[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 40 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1755-S1756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF ORLANDO ZAPATA TAMAYO

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 54.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the concurrent resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 54) 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.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be 
agreed to; a Nelson of Florida amendment to the preamble, which is at 
the desk, be agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; the 
motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or 
debate; and any statements related to this measure be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 54) was agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 3552) was agreed to, as follows:

       Insert after the 15th whereas clause in the preamble the 
     following:
       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;

  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, as amended, reads as 
follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 54

       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.'';

[[Page S1756]]

       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.

                          ____________________