[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 252 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 252
Recognizing the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died on February 23,
2010, in the custody of the Government of Cuba, and calling for a
continued focus on the promotion of internationally recognized human
rights, listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in Cuba.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2010
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Mr.
Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr.
McCotter, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Sires, Mr. Mack, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and Mr.
Meek of Florida) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died on February 23,
2010, in the custody of the Government of Cuba, and calling for a
continued focus on the promotion of internationally recognized human
rights, listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in Cuba.
Whereas Orlando Zapata Tamayo (referred to in this preamble as ``Zapata''), a
42-year-old plumber and bricklayer and a member of the Alternative
Republican Movement and the National Civic Resistance Committee, died on
February 23, 2010, in the custody of the Government of Cuba after
conducting a hunger strike for more than 80 days;
Whereas, on February 24, 2010, the Foreign Ministry of Cuba issued a rare
statement on the death of Zapata, stating, ``Raul Castro laments the
death of Cuban prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died after conducting
a hunger strike.'';
Whereas Reina Luisa Tamayo has asserted that her son Orlando Zapata Tamayo was
tortured and denied water during his incarceration and has called ``on
the world to demand the freedom of the other prisoners and brothers
unfairly sentenced so that what happened to my boy, my second child, who
leaves behind no physical legacy, no child or wife, does not happen
again'';
Whereas Zapata began a hunger strike on December 9, 2009, to demand respect for
his personal safety and to protest his inhumane treatment by the prison
authorities in Cuba;
Whereas according to his supporters, Zapata was denied water during stages of
his hunger strike at Kilo 8 Prison in Camaguey, was then transferred to
Havana's Combinado del Este prison, and was finally admitted to the
Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital on February 23, 2010, in critical
condition, where he was administered fluids intravenously and died hours
later;
Whereas, on February 25, 2010, Freedom House condemned the Government of Cuba
for ``the deplorable prison conditions, torture, and lack of medical
attention that led to the death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata
Tamayo'';
Whereas Zapata was arrested in 2003 on charges of contempt for authority, public
disorder, and disobedience, and was initially sentenced to 3 years in
prison;
Whereas Zapata was later convicted of additional ``acts of defiance'' while in
prison and was resentenced to a total of 36 years;
Whereas in 2003, Zapata and approximately 75 other dissidents and peaceful
supporters of the Varela Project were arrested during the ``Black
Spring'' and were sentenced to harsh prison terms;
Whereas more than 25,000 Cubans have signed on to the Varela Project, which
seeks a referendum on civil liberties, including freedom of speech,
amnesty for political prisoners, support for private business, a new
electoral law, and a general election;
Whereas in 2003, Amnesty International designated Zapata as a prisoner of
conscience;
Whereas the Government of the United States raised the plight of Zapata during
migration talks on February 19, 2010, and urged the Government of Cuba
to provide all necessary medical care;
Whereas, on February 25, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in
response to the death of Zapata, ``We send our condolences to his family
and we also reiterate our strong objection to the actions of the Cuban
government. This is a prisoner of conscience who was imprisoned for
years for speaking his mind, for seeking democracy, for standing on the
side of values that are universal, who engaged in a hunger strike.'';
Whereas following the death of Zapata, the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights reported that at least 50 dissidents were detained or forced to
remain in their houses to prevent them from attending the wake and
funeral for Zapata;
Whereas the Department of State's 2009 Country Report on Human Rights states
that Cuba is a totalitarian state with a government that continues to
deny its citizens basic human rights and continues to commit numerous
serious human rights abuses;
Whereas Human Rights Watch states, ``Cuba remains the one country in Latin
America that represses virtually all forms of political dissent. The
government continues to enforce political conformity using criminal
prosecutions, long- and short-term detention, harassment, denial of
employment, and travel restrictions.''; and
Whereas in a 2008 annual report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
reported that ``restrictions on political rights, on freedom of
expression, and on the dissemination of ideas, the failure to hold
elections, and the absence of an independent judiciary in Cuba combine
to create a permanent panorama of breached basic rights for the Cuban
citizenry'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, whose
death on February 23, 2010, highlights the lack of democracy in
Cuba and the injustice of the brutal treatment of more than 200
political prisoners by the Government of Cuba;
(2) calls for the immediate release of all political
prisoners detained in Cuba;
(3) pays tribute to the courageous citizens of Cuba who are
suffering abuses merely for engaging in peaceful efforts to
exercise their basic human rights;
(4) supports freedom of speech and the rights of
journalists and bloggers in Cuba to express their views without
repression by government authorities and denounces the use of
intimidation, harassment, or violence by the Government of Cuba
to restrict and suppress freedom of speech, freedom of
expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press;
(5) desires that the people of Cuba be able to enjoy due
process and the right to a fair trial; and
(6) calls on the United States to continue policies that
focus on respect for the fundamental tenets of freedom,
democracy, and human rights in Cuba and encourage peaceful
democratic change consistent with the aspirations of the people
of Cuba.
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