The former U.S. president's mention of a proposed referendum project was the first time many Cubans learned of the grassroots effort to demand changes in Cuba's socialist system.

"I am informed that such an effort, called the Varela Project, has gathered sufficient signatures and has presented such a petition to the National Assembly," Carter said before a gathering that included President Fidel Castro.

"When Cubans exercise this freedom to change laws peacefully by a direct vote, the world will see that Cubans, and not foreigners, will decide the future of this country," said Carter in Spanish, reading from a prepared text.

Organizers of the project turned into the National Assembly 11,020 signatures asking for a referendum asking voters if they favour human rights, an amnesty for political prisoners, the right to have a business and electoral reform.

But in a statement that was sure to please Castro, Carter called for an end to four decades of U.S. trade sanctions against the island.

"My hope is that the Congress will soon act to permit unrestricted travel between the United States and Cuba, establish open trading relationships, and repeal the embargo," he said. Source.

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