Eleven days have elapsed since the Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino, announced that negotiations were to begin between the Church and the Cuban regime on the fate of all political prisoners.

Nine days have passed since it was announced to The Ladies in White that a transfer to hospitals of The 26 gravely ill political prisoners was imminent.

One hundred days since Guillermo Fariñas initiated a hunger strike for the liberation of The 26.

Eleven days have gone by since authorities at the penal camp in a remote region of Villa Clara, told Silvia Aguado, the wife of political prisoner Antonio Villarreal that they would transfer her husband to a mental health facility to receive the treatment he needs.

Eight days have elapsed since Silvia Aguado saw her husband wasting away under a tree at the same penal camp.

One day since the Ladies in White denounced that despite all promises to the Church, the regime has not taken any real steps to improve the conditions of any political prisoners.

One hundred and one days since Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in a hunger strike demanding the release of The 26.

Ninety-six days since we launched #OZT I Accuse the Cuban government and signatures in support of the release of all Cuban political prisoners started to pour from all over the world, including Cuba.

We are counting every second that passes while the regime refuses to accept the demands of thousands around the world, and in Cuba, to release all Cuban political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.

We hold the regime responsible for the further deterioration in the health of any political prisoner caused by the terrible and inhumane conditions in which they are kept, and the torture and abuse by the regime’s henchmen.

We will not stop demanding the release of all Cuban political prisoners until this is achieved.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

UPDATE: This is being reposted to include six more names added by Masferrer to his initial post. The update was based on a Diario de Cuba article.
Marc Masferrer reports that:

Cuban human rights activist/lawyer/journalist Juan Carlos González Leiva warned this week that as many as 10 Cuban political prisoners may be permanently incapacitated by their poor health if they are not soon released from the Cuban gulag.

In an interview with Radio Martí [in Spanish], González, himself a former political prisoner, highlighted the cases of four of those prisoners:

Ariel Sigler Amaya, who has been left paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.
Antonio Villareal Acosta, who suffers from psychiatric disorders caused by his confinement.
Normando Hernández González, who suffers from severe intestinal problems.
Pedro Argüelles Morán, who is practically blind.

Despite the anticipation of possible prisoner transfers under an arrangement reached between the Castro dictatorship and the Catholic Church, González said he has yet to detect "a change in the spirit of the government."

UPDATED, May 28, 2010 — A report at Diario De Cuba includes the names of additional prisoners who are considered critically ill. They are:

Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, who suffers various cardiac, respiratory, intestinal and other ailments.

Dr. José Luís García Paneque, who suffers from spinal, kidney and respiratory ailments.

Librado Linares García, who is partially blind and suffers from digestive and respiratory problems.

Blas Giraldo Reyes Rodríguez, who suffers from kidney, circulatory, prostate and intestinal ailments.

Próspero Gainza Agüero, who is nearly blind and suffers from intestinal and kidney problems.

Fabio Prieto Llorente, who is hypertensive and suffers from allergies and digestive and respiratory problems.



We call on the international community to join their voices to ours demanding the immediate unconditional release of these, and all Cuban political prisoners.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Radio Martí informs that Security of State agents have threatened Reina Luisa Tamayo Dánger, the mother of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, at her home in Banes, Holguín province, Cuba. Reina told Radio Martí that on Friday, a Security of State agent who identified himself as Major Roilán came to her house in Banes, threatened her, and told her that she had to end her weekly Sunday pilgrimages to the town’s Catholic church.

She rejected the threats and made the Cuban government responsible for anything that could happen to her and her family.

Reina also told Radio Martí that they are trying to isolate her, just as she had told us on Wednesday.

More in Spanish with audio at the link.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Our campaign has learned, from opposition activists in Cuba, who are close to the Ladies in White, that the previously announced transfer to a mental health facility of political prisoner Antonio Villarreal has not happened.

Last Thursday, penal authorities at the facility where Villarreal is currently being held told his wife that he would be transferred soon, apparently in terms that made it sound imminent. This information was then relayed to members of the Ladies in White, and other opposition activists.

The family of Villarreal lives in a remote village in the central province of Villa Clara, and communication with them is sporadic and difficult. They can only be reached by phone at a communal telephone in the village, and only yesterday was it possible for Elizardo Sánchez Santa Cruz to contact Silvia Aguado, Villarreal’s wife. She told him that despite what the penal authorities told her last Thursday, she found him on Sunday at the same minimum-security facility or labor camp where he was on 20 May.

We will continue to monitor as closely as possible, and inform on developments in the situation of political prisoners in Cuba.  More importantly, we continue to demand the liberation of all Cuban political prisoners.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Marc Masferrer, that magnificent Cuban-American blogger who has kept a very close eye on the situation of all Cuban political prisoners, clarifies his previous post that we reproduced:

After some earlier confusion on my part, it does appear Antonio Villarreal Acosta is the first Cuban political prisoner to be transferred to a medical facility, under an arrangement worked out between the Castro dictatorship and Catholic Church officials, according to the Spanish newspaper La Razon.

Villarreal, imprisoned since the "black spring" of 2003 and serving a 20-year sentence, was transferred to a psychiatric hospital, his nerves reportedly shot by the abuses he has suffered while in jail. Although at least one dissident questioned whether the move only shifted the location of where the dictatorship tortures Villarreal, according to the newspaper report.

As best as I can, I will try to keep track of which prisoners are transferred to hospitals or to jails closer to their homes as a gauge of the true significance of the new order between church and state in Cuba.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Dagoberto Valdés Hernández, director of [Catholic] digital magazine Convivencia [Coexistence] published from the Cuban province of Pinar del Río, told Radio Martí this Wednesday that the conversations between Raul Castro’s government and the Catholic Church, are happening in a very complicated national and international context. Valdés said that at the time [of the agreement to negotiate] the regime was “in an alley without outlet” [an impasse] after the death caused by a hunger of strike of Orlando Zapata, the hunger strike of Guillermo Fariñas and the repression against the Ladies in White.

Valdés, who is a very well known Cuban lay Catholic leader and who was part of the Pontifical Commission for Peace and Justice, expressed caution about the conversations as long as there are no tangible results because, he said, it could all be a escape valve desperately sought by the government to alleviate the [internal social] pressure using the prestige and credibility of the Church.

