, and to expand international awareness of and support for the initiative. Among many activities, NDI has organized international events and spurred global media coverage to bring attention to the Project; arranged for meetings between Project representatives and key leaders in Europe and Latin America to advocate for support; and sponsored a documentary to inform the international community about the initiative. NDI has focused its efforts on ensuring that international support for the Project spans the democratic political spectrum.

With alternative resources, over the next few months NDI will be supporting the international representatives in establishing the International Network of Support for the Varela Project, a network of political and civic leaders and ordinary citizens from around the world that will provide important recognition, support and protection to Project organizers and signers. NDI will assist the international representatives in establishing a headquarters in Madrid, Spain, which will meet the need for: a clearinghouse for information on the Project and political developments in Cuba; a data bank of individuals, organizations and governments interested in Cuban issues; and an initiator and coordinator of specific activities to raise international awareness of the Project and solidarity with those struggling for democracy in the island. While other organizations are providing crucial support to the Project, the international representatives are seeking greater communication and coordination among them.

Through the proposed program, NDI would expand the International Network and meet its organizational needs, as well as conduct international awareness and advocacy campaign activities. The effort would seek to incorporate the many organizations already supporting the Project, such as the Cuban Democratic Directorate (Miami), Pax Christi (Netherlands) and People in Need Foundation (Czech Republic). NDI would also provide democracy activists in the island with information on organization and communication efforts. USAID’s funds would supplement NDI’s existing funds over the next few months, and would replace NDI’s existing funds once those resources are expended in September 2003.

Proposed Program

NDI seeks to continue promoting international, multipartisan support for the Varela Project and solidarity with its organizers and signers. NDI would conduct the following activities:

Expanding the International Network and Meeting Organizational Needs

NDI is currently working with the international representatives to establish the International Network of Support for the Varela Project. The Network will serve to increase international awareness of the Varela Project and political developments inside Cuba, and to coalesce support among governments, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, parliaments and political parties for the Project – its organizers, signatories and goals.

NDI is also assisting the international representatives in establishing in the immediate period an office in Madrid, Spain, that will become the headquarters for the Network. The office will serve as a clearinghouse for information on Cuba, the Project and other democratic initiatives, as well as a data bank of individuals, organizations and governments interested in Cuban issues. Through the office the Network will stimulate initiatives in support of the Project through communications and events. The office will also enable the international representatives to facilitate communication and coordination among the many organizations already advocating on behalf of the Project to ensure that resources are used efficiently and that international campaign continues to receive direction from the island.

2 The international representatives have chosen Spain from which to establish the Network because of the important role that Spain can play in building European support for the Project, and the commitment of Prime Minister José María Aznar and his foundation to supporting the Network. Support from USAID would enable the Network to mobilize volunteers, create regional offices and engage consultants and trainers in different parts of the world to meet the campaign’s growing needs. The Network will build on the important contributions that many organizations are already making to the Project by facilitating coordination and communication among them. Please see Appendix A for a list of organizations that the Network could seek to incorporate, many of whom are already actively supporting the Project.

Conducting the International Awareness and Advocacy Campaign

NDI would assist the Network in carrying out the international advocacy and awareness campaign. Activities would be based on a campaign plan, the development of which NDI will be using its existing resources to support. In developing the plan, NDI and the Network will be assessing existing international support for the Project and determining from which individuals and organizations to solicit support. The focus of these advocacy efforts will be shaped by factors such as influence within the international community, ideological balance, and links to the island. NDI would help the Network to involve a diverse group of individuals and organizations in designing the campaign plan and implementing activities, particularly those who have been working on behalf of the Project over time.

In keeping with the campaign plan, NDI would arrange meetings between Network members and individuals and organizations, including parliamentary groups and non- governmental organizations such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and International IDEA. NDI would also support the participation of Network members at inter-governmental gatherings and meetings of democratic activists to provide information about the Varela Project and encourage them to take an active role in promoting it, and would help the Network members to create media opportunities to inform the global community about the Project. More specifically, advocacy efforts may include the following activities:

• Institutional Solidarity – Advocating for support of the Project among governments, legislatures and international organizations, focusing on building intergovernmental and inter-party support. These efforts would raise the political cost for the actions of the Cuban government and help open political space on the island for Varela Project organizers and other dissidents.

For example, in response to the Cuban government’s crackdown, NDI and the Project’s international representatives were in continuing communication with many entities that subsequently expressed support for the dissidents, including the Uruguayan Congress, Spanish Chamber of Deputies, Latin American Parliament and Socialist International. In the future, efforts would be made to contact organizations such as the International Labor Organization and Inter-Parliamentary Union through private meetings, international events and other fora. The Network would look for opportunities to showcase the Project, particularly at high-level international events with media coverage. The Network

3 would coordinate its advocacy efforts with those that other organizations are already undertaking on behalf of the Project.

NDI would continue to draw on its unique standing in the three largest groupings of political parties – Christian Democrat and People’s Party International, Liberal International and Socialist International – which together represent more than 300 political parties and organizations around the world – to gain the support of their members for the Varela Project.

