CUBAN DISSIDENT PAYA SPEAKS TO MEDIA OUTSIDE CUBAS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, 2003-10-03 (photo)

Oswaldo Paya, Cuba's leading dissident, speaks to the foreign press as his wife Ofelia Acevedo (L) stands next to him, outside the Cuban National Assembly in Havana, October 3, 2003. Paya delivered approximately 14,000 petitions signed in support of the Varela Project which demands a referendum on political and economic reforms. At least 10,000 signatures, as demanded by the Constitution, must be gathered so the petition will be discussed in Parliament. Nevertheless, Cuban authorities have ignored the initiative until recently. REUTERS/Claudia Daut CD