Según Valdés en cuanto a la llamada mediación de la Iglesia en esas conversaciones cabría preguntarse cuál es la contraparte que se sienta en el otro lado de la mesa.

According to Valdés, it is necessary to ask who is the counterpart to the Church in these negotiations: “The Church must ensure the dignity of the people, but the [country’s] political orientation is a matter for the lay. […] is not its function, that’s why now, when people speak so fashionably of mediation, I ask myself who is on the other side because he who is the middle to mediate, needs at least two counterparts or two groups of counterparts. […] it brings me great joy I congratulate myself, and congratulate myself with the Church for the recognition of its role as a mediator. Yet still, one must ask himself who is at the other end of the table.”

News with Spanish, including audio, here.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Reina Luisa Tamayo Dánger’s husband, José Marino Ortiz, denounced on a phone interview to Miami-based journalist Nelson Rubio the constant harassment his family suffers. Asked about his opinion on the negotiations between the regime and the Catholic Church, José Marino, stated that “the Cuban government never sympathized with the Catholic Church. It expelled 600 priests, and those left behind had to follow the governmental line.” He stated that it is “all a game”, and asked the Catholic Church to demand the final release of all political prisoners, not just The 26 [gravely ill prisoners], “by one stroke of the pen” from the government.

Marino praised the fact that Ladies in White can now march without being harassed in Havana, and wondered why Reina Luisa; however, cannot.

Further details of what happened this weekend, were offered in a phone interview by Reina Luisa herself to #OZT I accuse the Cuban government. Reina told us that on this past Sunday, that marked “the three month anniversary of the murder” of her son by the regime; she went to church, and after Mass she waited to be at least 10 to 15 meters from the temple to say “Zapata vive. Tres meses.” [Zapata lives. Three months]. They, Reina her family and another opposition activist, were immediately surrounded and harassed by government mobs all the way to her home.

They “blocked the only access point to her home, and that is why only one other opposition activist was able to get through.” They went out, and saw that “the mob had assembled at a place called La Güira” on the road to the actual town [Banes]. However, she and her companions went the other way toward the cemetery to visit Orlando’s tomb without incident.

A few hours later, an opposition activist who lives next to the family, went out to buy some food from the town. He was attacked by female members of the government mob who beat him with umbrellas, and called him, in an effort to humiliate him, “[Reina Luisa’s] slave.”

Shortly after that, the mobs retreated and some opposition leaders were able to reach the house. Last night they were able to celebrate an evening of remembrance honoring martyrs Pedro Luis Boitel, on the 38th anniversary of his death [after a 53 day long hunger strike in prison]; and Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Reina Luisa’s son, who died after an 85 day long hunger strike on 23 Februry 2010.

Cuban independent journalist, Carlos Serpa Maceira, reports to #OZT I Accuse the Cuban government that yesterday representatives of about a dozen opposition organizations congregated at Havana’s Parque Central [Central Park] to culminate a day of remembrance in honor of Pedro Luis Boitel and dedicated to Orlando Zapata Tamayo. Representatives of Partido Pro-Derechos Humanos [Pro-Human Rights Party], Moviemiento Andréi Sajárov [Andrei Sakharov Movement], Movimiento Pro-Derechos Civiles Rosa Parks [Rosa Parks Pro-Civil Rights Movement], Liga Cívica Martiana [José Martí Civic League], Presidio Político Pedro Luis Boitel and others. The opposition activists unfurled signs related to the commemoration, chanted slogans again the government and in honor of Boitel and Zapata.

Governmental paramilitary brigades of rapid response surrounded the opposition activists, assaulted them (Serpa was almost strangled, and another activist has a sprained arm) and dragged them to the police station on the corners of Zulueta and Dragones in Havana, which is about 150 meters from the park. They were subjected to threats and abuses at the police station, and were finally released from the holding cells late in the evening. However, independent journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias is still being held at the station, and the authorities are threatening to “deport” him back to his province, Camagüey.

Serpa Maceira further denounces that police impounded his identification, phone and camera during the arrest. When they returned his belongings, all pictures from the action at Parque Central had been erased. The police has retained his identification card thus confining him to his residence in a country where failure to produce your identification papers, which are constantly checked by police, can be grounds for indefinite arrest and confinement.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Cuban independent journalist Guillermo Fariñas clarified that he will continue his already three month long hunger strike if the government of Raul Castro does not free “all” the political prisoners because his protest “is not just to achieve transfers” of prisoners to other penitentiaries [closer to their homes] but to “achieve the liberation of all of them.”

Representatives of the Catholic Church informed Fariñas last week that the Cuban government had agreed to transfer some of the political prisoners to jails closer to their homes, and to send some of those sick to hospitals, without it meaning a definitive release.

“If the government says that they will not release the 26 [sick prisoners] then I will continue [the hunger strike] because I didn’t [start]this protest for transfers but to demand the liberation of the political prisoners who are sick”, the 48 year old dissident told Europapress.

Source [in Spanish]: Europapress

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Cuban independent journalist and political prisoner Miguel Galván Gutiérrez, sentenced to 26 years behind bars, and sponsored by Asociación de la Prensa de Almería [Almería (in Andalusia, Spain) Press Association], has denounced that his relatives have also begun to suffer the Cuban regime’s reprisals.

According to the AP-APAL, Miguel Galván Gutiérrez told the agency from Guanajay Prison that Sureydis Echarte Galván, niece the political prisoner, has been fired from her job for reasons not related to her job performance.

Galván, sponsored by the Asociación de Periodistas-Asociación de la Prensa de Almería (AP-APAL) through an initiative of Reporters Without Borders, is serving a 26 year long sentence. The AP-APAL also adds that “the are numerous voices and organizations asking for his liberation on humanitarian basis since he is sick and disabled.”

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Marc Masferrer reports at Uncommon Sense:

Cuban political prisoner Antonio Antonio Villarreal Acosta has been transferred to a sanitarium, according to a report posted at Diario de Cuba.

The move coincides as the Castro dictatorship prepares to move some political prisoners under an arrangement made with Catholic Church officials. However, Villarreal's transfer is apparently not part of that deal, as he was moved just hours after a meeting between the dictator Raúl Castro and Cardinal Jaime Ortega.

