Mon January 6, 2003 08:09 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday sought to
energize Cuba's Project Varela opposition campaign by meeting one of its top
supporters, Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya. Paya heads the project, a petition
signed by more than 11,000 Cubans seeking nonviolent reforms in the communist
state to allow freedom of expression and assembly, the right to own a business
and amnesty for political prisoners.
The government of President Fidel Castro has ignored the petition.
The State Department rolled out the red carpet for Paya, arranging a media
picture-taking session during which he and Powell smiled and shook hands in an
ornate reception room before starting a closed-door 20-minute meeting.
U.S. officials made clear the meeting was designed to express Washington's
support for Paya's efforts to bring about democratic change in the one-party
state, which has been subject to a U.S. economic embargo for some four decades.
"One of the most important aspects of the meeting was to hear directly from
courageous people who are involved in trying to bring about peaceful democratic
change in Cuba and to offer our support and encouragement," said State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
'RAPID, PEACEFUL TRANSITION'
"The secretary expressed his admiration for the efforts that Mr. Paya is
making," the spokesman added. "His petition drive provides a way for
the Cuban people to express their desire for rapid, peaceful transition to democracy."
Paya used the meeting to make the case for
Washington to end its embargo but did not raise the
issue of U.S. treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. military base
on the island where Washington has detained hundreds of suspected Taliban and al
Qaeda members.
Paya has previously said it was "a matter of shame" for Cuba that they
were being held there.
"We think that the embargo is such a polarizing issue that it has pushed
aside the deeper issue that is the need for democratic changes in Cuba,"
Paya told reporters after meeting Powell. "We
do not support any kind of foreign pressure from abroad as a factor for change
in Cuba."
President Bush, backed by Cuban American exiles in the key electoral state of
Florida, has vowed to maintain the embargo until political reforms are allowed.
Paya, a medical-equipment engineer, received the European Parliament's Sakharov
Prize for Freedom of Thought last month.
Cuba allowed him to travel to Europe to receive the prize and he has made the
most of the trip, visiting Spain, France and Puerto Rico.