[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 224 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 224
Recognizing the 6th anniversary of the death of Oswaldo Paya Sardinas,
and commemorating his legacy and commitment to democratic values and
principles.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 19, 2017
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Cruz,
Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
March 21, 2018
Reported by Mr. Corker, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble and an amendment to the title
April 11, 2018
Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble and an
amendment to the title
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 6th anniversary of the death of Oswaldo Paya Sardinas,
and commemorating his legacy and commitment to democratic values and
principles.
Whereas Oswaldo Paya Sardinas was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1952 and became a
nonviolent critic of the communist government as a teenager, resulting
in 3 years of imprisonment in 1969 at a work camp in Cuba, formerly
known as ``Isla de Pinos'';
Whereas in 1988, Oswaldo Paya Sardinas founded the Christian Liberation Movement
that called for peaceful civil disobedience against the rule of the
Communist Party of Cuba and advocated for civil liberties;
Whereas in 1992 and 1997, attempts by Oswaldo Paya Sardinas to run as a
candidate for the National Assembly of People's Power were rejected by
Cuban authorities;
Whereas in 1998, Oswaldo Paya Sardinas and other leaders of the Christian
Liberation Movement established the Varela Project in order to circulate
a legal proposal to advocate for democratic political reforms within
Cuba, including the establishment of freedom of association, freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, free elections, freedom to start private
businesses, and amnesty for political prisoners;
Whereas in 2002, the Varela Project delivered a petition to the National
Assembly of People's Power with 11,020 signatures from Cuban citizens
calling for a referendum on safeguarding basic freedoms, an end to one-
party rule, and citing Article 88 of the Constitution of Cuba that
allows Cuban citizens to propose laws if the proposal is made by at
least 10,000 Cuban citizens who are eligible to vote;
Whereas in 2003, Oswaldo Paya Sardinas redelivered the petition to the National
Assembly of People's Power with an additional 14,000 signatures,
establishing the biggest nonviolent campaign to oppose the Communist
Party of Cuba;
Whereas in March 2003, the crackdown on Cuban dissidents by the Government of
Cuba, referred to as the ``Black Spring'', led to the imprisonment of 75
individuals, including 25 members of the Varela Project and 40 members
of the Christian Liberation Movement, and the formation of the Ladies in
White movement by the wives of the imprisoned activists;
Whereas in 2007, Oswaldo Paya Sardinas called on the National Assembly of
People's Power to grant amnesty to nonviolent political prisoners and to
allow Cubans to travel freely without a government permit;
Whereas in 2009, Oswaldo Paya Sardinas developed a Call for the National
Dialogue;
Whereas petitions and calls by Oswaldo Paya Sardinas to the National Assembly of
People's Power were repeatedly dismissed and disparaged by the
Government of Cuba;
Whereas Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, his family, and friends endured years of
harassment and intimidation for the peaceful political activism of
Oswaldo Paya Sardinas;
Whereas Oswaldo Paya Sardinas has been formally recognized in the past for his
dedication to the promotion of human rights and democracy, including by
receiving the Homo Homini Award in 1999, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom
of Thought in 2002, the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award from the
United States National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in
2003, and being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Valclav Havel,
the former President of the Czech Republic, in 2005;
Whereas, on July 22, 2012, Oswaldo Paya Sardinas and Harold Cepero, a fellow
pro-democracy activist, died in a troubling car crash in Granma
Province, Cuba, after being followed by government agents;
Whereas the Government of Cuba has failed to conduct a credible investigation
into the car crash that led to the death of Oswaldo Paya Sardinas;
Whereas the trial and conviction of Angel Carromero, a youth leader of the
People's Party who was visiting Cuba and driving the car at the time of
the crash, did not include testimony from key witnesses, and did not
resolve questions about whether another car was involved or whether Mr.
Carromero was coerced by the Government of Cuba into signing a false
statement of guilt;
Whereas in 2012, the United States Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution
525, 112th Congress, agreed to July 31, 2012, honoring the life and
legacy of Oswaldo Paya Sardinas;
Whereas in 2013, a number of United States Senators and the United States
Department of State called for an impartial, third-party investigation
by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of
American States into the circumstances surrounding the death of Oswaldo
Paya Sardinas;
Whereas in 2013, Angel Carromero spoke in detail during an interview with the
Washington Post about being hit by another car during the crash, being
mistreated and coerced by Cuban authorities following the crash, and
being made the ``scapegoat'' by the Government of Cuba for the death of
Oswaldo Paya Sardinas;
Whereas the dissidents of the ``Black Spring'' have been released from prison,
but the Government of Cuba continues to suppress, assault, and detain
those peacefully expressing political beliefs contrary to or critical of
the regime; and
Whereas the 2016 Human Rights Report on Cuba by the United States Department of
State cited ongoing human rights abuses by the Government of Cuba,
namely ``the abridgement of the ability of citizens to choose their
government; the use of government threats, physical assault,
intimidation, and violent government-organized counter protests against
peaceful dissent; and harassment and detentions to prevent free
expression and peaceful assembly.'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes and commemorates the legacy of Oswaldo Paya
Sardinas on the 6th anniversary of his death on July 22, 2018;
(2) honors the commitment of Oswaldo Paya Sardinas to
democratic values and principles;
(3) calls on the Government of Cuba to allow an impartial,
third-party investigation into the circumstances surrounding
the death of Oswaldo Paya Sardinas;
(4) urges the United States to continue to support policies
and programs that promote respect for human rights and
democratic principles in Cuba in a manner that is consistent
with the aspirations of the Cuban people;
(5) urges the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of
the Organization of American States to continue reporting on
human rights issues in Cuba, and to request a visit to Cuba in
order to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of
Oswaldo Paya Sardinas; and
(6) calls on the Government of Cuba to cease violating
human rights and to begin providing democratic political
freedoms to Cuban citizens, including freedom of association,
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free elections,
freedom to start private businesses, and amnesty for political
prisoners.
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