Villarreal, who has been imprisoned since the 'black spring' crackdown of 2003, reportedly suffers from psychological and other health problems.

Read more about him, here.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Juan Tamayo with The Miami Herald Reports:

"Raul Castro's talks with the Catholic church on political prisoners have sparked hopes, skepticism and assertions he's taking a risk by recognizing the church as a mediator in Cuban affairs.
The meetings with Cardinal Jaime Ortega are the first time in memory the communist government has negotiated with a national and independent organization like the Cuban church, in an island where authorities at least try to control virtually all activity.

They also represent Castro's most important political shift since he succeeded his ailing brother Fidel two years ago, a change that has given added weight to a church tightly limited throughout most of the last five decades.

While the local church has long decried the country's many problems, ‘what is new is the government's readiness to publicly recognize the Cuban catholic church as a middleman for resolving key issues,’ Havana dissident Oscar Espinosa Chepe wrote in a column Monday.

Fidel Castro freed 3,600 political prisoners after 1978 negotiations with exiles, and about 300 dissidents and common criminals after Pope John Paul II's 1998 visit to Cuba. He also released a few to visitors like The Rev. Jesse Jackson and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Now his brother's meetings with Ortega have raised hopes for an improvement in Cuba's human rights record, as well as complaints the cardinal is being manipulated by Raul Castro to give a propaganda boost to what may be meager changes on the political prisoners.

Castro has promised to move some political prisoners in poor health to hospitals, move other jailed dissidents to institutions closer to their homes and eventually released some of Cuba's estimated 190 prisoners of conscience.

Some analysts are cautioning, however, that Castro is taking a risk that his talks with Ortega may embolden dissidents, average Cubans and even government officials critical of his slow pace in adopting desperately needed economic reforms.

‘The government is tacitly recognizing with this gesture that it will definitively accept the risks of thinking differently,'' said Julio Hernandez, a Miami supporter of dissident Oswaldo Pay's Christian Liberation Movement.

‘This means the church has won a big space of trust,’ added Hernandez. ‘The opposition and the dissidence now must be sensitive to that and adopt a path for peaceful proposals.’

‘When the authorities recognize any sort of independent source of power, they are admitting a weakness,’ said a Havana author who asked to remain anonymous to avoid possible retaliations for his comment.
Phil Peters, a Cuba analyst at the Lexington Institute think tank in suburban Washington, noted that Havana in the past has gone over the heads of the local church officials and negotiated directly with the Vatican on issues such as permissions to open new seminaries.

The Castro-Ortega talks, he added, ‘mark the government accepting the church as a part of civil society ... I don't particularly see any risk (for Castro) in it, but it is opening up a new space for political discussions on topics that were not open before.’

Retired CIA Cuba expert Brian Latell noted that the church-state talks come at a time when Castro faces a crushing economic crisis as well as a wave of international condemnations of his human rights record.

They include the Feb. 22 death of jailed dissident Orlando Zapata after a lengthy hunger strike and a crackdown on the Ladies in White protesters earlier this year.

‘This represents a reflection of how much pressure they (the government) are feeling for the human rights, and pressures from a whole array of domestic problems,’ Latell said. ‘They're hoping the cardinal can help to alleviate some of those pressures.’

But he added that he did not foresee any risk to Raul Castro because Ortega was unlikely to push too hard during the conversations with Castro. ‘I don't see him turning the screws hard on Raul.’

Espinosa Chepe, one of the 75 dissidents jailed in the 2003 roundup known as the Black Spring but freed for health reasons, said Castro's readiness to ease conditions for political prisoners could help improve Cuba's relations with Washington and the European Union.

‘It's clear that President (Barack) Obama favors better relations with Cuba ... but he has been blocked by the lack of reciprocity,’ he wrote. If some political prisoners are freed, ‘that could make it easier for the administration to take additional steps.’

In Washington, a State Department spokesperson said, ‘We've seen the optimist prognosis (for the political prisoners) and are looking forward to seeing what concrete steps the Cuban government will take. We have urged the Cuban government before to release its prisoners of conscience.’

The Washington-based Center for Democracy in the Americas, which favors easing U.S. sanctions on Cuba, issued a statement saying that the Castro-Ortega talks were ‘a real lesson for U.S. policy makers. Talking to the Cubans, not using sanctions ... is the most effective way to achieve progress.’

Oscar Peua, director of the Miami-based Cuban Commission for Human Rights, complained in a blog post that Raul Castro had ‘jumped over the heads of the dissidence’ in order to negotiate with Ortega.

‘But since the key issue is the release of all political prisoners, we do not hold back in being grateful’ Peua added, even though it does not ‘resolve the sad reality of misery and lack of freedom that Cubans suffer for more than half a century.'"

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Cuban-born artist Geandy Pavón has taken his art-protest “Nemesis” to the nation’s capital. The performance consists of digitally projecting onto the façade of buildings with Cuban government offices the image of Cuban political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who recently succumbed to a hunger strike. In Greek mythology, “nemesis” represents divine justice─a persecutory memory. With this creation, Pavón “imposes the face of the victim upon the assassin, using light as an analogy of truth, reason, and justice.”

Last Thursday May 20th, on the anniversary of Cuba’s independence from Spain, Pavón took his act to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. The stately building, located at 2630 16th street, N.W., houses Cuba’s diplomatic mission to the United States, officially represented by the Swiss Embassy. See short video at . The performance was dedicated to Guillermo Fariñas, a former political prisoner and member of Cuba’s peaceful opposition currently on hunger strike demanding the release of Cuban political prisoners.

The artist first unveiled his art-protest last March 19th in New York city on the façade of the Cuban Mission to the United Nations. On April 8th, he projected it onto the Cuban Consulate in Barcelona.

Orlando Zapata died on February 23rd 2010 after an 85-day hunger strike in protest of appalling prison conditions. Incarcerated since 2003 for nonviolent opposition activities, the Afro-Cuban plumber demanded conditions comparable to those Fidel Castro had during his 18-month confinement under the Batista dictatorship for leading a 1953 armed attack against a military barracks. Mr. Zapata is the 12th political prisoner known to have died of a hunger strike during the course of the Castro regime.