• Public Awareness – Providing opinion makers around the world with regular updates on the status of the Project, media talking points, sample resolutions supporting the work of the dissidents, and copies of the NDI documentary. These efforts would result in media appearances and editorials in different countries.

NDI would also support the expansion and maintenance of the Varela Project website, as well as its translation into other languages, for use as a vehicle to disseminate automatic updates, action items, and other information on the Project to the global audience. The NDI-supported website – the only site dedicated solely to promoting the Varela Project – received more than 460,000 hits in the last three months. The website can be found at www.proyectovarela.org.

Grassroots Support – Mobilizing a permanent global public opinion campaign in support of human rights and the Varela Project. Activities would include encouraging networks of activist groups to organize grassroots campaigns in their countries urging legislatures and other public institutions to make human rights issues and treatment of dissidents a key factor in relations with Cuba. Local level activities could include electronic mail and letter campaigns, peaceful demonstrations in support of the dissidents, and distribution of information pamphlets. The Network would coordinate its efforts to build grassroots support with those that other organizations are already undertaking on behalf of the Project.

In providing this assistance, NDI would draw on long-standing relations with democratic activists and political leaders, and its unique standing in the Political Party Internationals. NDI would also apply lessons learned from the Institute-supported international campaign to promote democracy in Burma. In the case of Burma, NDI has helped to establish a network of more than 3,000 legislators from 80 countries, motivating legislators to undertake actions in support of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, including signing on to an international declaration.

Providing Technical Information to Democratic Activists in Cuba

NDI would also provide information on grassroots organizing and communication to democratic activists in the island. NDI would provide written materials as well as arrange visits of political practitioners and individuals with experience promoting peaceful transition in closed societies, such as Chileans and Central and Eastern Europeans. These advisors would also become part of the International Network to Promote the Varela Project to facilitate their

4 continued support of democracy initiatives in the island. NDI would coordinate these technical assistance visits with those that other organizations are undertaking.

NDI anticipates needing $500,000 in the first year to implement the proposed program.

NDI’s Experience

Promoting Democracy in Cuba

NDI’s efforts with the Cuban pro-democracy movement began in 1991, when the Institute assisted the Cuban Democratic Platform – a coalition of exiled political party leaders from across the ideological spectrum – in providing Cubans with comparative information about democratic transitions and lessons to apply to the Cuban situation. Over the years, NDI continued to provide political and moral support to the Platform as it sought to promote a democratic transition in the island.

In 1999, NDI teamed up with Georgetown University’s Cuba 21 Project, the Center for a Free Cuba, and the Portuguese foundation Cursos de Arrábida in a conference and book development project intended to help ease a transition to democracy. The project sought to allay fears within the country about political change, expose Cubans to democratic principles, share with Cubans and the international community the experiences of militaries in other countries and educate the international community about the armed forces in Cuba.

NDI supported the 2000 conference in Portugal by sharing its global experience promoting democratic civil-military relations and by organizing the participation of practitioners who shared their firsthand experiences with the military in political transitions. To further disseminate information from the conference, NDI has supported the development of a Spanish- language book of the conference presentations for distribution inside and outside the island, which should be published within the next few months.

In June 2001, NDI supported the Cuban Democratic Platform in organizing an event to share with Cubans and the international community ideas about how to solidify democratic gains following a transition in Cuba, and to support political parties and other democratic institutions within Cuba today. In the event, NDI sponsored the participation of experts involved in political party development and democratic consolidation efforts. NDI drew on its unique official standing in the three largest international groupings of political parties participating in the conference – Christian Democrat International, Socialist International and Liberal International – to help secure their support for the Platform’s efforts in Cuba. In addition, NDI compiled materials on political party development for distribution in the island.

Building International Support for the Varela Project

In 2002, NDI began helping to garner international support for the Varela Project. Drawing on its global network of world leaders and its standing in the Political Party Internationals, NDI is supporting proponents of the Project in their efforts to design and carry out an international campaign to raise awareness about this historic effort. The campaign aims to

5 encourage the Cuban government to permit a referendum and afford its citizens greater political and civil liberties.

Since NDI’s support to the Project began, the Institute has assisted in organizing two meetings that brought together the Project’s most committed advocates to cooperate in the development of a campaign plan; arranged meetings in Washington, D.C., for representatives of the Project to gain the support of key political and civic leaders, including members of the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights; supported the Project’s international representatives in their efforts to promote the candidacy of the Project’s leader, Oswaldo Payá, for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize; and facilitated communication between representatives of the Project with parliamentarians and other key actors at international events such as the 2002 Community of Non-Governmental Forum in Korea. NDI also supported the development of a web page to provide information to the international community about the Project (www.proyectovarela.org), which currently receives 50,000 hits per month.

Furthermore, NDI honored Payá with its 15th annual W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award at a ceremony that drew nearly 700 representatives of the international community and attracted international press coverage. In anticipation of Payá’s absence from the event, NDI produced a highly lauded documentary about the Project, and arranged for viewings at international events and media coverage in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The documentary was accepted into the Florida, Maryland and TriBeCa Film Festivals. Events that NDI organized around the film’s showing at TriBeCa in New York City in May 2003 have resulted in coverage of the Varela Project in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, and on Fox 5 News.

