[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 54 Referred in House (RFH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 54


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2010

              Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

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                         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 the Department of State reports that the Government of Cuba has not 
        granted prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, 
        Amnesty International, or Human Rights Watch since 1988;
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 Senate (the House of Representatives 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.

            Passed the Senate March 18, 2010.

            Attest:

                                                NANCY ERICKSON,

                                                             Secretary.