Geandy Pavón is one of the motors behind an internet letter campaign for the release of Cuba’s political prisoners that has attracted worldwide support, including from many international celebrities. Born in Cuba in 1974, he lives in New Jersey since his 1996 exile from Cuba. His father was a political prisoner there for 18 years. Pavón graduated from Cuba’s National School of Fine Arts in Havana and exhibited in numerous venues in Cuba. He was part of the independent group “La Campana,” formed in 1998 to produce dissident art critical of the censorship and lack of freedom permeating Cuban society. Since his exile, he has held many solo and group exhibitions in New York City, Miami, Mexico, and other locations. His artistic talent and production have been recognized in the media and art publications and he has lectured at galleries and universities. His work can be found in private and public collections throughout Mexico, Cuba, and the U.S. (See www.geandypavon.com.)

See link for letter campaign on behalf of Cuba’s political prisoners on this blog.

For a summary of deaths of Cuban political prisoners from hunger strike, see
Cuba Archive

Contact:
Geandy Pavon
geandy.pavon@gmail.com

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Marc Masferrer reports that political prisoner Egberto Escobedo Morales, who has been on a hunger strike since 16 April 2010 is quite literally bleeding to death.

Escobedo has been in prison since 1995 serving a 20 year long sentence for "enemy propaganda" and "spionage", charges that were very common to be leveled against opponents of the Cuban dictatorship in the 1990s.

He initiated a hunger strike protesting the recent so-called elections in Cuba, and demanding more humane prison conditions.

More at the link.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

The Ladies in White march Sunday 23 May 2010 in Havana.

Orlando Márquez, director of the [Archdiocese of Havana’s] magazine Palabra Nueva [New Word] and of media relations for the Archdiocese of Havana stated today that there is no established date to begin the movement of political prisoners to their provinces as agreed by the regime. “It has never been said that the transfers would begin on Monday. What was said is that the negotiations about those transfers will begin this week” he said over the phone to members of this campaign.

Márquez also said that before the government’s promise was known, “there had been some political prisoners already transfer to hospitals.” For more details, Márquez refers all interested on the topic to data shared by Cardinal Jaime Ortega during his press conference last Thursday 20 May 2010.

Aside from that, he stated that the meeting between Raúl Castro and Jaime Ortega was “at the request of the Church.


Ladies in White are hopeful

A report sent from Havana by independent journalist Carlos Serpa Maceira, carries statements made yesterday by movement leader Laura Pollán after their weekly march. The journalist tells us that [the Ladies in White] had a third meeting with the Church on Saturday, and were received by Cardinal Jaime Ortega. “We continue to harbor many hopes”—she said to the press—“the conversations advance, and we expect, in God’s name, that their outcome will be most favorable for the [political] prisoners; not only [in the form of] a release, but also so that they [the government] transfer [to nearer facilities] those who are far away [from their homes].”

At the same time, she explained that political prisoner Manuel Ubals was transferred to his native Guantánamo. “They tolds us in the meeting at the Archdiocese that this is like a set of stairs, and that we cannot just jump over all the steps at once. We will proceed step by step, and that is why we have so much faith, [and] we are so hopeful that there will be good news.”

Pollán, the wife of independent journalist Héctor Maceda Gutiérrez, sentenced to 20 years during Cuba’s Black Spring along with 74 other opposition activists, added: “What is clear is that these will be staggered steps. We cannot think that they [the regime] will open the jail bars immediately, and that all will be released at simultaneously, no, it will be in a step by staggered fashion: we don’t know how much we will be able to climb, and how it will take between steps.”

If we think about it, in seven years—she added—the prisoners have been release on a yearly average of three [prisoners per year], there have only been 21 of them released because Reynaldo Labrada served [the whole sentence]. Anything they [the regime] do at this time is very important. There have been talks about [transfers to nearer facilities], [although] we don’t know when this will happen because we were not informed. However, until now, the government has never said when they will do things. We have found out that the prisoner is freed when Security of State comes looking for a relative or when he is brought home.”

But I think it is very important that those more gravely ill are released, as well as transferring those who are far away. We must continue [to be] united. With unity we can achieve little by little the liberation of the political prisoners. And we, as the relatives, the sisters to those men, are the ones called to continue on this struggle.”

Laura Pollán reiterated, as a conclusion: “Know that there will be Ladies in White on the streets as long as there are political prisoners in Cuba.”

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Press release of the “#OZT: I Accuse the Cuban Government” campaign regarding the mediation of the Catholic Church in the release of Cuban political prisoners.

The mediation of the Church

The recent dialogue between the high hierarchy of the Catholic Church and the Cuban government regarding the release of the political prisoners is a promising event. We are in favor of negotiations to achieve this goal which is the fundamental reason of being of our campaign.

We also celebrate the strengthening of the mediating capacity of the Church, as long as it does not assume the role of the parties it intends to mediate for. The negotiation is not between the Church and the government, but between the government and the pro-democracy sector of the Cuban population, which has been systematically repressed by the regime.

The willingness of the government to dialogue with the Church comes out of a specific context, which is impossible to conceal. This dialogue has arrived after the supreme sacrifice of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the hunger and thirst strike of Guillermo Fariñas, the marches of the Ladies in White and the Ladies in Support, the effective unity among the opposition, the exile, the Cuban civil society and the international community who joined for a fair demand the release of political prisoners and the respect of human rights in Cuba. Any release that presupposes the fracture of that unity on those factors goes against the interest of those who remain in prison.

Our commitment is with the 26 political prisoners for whom Guillermno Fariñas is carrying his hunger strike as well as with the victims of the Black Spring. But not only with them. Our goal is to not go back to the situation of Cuba in March 2003. The “#OZT: I Accuse the Cuban Government” campaign will last as long as there are political prisoners in Cuba and its citizens are denied the exercise of human rights.

Here are some images and video of the different marches that happened for Cuba's freedom yesterday:

Milano, Italy:


Santiago de Chile, where there is no more fear:


Chicago, Illinois, USA:



Tampa, Florida, USA:



Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain



Miami, Florida, USA:

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Cuban artist Geandy Pavón brought his project of artistic protest, Némesis, named after the Ancient Greek goddess of divine justice, to Washington D.C. on 20 May 2010, Cuban Independence Day.  He projected the image of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on the façade of the Cuban Section of Interests in the United States capital.