Finally, NDI gained the opportunity to personally present the Award to Payá during his unexpected travel abroad to receive the European Parliament’s highest honor, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in January 2003. During his time in Washington, NDI arranged opportunities for Payá to seek the support of the Washington community for his effort. As part of the agenda, Payá met with Secretary of State Colin Powell, leaders of human rights groups, representatives of Cuban interest organizations, and the press. NDI also arranged public events, including a lecture at Georgetown University, to enable him to advocate for peaceful, democratic change in Cuba.

Supporting the Burmese Democracy Movement

NDI began helping Burmese democrats to advocate for the restoration of democracy in their country in 1995 at the request of leading human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Since that time, NDI has contributed to: the establishment of international communication centers; the development of communication strategies, both within and outside of the democracy movement; the passage of resolutions of support for Suu Kyi and the movement; the generation of international media coverage; and skills-building for the Burmese activists. NDI also facilitated strategic planning sessions among the movement’s supporters in different parts of the world. Most notably:

6 • In 2000, NDI helped to collect more than 3,000 signatures from legislators around the world in support of Burma’s democracy movement, increasing the movement’s ability to gain recognition from the international community.

• In 2001, NDI helped to organize an international celebration of the 10th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Suu Kyi. NDI and its partners linked 21 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, via satellite and the Internet, to celebrations in 40 cities around the world. This historic international event generated an immediate response from the ruling military junta, including the re-opening of the movement’s office in Rangoon.

• When the military junta appeared to be backing off its plan to release Suu Kyi in 2002, NDI facilitated a news release by South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and NDI Chairman Dr. Madeleine Albright. The public statement, made in the name of the Suu Kyi Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign, asked international leaders to call on the regime to release her without delay.

• Also in 2002, NDI joined its European and Southeast Asian partners in the development of an International Burma Summit. The Summit featured a “Blue Ribbon Panel” that heard testimony from former political prisoners on the human rights situation in Burma and issued a statement of findings to European and East Asian leaders and the international media. The Summit also included a “National Reconciliation Roundtable on the Future of Burma” that concluded in an agreement to cease hostilities against the army of Burma if the military were to declare a nation-wide ceasefire.

7 APPENDIX A International Network to Support the Varela Project Illustrative

Political Parties Political Party Internationals Socialist International (128 Parties, 118 Countries) Liberal International (77 Parties, 60 Countries) Christian Democrat and People’s Parties International (100 Parties, 85 Countries) Individual Parties around the world

Legislatures and Legislative Organizations European Parliament (8 Parties, 626 Members) European People’s Party and European Democrats (232 Members) European Party of Socialists (175 Members) European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party (53 Members) Latin American Parliament Individual Legislatures around the world Inter-Parliamentary Union

Multilateral Organizations Organization of American States (35 Member States∗) Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe African Union (53 Member Countries) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (10 Member Countries) European Union United Nations (191 Member States)

Governments Government Officials Representatives of Non-Aligned Countries

Democratic Foundations Center For Democratic Institutions (Australia) Karl Renner Institute (Austria) Politische Akademie der ÖVP (Austria) Free & Democratic Bulgaria Foundation (Bulgaria) Institute for Social Integration (Bulgaria) Rights and Democracy (Canada) Fondation Robert Schuman (France) Fondation Jean Jaurès (France) Westminster Foundation for Democracy (Great Britain) Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (Germany) Hanns Seidel Stiftung (Germany) Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (Germany)

∗ While Cuba is a Member of the Organization of American States, its Government is excluded from the body.

8 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (Germany) Constantin Karamanlis Institute for Democracy (Greece) ISTAME - A. Papandreou (Greece) Alfred Mozer Stichting (Holland) Institute for Multiparty Democracy (Holland) Szazadveg Foundation (Hungary) Fondazione Alcide de Gasperi (Italy) Fondazione Nova ResPublica (Italy) Instituto Luigi Sturzo (Italy) Diet members League to Aid Democracy for Peace Building (Japan) Fondation pour l'Education Européenne (Poland) Gorbatchev Foundation (Russia) Fundacion Pablo Iglesias (Spain) Fundacion para el Analisis y los Estudios Sociales (Spain) Centerparters Internationalla Stiftelse (Sweden) International IDEA (Sweden) Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation (Sweden) Olof Palme Internationella Centrum (Sweden) Taïwan Foundation for Democracy (Taiwan)

Civil Society Organizations People in Need Foundation (Czech Republic) Pax Christi (Netherlands) Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis (Spain) Center for a Free Cuba (USA) Cuban Democratic Directorate (USA) Human Rights Watch

International Representatives of Democracy Movements in Cuba Christian Liberation Movement Cuban Liberal Union Social Democratic Party of Cuba

International Meetings World Movement for Democracy Community of Democracies Non-Governmental Forum Inter-American Forum on Political Parties

Media Newspapers and other media outlets around the world

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