Mark this date: May 20, for the General Meeting in Havana of the General Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba

Via Babalu: The Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, a coalition of 365 independent civil society groups within Cuba, are meeting in Havana on May 20. Here’s their statement:

The purpose of this notice is the General Meeting in Havana of the General Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba.

On May 20 of this year members of the Cuban opposition will meet in Havana. This meeting is one of the most important and transcendental in the history of Cuba’s communist era. The General Meeting of the General Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba has been called for by our compatriots and members of the executive committee;- René Gómez Manzano, Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello and Félix Bonne Carcassés.

The General Meeting will be attended by more than 360 Cuban organizations operating within the island country, invitees, international observers and the accredited international press. The General Meeting will cover a variety of topics dealing with the Cuban political situation, the economy and the society. The members of the opposition will also implement several strategies meant to strengthen their effectiveness against the Cuban government in the future. The objective is clear;- to promote the establishment of a civil society in Cuba which will yield a free and democratic country. The General Meeting is taking place at a very crucial time in which Fidel Castro’s regime has once again been condemned by the Human Rights Commission of the United Nation for continued and flagrant human rights violations against the Cuban people.

Because of the importance of the coming General Meeting of the General Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba and the responsibility each Cuban has to join those who are contributing to its success requests the following of our friends in the internet throughout the World.

First: Since the internet serves as our weapon, it is very important that those persons who have not yet organized a mailing list of family, friends and acquaintances do so now. Each of us regardless of where we are in the World must become a relator of the information which will be emanating from the General Meeting.

Second: Contact the press in your area and send them the press releases put out by the Information and Support Center of the General Meeting of the General Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba.

Third: All those persons who have access to media, be it television or radio programs, the opportunity of writing for a printed medium in your respective communities please use it to call the public’s attention to the May 20, 2005 General Meeting and all the information generated by it.

Four: Please send all notices generated by the Information and Support Center of the Assembly to internet forums dealing with the Cuban dilemma. In particular those forums sponsored by newspapers, magazines, radio and television entities to maximize our exposure since these sites tend to attract great numbers of visitors.

Fifth: Disseminate as much as possible the official website of the General Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba.

Freedom for Cuba
May 12, 2005

If you are a blogger, I ask you to please blog about it.

Duncan Currie writes,

On Tuesday, the House passed a measure first introduced by Miami-area congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American Republican. HR 193 expressed support for the Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba, an umbrella structure of over 360 dissident and civil society groups led by economist Marta Beatriz Roque
. . .
The bill . . . contained four basic planks:

(1) The House “extends its support and solidarity to the organizers and participants of the historic meeting of the Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba on May 20, 2005, in Havana.”

(2) The House “urges the international community to support the Assembly’s mission to bring democracy to Cuba.”

(3) The House “urges the Administration and international community to actively oppose any attempts by the Castro regime to repress or punish the organizers and participants of the Assembly.”

(4) The House “shares the pro-democracy ideals of
the Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba and believes that this Assembly and others will hasten the day of freedom and democracy for the people of Cuba.”

If you have time for a look, here are some photos of The Real Cuba.

UPDATE Ken Sinkovitz sent me this article A world apart, Cubans fight for same goal, which includes a list of local activities:

Thursday, 7 p.m. – Lecture on the Cuban Constitution of 1940 by Dr. Antonio Acosta, at Union City Public Library, 43rd Street and New York Avenue.

Friday, 8 p.m. – Conference on the teachings of Cuban writer and patriot José Martí, at the Club Fomento, 522 38th St., Union City.

Sunday, 7 p.m. – Tribute to Cuban singers Celia Cruz |and Beny Moré at the Club Fomento, 522 38th St., Union City.

May 18, 11 a.m. – Proclamation ceremony, by invitation only, featuring acting Governor Codey and Assembly Speaker Albio Sires, in Trenton.

May 18, 7 p.m. – Conference on José Martí and Simón Bolívar by Professor Alberto Yannuzzi, at the Club Fomento, 522 38th St., Union City.

May 19, 9 a.m. – Conference on Cuba’s war of independence from Spain by Josefina Carbonel, at Kean University.

May 19, 7 p.m. – Ceremony commemorating the anniversary of José Martí’s death in battle in 1895, at the new José Martí Middle School in Union City.

May 20 – All-day session to monitor the developments at the Assembly to Promote a Civil Society in Havana, at the headquarters of the Association of Former Cuban Political |Prisoners, 505 43rd St., Union City.

May 22, 5 p.m. – Cuban Independence Day march, on Bergenline Avenue from 59th Street in West New York to 42nd Street in Union City.

For details on these, email perez@ “at” northjersey “dot” com.