The first Némesis event was the one on 19 March 2010 in New York City when OZT's image was projected on the façade of the Cuban diplomatic representation to the UN.

The 20 May performance was dedicated to Guillermo Fariñas and all Cuban peaceful opposition activists.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Yoani Sánchez intervenes via video at the 2010 Oslo Freedom Forum

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

On 20 May 1902, Cuba began a new life as an independent nation. From that date on, Cubans started to build the Republic for which Céspedes, Agramonte, Maceo, Gómez, Martí and other leaders in the fight for Cuban independence from Spain, had fought. This was system based on the rule of law, the equality of all citizens before it, checks and balances of power, the protection of individual rights and freedoms, and government through freely elected representatives.

Despite a colonial regime that for centuries kept Cubans away from any sort of self-government, despite some pervasive, and contrarian to the republican spirit social institutions like slavery, despite the authoritarian system of command and obedience fostered within the Liberation Army; Cubans progressed for half a century pursuing and partially achieving that republican ideal. This adventurous social experiment was suspended on 10 March 1952, with Fulgencio Batista’s coup d’état, and finally died abruptly seven years later, victim of what was then hailed as a providential rescue of the Republic, but ended up being its complete opposite: personal despotic rule, inequality before the law, and the systematic violation of all human rights that has lasted more than five decades.

Why do we march?

The Cuban “revolution” has been, throughout all these decades, an excellent propaganda campaign designed to hide Castrism’s unpresentable reality and the people’s growing rejection, shared today by a clear majority, of the system. To reveal this reality and to support those who are trying to change it, is one of our campaign’s most important tasks.

We invite you to march with us on this 20 May 2010 to celebrate the founding ideals of the Cuban Republic, and also the gallant courage of those who defend them in the island. That is why we are going to march for the political prisoners, for the late Orlando Zapata, for Guillermo Fariñas, the Ladies in White, the Support Ladies, the oppositionists, the Cuban independent journalists and bloggers. We will try to have them marching side by side with us.

It will probably be an entertaining virtual march, but not a frivolous or useless one. We Cubans need to learn how to express our desire for change, and to make it public in an encompassing and coordinated fashion. This is a rehearsal and a show of support for those who will be marching in many cities around the world commemorating this date.
How to take part

The march will take place all day on 20 May 2010. You must be a Twitter registered user to participate, and use the #20mayo hashtag for your tweets. The more you do it, the better. All who use the hashtag will “parade” using their own avatar and showing their last tweet. Again, it is an all day event and the starting point is here:

Virtual March #20mayo for the Republic of Cuba

http://isparade.jp/127355

Several media echo reports by Agence France Presse (AFP) and the Spanish EFE, that Guillermo “Coco” Fariñas will reconsider his hunger strike if negotiations between the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Cuba and the Cuban regime result in the liberation of most or all political prisoners.

The report states that two high-ranking members of the Catholic hierarchy told Fariñas in person, this past Tuesday, that they were fighting to get all gravely ill political prisoners freed. Fariñas initiated his hunger strike, 86 days ago, to obtain the liberation of 26 political prisoners who are gravely ill, and in memoriam of Orlando Zapata Tamayo who died after an 85-day long hunger strike for the same reasons on February 23rd, 2010. The bishops told Fariñas that the final list of those freed could be greater than 26.

They came to tell me that there would be a high-level meeting [between Church and regime], and that they would come back with a concrete proposal, that I should not despair.”

The meeting took part yesterday, as informed by the official newspaper Granma. Cardinal Ortega, and the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Dionisio García met Raul Castro, and they discussed “matters of mutual interest.”

The matter is that we are in agreement, both the monsignors, myself, and according to [the bishops] the [Cuban] authorities as well, on that the 26 [prisoners] must come out” remarked Fariñas.

The problem will be how and when they are liberated” added the activist.

Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello, also an opposition leader, said the Catholic Church “is on the other side” [that of the government].

To me, it is not clear what role is the Church playing” although she stated that hopefully this mediation leads to “a road of solutions.”

I think that right now, instead of helping, it [the Church] is interfering by speaking the same language as the government” she added.

Another long-time opposition leader, Elizardo Sánchez Santa Cruz, president of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN, in Spanish) also expressed his doubts about the meeting.

I reiterate our trust in the Church, and our distrust of the government’s decisions

The current situation in Cuba, especially in matters of civil, political, economic and cultural rights, requires urgent solutions” stated the president of CCDHRN and added that he lives in “permanent skepticism” when it comes to dealing with the totalitarian regime.

CNN's David Ariosto reports on the many times denounced and well documented situation of Cubans whom the regime considers "illegal immigrants" within the very own borders of the nation.  Since the mid-nineties the Cuban government has practiced a systematic yet selective and discriminatory policy of internal exile by barring citizens of the provinces from being in the Cuban capital, La Habana, unless they are there in official functions.

What the article does not mention is that this policy is applied especially to opposition activists as shown recently in the cases of independent journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias, and before with some members of the Ladies in White, and the most recent martyr of Cuba's peaceful struggle for freedom, Orlando Zapata Tamayo.  It is also, applied unevenly, as the article shows, on the basis of race. Those Cubans of darker complexion are much more likely to be stopped by a police officer (who almost nine times out of ten is himself an "oriental" or  a person from Oriente, the Eastern provinces) and summarily deported to their places of origin.

Article 13.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes that every individual "has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state."

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Via Babalublog. More information at the link

Here is the trailer of the documentary filmed in Cuba by Gry Wither and narrated by Andy García:

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Yoani Sanchez reports in Spanish via Twitter that yesterday around 1:00 pm opposition activists deployed "Zapata Vive" signs, and shouted "Libertad" ["Freedom!"] on the steps of the [former] National Capitol [El Capitolio].  The building, which used to house the Cuban Congress during the republican era, is a tourist attraction, and Yoani reports that several tourists joined the protesters shouting "¡Libertad!".  It was a very brief act, but the news of it are still circulating around Havana.



for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

By Yoani Sánchez
Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

We will reduce them to obedience to the law. Julio, lawyer


More than 60 days ago I sent several Cuban institutions a complaint for illegal detention, police violence and arbitrary imprisonment. After the death of Orland Zapata Tamayo, successive illegal arrests prevented more than one hundred people from participating in the activities surrounding his funeral. I was among the many who ended up in a jail cell on February 24, when we went to sign the condolence book opened in his name. The level of violence used against me, and the violation of the procedures for detaining an individual at a Police Station, led me to file a claim with little hope that it would be heard in court. I have waited all this time for the response of both the Military Prosecutor and the Attorney General, holding back this revealing testimony, painful evidence of how our rights are violated.

