Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Cuban dissidents urge real power transfer to Raul Castro
12-09-2006

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): A leading dissident group Thursday called for an urgent and definitive transfer of power to Raul Castro to better deal with the transition period in Cuban politics opened by Fidel Castro's absence.

With concerns about the country's leadership heightened in the more than four months since Castro, 80, disappeared from public for an intestinal operation and turned power temporarily over to his brother Defense Minister Raul, Arco Progresista issued a written call to dialogue.

Arco "demands that the definitive transfer of power take place, with urgency," during the December 22 session of parliament, and that the body take up a 13-point reform program the dissidents drew up for the transition, the statement said.

With Castro's notable absence from the week-long celebrations of his birthday and the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution last week, speculation has grown that the venerable leader may have given up power for good, raising the possibility of major changes in the country's politics.

Cuban dissidents have begun to stir amid speculation that Castro may be dying, though some believe he will still return from power after recuperating from the late-July operation.

While Castro has not been seen in public since then, he appeared in television footage greeting visitors in the weeks after the operation. But now it has been months since he appeared.

Whether he recuperates or passes on, dissidents insist the time has come for change.

"Our country is undergoing an era change while it remains trapped at a historical crossroads: either Cuba opens up to itself - the best way to open up to the world - or it fizzles out as a nation amidst a spent revolution," said the Arco statement handed out to reporters.

The group urged prompt economic and political reforms, a dialogue among Cubans "that respects our differences," and that "unconstitutional restrictions to Cubans' freedom of movement (and) the silence imposed on most citizens' right to freedom of expression be lifted.

There has been no official reaction to Arco's statement, and recent comments by Raul Castro, 75, and other top Communist Party members have not doubted Castro's eventual full recovery, nor, that government policy would remain unchanged.

Dissidents Wednesday celebrated the release after three years in jail of Hector Palacios, a prominent member of their community, who dampened spirits somewhat by announcing to reporters that his release was due to health reasons and that he had not observed much change lately in Cuba.

"I would even say the contrary, from the news I've heard repression is on the rise. I don't see any changes," said the member of the illegal Todos Unidos (All United) opposition group.

Also on Wednesday, another dissident group, National Patriotic Front, wrote to UN chief Kofi Annan asking that he monitor a march in Havana on Human Rights Day on Sunday to see how police and authorities react.

Meanwhile, the latest news on Castro came, as often in the past, from his friend and recently re-elected Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"The information I have from Cuba is that Fidel's recovery continues, but that it is a slow recovery," Chavez told reporters in Brasilia.

Chavez, who was re-elected by a landslide on Sunday, said he received a congratulatory message from Castro after the vote.

His signature, said Chavez, showed a "very strong hand."