Havana – The highest-profile Cuban democracy advocate who has remained on the island says he hopes for political change, but that it must come about amid tranquility, which should not be disturbed by ardent anti-Castro activists abroad.
He also said “the culture of fear” that pervades Cuban society after 47 years of one-party Communist rule prevents everyday citizens from talking about what is going on with Fidel Castro and his brother, but that many are worried about the near future.
“We’re facing a new experience for Cubans,” Oswaldo Paya, leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, told EFE in an interview. For Paya’s group, “the view has always prevailed that changes are necessary in Cuba with Fidel (in power) and not waiting for his death, because they are of vital importance for the Cuban people.”
In an unprecedented move on Monday night, Castro announced through a spokesman that his younger brother, Raul, the longtime defense minister, was taking over for him “provisionally” during his convalescence from surgery for intestinal bleeding.
Paya, the winner of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for human rights activism, said that “for some time we’ve been witnessing and participating in the end of an era for all of the Cuban people.”
“Seeking to deny the changes that this people needs is to continue closing the doors to the future,” he said.
In exceptional moments for Cuba such as these, he said, “the most prudent and just (thing to do) is to maintain tranquility, to maintain social peace and for the protagonists, which we Cubans all are, including those in the government, to reflect on (the situation) and contribute to the opening of a stage of dialogue and tolerance.”
“Any irresponsible, aggressive or repressive attitude that may provoke violence or confrontations could be very harmful for society and the Cuban nation,” Paya said.
In his judgment, the Cuban people are very divided, but even “if we can’t agree on the past, now is the time to reach an agreement about the future.”
Paya said he regretted that “from other parts of the world, some are encouraging social actions that could bring confrontation; for us, that doesn’t seem responsible or realistic.”
Exiles, hundreds of thousands of whom live in and around Miami, took to the streets late Monday after Castro’s serious ailment was made public. Some say they are preparing “fleets” of boats and aircraft to descend on the island to push for change there.
Paya said the Cuban exile community “is part of this country” and “their attitude should be to not echo or encourage anything that could break the social peace.”
However the new political situation evolves, “we Cubans should prepare ourselves and face this new phase with a spirit of tolerance and openness,” he said.
At this time, “there is tranquility in the street, but citizens have great reservations about talking about this subject and that reveals prudence and an uncertainty about what could happen,” the dissident said.
Within Cuban society, “there’s fear of repression because there’s a culture of fear that has been established for many years, but there’s also a fear of change and real uncertainty about how that change could come about.”
Paya said support from abroad should contribute to a “climate of peace, harmony and understanding.”