Fortunately, my cell phone recorded the audio of what happened that gray Wednesday, and even after being confiscated it recorded the conversations of the state security agents and the police - who wore no badges - who had locked us up by force at the Infanta y Manglar station.

Read the entire piece and hear the recording at the Huffington Post.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Spanish news agency EFE reports (in Spanish) that European Christian Democrat Union vice president, Arnold Vaatz has sent a message to the participants in the EU-Latin America and the Caribbean Summit in Madrid, Spain; urging them to show solidarity with Cuban dissidents who are in danger of dying.

The former East German dissident and human rights activist, called on European politicians to speak “with one voice” on Cuba. He added that Cuban opposition activists deserve encouragement and solidarity, not discouragement with appeasement policies [towards the Cuban dictatorship].

He remarked that there are reasons for serious concern about the life of several sick opposition activists and political prisoners, especially Guillermo Fariñas, Ariel Sigler Amaya and Normando Hernández González.

The Christian Democrat Union is part of the political coalition currently in power in Germany, and it is the political party of Chancellor Angela Merkel who is attending the summit.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

Press release from the Cuban Canadian Foundation.

International demonstration in support for The Ladies in White and the international demand for the freedom of the Cuban Political prisioners.

Dear Friends

As an answer to the international call in support of Laides in White, our organization asks for friend of Cuba's freedom and all exiled Cuban who live with dignity in Canada, to protest in front of the General Cuban Consulate in Toronto at 5353 Dundas St West, Square Kipling, this Saturday 22th of May from 12 to 2 pm.

Thank you in advance for your participation or support.

Please send us a confirmation message [to ccf@cubancanadianfoundation.com] and spread the word. We hope to see you there, now that Cuba’s Freedom is closer.

Ismael Sambra

Reelected President CCF

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

A non-affiliated group of Cuban exiles and non-Cuban friends has called for a worldwide march for Cuban freedom. Below we reproduce their press release:

WORLD MARCH FOR CUBAN FREEDOM

Miami, FL (May 7 2010) - Miami is one of over 18 cities out of 12 countries around the world that will march to demand freedom and respect for human rights in Cuba, on May 22, 2010 (Saturday). A group of friends of social networks and other local organizations have joined this world march. “The aim of this march is to internationally denounce the state terrorism imposed by the Cuban regime against the Cuban people for over 50 years,” said Miguel Pascual, coordinator of the march in Miami. These demonstrations will take place during May 20 through 22 to memorialize the 108th anniversary of Cuban independence from Spain and the first time the Cuban flag waved freely in the then new Republic of Cuba.

Date: May 22nd, 2010


Time: 12:00 pm (the march will start at 12:30 pm)


Place: SW 8th St 13th Avenue (across from the monument to Playa Girón heroes) and up to the Friendship Torch in Brickell.

The (non-politically affiliated) Group of friends of Facebook social networking “MIAMI: WORLD MARCH FOR CUBAN FREEDOM” is hereby calling everyone to join the WORLD MARCH FOR CUBAN FREEDOM, to commemorate the 108th anniversary of Cuban Independence on May 20, 1902, on the eve of the third month of the assassination of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, killed in the Cuban jails on February 23, 2010. The purpose of the march is to condemn the Cuban regime and DEMAND FROM THE STREETS OF THE WORLD the total freedom of our people and respect for human rights in Cuba.

Cities confirmed to participate in the march include Bogota, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Florence, Lisbon, Madrid, Mallorca, Miami, Milan, Orlando, Oslo, Paris, Quito, Santiago de Chile, Santiago de Compostela, Tampa, Washington.

Click here for the contact information of the march coordinators in those cities.

This march will be joined by dissenting members in different places of Cuba, and eventually other participants that cannot be physically present will do so through web information networks and radio station Actualidad 1020 AM with Nelson Rubio, that will be broadcasting from the different cities of the world that have joined this World March. It will also be disseminated at http://www.actualidadmiami.com/.

For this reason, we are calling a press conference on May 18th, at 11.00 AM at HAVANAFAMA Theatrical Company, located at 752 SW 10 Ave. Miami, FL 33130-3112.

For more information on this march, contact c21mpascual@hotmail.com, or call (786) 229-0378.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

By Laritza Diversent*

In Cuba, there are several forms of expression. The most peculiar one if when you want to criticize the political system. There are several steps you need to follow. First, you need to look around the place where you are. Second, know with whom you are trying to have a dialogue. And third, you need to converse quietly, using signs and codewords.

To many, this may seem like an exaggeration. Some even ask if it is simply fear, or if it is really forbidden to criticize the socialist system. The truth is that many Cubans are afraid to speak up; others protect themselves with aliases and those who speak openly, are taking a risk.

The current criminal statues protect State’s leaders, officials and institutions against negative expressions and opinion from the citizenry. In other words, in Cuba, criticism can be a crime.

The Penal Code includes several criminal provisions that protect people’s honor in general: defamation, libel and slander, and insult. However, the provision of “disrespect” offers exclusive protection to the authorities, in addition to those covered by the previously mentioned crimes.

The criminal provision applies a penalty of a fine or prison from 3 months up to 1 year to whomever “threatens, smears, libels, insults, reviles, or through any other mean defiles or offends, verbally or in writing, the dignity or decorum of an authority, public official, or its agents or assistants, in the course of performing their duties or on occasion or because of their duties.”

Orlando Zapata Tamayo’s initial sentence was for committing this crime. A prisoner of conscience, who died in prison after 86 days on hunger strike, he was sentenced to three years in prison because this crime is considered aggravated when is committed against the president, the members of the Council of State and Minister and the National Assembly. It is a common crime strongly tied to politics.

