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The World Movement for Democracy is a global network of democrats, including activists, practitioners, academics, policy makers, and funders, who have come together to develop new forms of cooperation to promote the development of democracy. View previous issues of DemocracyNews.

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May 2002 - Supplement

1. Cuban Petition for Democratic Reforms Submitted to National Assembly
Cuban activists today submitted a petition to the National Assembly demanding a national referendum on implementing major reforms to Cuba's socialist government. According to campaign organizers, over 20,000 Cubans have signed the petition, known as the Varela Project, calling for the introduction of freedom of expression, free elections, the right to private enterprise, and an amnesty for political prisoners. In order to proceed with a referendum, the Cuban Constitution requires that 10,000 verified legal voters' signatures must be collected. Volunteers have verified over 11,000 of the signatures - matching names, addresses, and document numbers to signatures - in recent months to prevent Cuban authorities from questioning the petition's validity. Activists hope that the international attention surrounding former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's visit to the island nation next week will bring added pressure on the Cuban government to proceed with a referendum in response to the petition and help to discourage politically-motivated retribution against those who signed it. International support for this expression of popular will is critical to democratic reform in Cuba. As campaign coordinator Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas said, "All of these Cubans, who with great courage and sacrifice have signed Project Varela, are the social vanguard for peaceful change in Cuba."

World Movement participants interested in supporting the organizers of the Varela Project should contact the campaign organizer, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, +53-7-404-856, Calle 216 #8502, La Lisa, Ciudad Habana, CUBA.

For more information, go to: 2. Imprisoned Iranian Journalist Denied Medical Care Following Heart Attack
Siamak Pouzand, a distinguished Iranian journalist, suffered a heart attack last week while in detention and has received no medical treatment. Pourzand, 73, was arbitrarily detained in November 2001, held without charge for five months, and then was tried on charges of espionageand threatening national security. As noted in the May issue of DemocracyNews sent earlier today, he was convicted and sentenced to 8 years in prison on May 3, 2002. Pourzand is the husband of Mehrangiz Kar, a distinguished Iranian lawyer, scholar and human rights activist who is also under indictment in Iran for appearing at a conference in Germany without her headscarf and for insulting venerated Islamic figures. Ms. Kar reports that her husband, who suffers from a serious heart condition, has been denied medication and medical treatment throughout his detention. She has received credible reports that he has been subjected to mental and physical torture, which resulted in false confessions to Iranian authorities, who also report that Pourzand refuses to appeal his conviction. Ms. Kar and her family are calling for urgent action by human rights organizations.

Go to: http://www.wmd.org/democracyalert/apr402.html

Please Note: Readers of DemocracyNews will often be referred to Web sites for further information. If you are interested in a particular item, but are unable to access the World Wide Web, please contact the or fax at (202) 378-9889, and we will try to provide the information to you by other means.


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