That means that mocking Fidel Castro or calling the president of the National Assembly a cynic could be interpreted by police as a crime of disrespect.

Don’t they say that in Cuba there is democracy? Then why can public figures not be criticized by the citizens?

But that’s not all. There are Supreme Court rulings stating that inspectors from the departments of Architecture and Urban Planning, Public Health and the night-shift security officers working for the Ministry of the Interior are also protected by this criminal provision of disrespect. What’s more, members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs) are also privileged with the protection of this norm, since they are considered authority’s assistants.

Whoever thinks that if they criticize the government without making a reference to a specific official they can avoid the potential judicial sentence is wrong. The criminal legislation also includes sentences for those who publicly defame, denigrates or despise the institutions of the Republic, the political, masses or social organizations in the country, or the heroes and martyrs of the homeland.

I know it sounds like a joke, but it is not. It is legally prohibited to criticize the historical leaders, the government, the parliament the CDR’s, the Cuban Workers Union and every single organization created by the communists.

Coded-talk will continue to be a form of conversation in Cuba, as long as we have crime definitions that attack freedom of expression. We will continue to have those whispers stuck in our throats, choking us and preventing the people from raising its voice against those who repress them.

*This article by independent jurist and journalist Laritza Diversent first appeared in Spanish at http://www.desdelahabana.net/?p=2709.  It was translated by Mailyn Salabarria, and revised by #OZT I Accuse the Cuban government Campaign.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

In what seems to be a new divisive strategy more than an authentic attempt at negotiation, [Cuban] Security of State informed the Ladies in White, that there will not be any political prisoners freed while the Support Ladies continue participating in the Ladies in White’s marches, informed Radio Martí.

Independent journalist Carlos Serpa Maceira spoke with Laura Pollán, on of the leaders of the group, and she shared details of the recent interviews between the Ladies in White, members of the Archdiocese of La Habana and Security of State agents:

“A group representing the Ladies in White had a meeting at the [see of the] Archdiocese of La Habana on May 16th. They told us that the Support Ladies participation [in the marches] is hindering the negotiations between the Church and the government. We told both Security of State and the archdiocese that if they want they can tell the Support Ladies that they can’t come. However, Laura Pollán will never tell any woman not to come […] The Ladies in White are very grateful to the Support Ladies for all their support throughout these seven years. This is our position, and we have let it be known to Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Colonel Ernesto Samper of Security of State.”

Yesterday, Sunday [May 16th], 24 members of the Ladies in White marched on Quinta Avenida [5th Avenue] in Miramar between 30 and 22 streets.

En Banes, en cambio, las fuerzas de la Seguridad del Estado y las turbas parapoliciales conocidas como Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida impidieron a Reyna Luisa Tamayo y otros familiares y amigos del fallecido Orlando Zapata, asistir a la iglesia y visitar su tumba en el cementerio durante su natalicio, el 15 de mayo.

In Banes, however, Security of State forces and para-police mobs known as Rapid Response Brigades, prevented Reina Luisa Tamayo and other relatives and friends of late Orlando Zapata Tamayo from visiting his grave at the local cemetery on the occasion of his birthday on May 15th ."

Picture: The Ladies in White Melba Santana and Laura Pollán heading the march for the liberation of political prisoners this past Sunday May 16th, 2010. (Carlos Serpa Maceira, UPLC)

*They were later allowed. The strong control exerted by the regime over information within the island prevents some news updates from reaching all opposition activists in time.

Mark Masferrrer at Uncommon Sense reports that "Cuban independent journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias late Friday was released from jail after three weeks in custody.

The experience of surviving time in a Cuban prison has not scared Martínez into silence or submission.

Martínez told Radio Martí that as he was drive home Friday evening, a State Security official warned him to keep a low profile, to abandon the journalism and other activities that had gotten him arrested April 23 while covering an event commemorating the death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo. Otherwise, the official said, he would find himself back in prison.

Martínez responded by telling the official he might as well take him back to jail because by no means would he give up his work or the struggle for human rights and freedom in Cuba.

Martínez is the second journalist to be released from jail after a recent series of arrests targeting journalists, bloggers and others committed to reporting on the realities of Cuba today. Last weekend, it was Dania Virgen García, who was set free after a couple of weeks in jail, even after a "court" had sentenced her to 20 months in prison on a bogus charge."

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Via FAES (H/T Babalublog)

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

The Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies, FAES (in Spanish), holds, today Monday May 17th, a tribute to Cuban democrats coinciding with European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean Summit. During the act, FAES will give a voice to Cuban democrats in exile, residing in Spain and the United States, and to those who are still in the island, all of whom are authentic recipients of the tribute, and who will share their diverse testimonies and will demand the liberation of all political prisoners.

‘Knowing the Spanish government’s intention of fostering a new framework for dialog between Europe and the Marxist dictatorship, despite the increasing repression within the island; FAES would like to express its support for those who fight democratically for a free Cuba that respects human rights’, states the foundation presided by ex-president Aznar.

During the act there will be speeches by ex-president of the Spanish government and current president of FAES, José María Aznar [. There will also be speeches by] ex-president of Perú Alejandro Toledo, the president of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, the president of the European People’s Party, Wilfred Martens, the general secretary of FAES, Jaime García-Legaz and Jorge Moragas, Spanish Member of Congress for the PP [Partido Popular or People’s Party]. The event will represent culmination of a day that will begin with the celebration, in the Spanish Congress, of a seminary sponsored by CES (Center of European Studies of the European People’s Party) on the European Union’s ‘Common Position’ regarding Cuba that FAES supports.

To FAES recognition to Cuban democrats will be added video-messages sent by artists Andy García and Gloria Estefan. The event will be hosted by Cuban journalist Alina Fernández.

Cuba’s democratic movement in exile in Spain and the US will be represented by ex-political prisoners, headed by Raúl Rivero, who will read the ‘Havana’s Declaration” manifest. [Also present will be] Miguel Sigler, Marcelino Miyares and Orlando Gutiérrez, members of the political platforms Asamblea por la Resistencia [Resistance Assembly] and Consenso Cubano [Cuban Consensus] that gather a majority of exile organizations.

Carlos Alberto Montaner, vice-president of the Liberal International, will also speak during the first part of the act. Photographs by Orlando Luis Pardo, photographer and editor living in Havana, and a witness of the repression and abuses of the Cuban regime will be projected.

Also present will be other ex-political prisoners of the communist regime: Alejandro Gonzáles Raga, Omar Pernet and José Gabriel Castillo as well as Blanca Reyes, co-founder of Ladies in White, and the freedom activists Consuelo Almeida e Indira Omaña, daughter and granddaughter of [late] Comandante Almeida, who was Number Two in the [Cuban] revolution. Other European political party representatives, think tanks, NGOs, and foundations will be present as well.



The voices of Cuban democrats within the island will be heard in Madrid through the testimonies of Laura Pollán, the leader of Ladies in White, and Reina Luisa Tamayo, mother of political prisoner Orlando Zapata who died in prison as consequence of a prolonged hunger strike and the violence to which he was subjected. The act will end with the presentation of the short documentary “The Grandchildren of the Revolution”, directed by Carlos Montaner, [and that is] a close look at the reality in the island through the desires for freedom and democracy of [Cuban] youth.

The tribute by FAES has aroused a great interest, so the Radio and Televisión Martí that originate in Miami will broadcast it live into Cuba. In the same fashion, a large group of Cuban bloggers from inside and outside the island, among them Yoani Sánchez (Generation Y) and Deyanira Pijuán (aRRoz con Punk); will cover it in real time.



(This is a FAES press release published by INFOLATAM)

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

“On the day Orlando Zapata Tamayo would have turned 43 years old, a group of friends and relatives, led by his mother, visit the martyr’s tomb at [the Cuban town of] Banes cemetery to pay tribute.

Lady in White Reina Luisa Tamayo Dánger, told Radio Martí that although since Tuesday her home has been surrounded by castroite repressive forces that already had other hordes of people ready to attack them, they were able to reach the hollowed place and honor Zapata Tamayo.

The martyr’s mother explained that after leaving a cake and some hard candy [OZT’s favorite sweets] on a makeshift altar, they departed under the gaze of the guards and the alert mob that did not dare attack them.

Reina Luisa said that at the cemetery they prayed, sung the [Cuban] National Anthem, observed a minute of silence, she spoke a few words to those present, and then they returned to her residence."

Audio of the interview [in Spanish] at Radio Martí.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

"Sources from within Cuba’s peaceful opposition informed that Reina Luisa Tamayo, the mother of late prisoner of conscience, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, is harassed by Security [of State] agents [posted] outside her house to weaken [her resolve] and irritate her.

In a phone conversation, Reina Tamayo stated that despite the pressure from the communist regime, she remains strong. “We will not give up the peaceful struggle against the regime” she remarked.

The mother retold the story of how on May 11th arriving at Banes cemetery she found out that [Security of State agents] had unsuccessfully tried to erase [Orlando’s] name from the cement tombstone using white paint. This, is coupled with house surveillance to destabilize her mentally.

[Members of] the peaceful dissidence reminded the authorities that is their duty to look after Luisa Tamayo Dánger and her family’s physical and psychological integrity. Nevertheless, faced with this sort of pressures they have requested the urgent intervention of international leaders and media to demand that the communist government puts an immediate end to the harassment.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo was a prisoner of conscience who died last February after the Cuban authorities showed indifference to his prolonged hunger strike.”

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners

We received  around 90 photos for the photo-action in honor of Orlando Zapata Tamayo's birthday yesterday. Pictures from around the world, taken in very diverse settings, form this initiative that has served to remind the world that #ZapataVive.

Thank you for participating! We created the Flicker slide show to be shared with whomever you would like.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Little blogger Miss McGreen and her friends celebrate Orlando Zapata Tamayo's life on his birthday, this 15th of May at Montérégie, Quebec, Canada.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Aris Koçollori of Albanese origin and her friends celebrate Orlando Zapata Tamayo's life on his birthday, this 15th of May at Montérégie, Quebec, Canada.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Little Mlle Koçollori of Albanese origin and her friends celebrate Orlando Zapata Tamayo's life on his birthday, this 15th of May at Montérégie, Quebec, Canada.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners



Young blogger Miss Lollypop, of Cuban origin, created this poster after listening to the recording of the phone interview where Reina Luisa Tamayo, Orlando Zapata Tamayo's mother, recalled how Orlando like hard candy. Cherry and her friends celebrate Orlando Zapata Tamayo's life on his birthday, this 15th of May at Montérégie, Quebec, Canadá.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners



for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Arlen Cezar Tavares from Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil, celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Otto Rojas at his backyard, celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Jose Manuel Tellado at the Rojas-Fernandez family backyard, celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Ileana Sánchez at the Rojas-Fernandez family backyard, celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Xenïa Antunes, artist, poet, and photographer, celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th, from Brasilia DF, Brasil.

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th, in Alicante, Spain.

Would you like to be part of this first celebration of Zapata’s birthday? Send us your picture today or not later than tomorrow (May 15th, 2010) with the message “Zapata Vive!” (it can be printed, done by hand, however you want to do it) from anywhere in your city, town or community. Include your name, place where the picture was taken, and your country in the email. Email it to ozt.prensa@gmail.com. It will appear in a post here. Let’s not allow the spirit of freedom of the Cubans to disappear! Zapata lives!

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Would you like to be part of this first celebration of Zapata’s birthday? Send us your picture today or not later than tomorrow (May 15th, 2010) with the message “Zapata Vive!” (it can be printed, done by hand, however you want to do it) from anywhere in your city, town or community. Include your name, place where the picture was taken, and your country in the email. Email it to ozt.prensa@gmail.com. It will appear in a post here. Let’s not allow the spirit of freedom of the Cubans to disappear! Zapata lives!

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th, in Granada, Spain.

Would you like to be part of this first celebration of Zapata’s birthday? Send us your picture today or not later than tomorrow (May 15th, 2010) with the message “Zapata Vive!” (it can be printed, done by hand, however you want to do it) from anywhere in your city, town or community. Include your name, place where the picture was taken, and your country in the email. Email it to ozt.prensa@gmail.com. It will appear in a post here. Let’s not allow the spirit of freedom of the Cubans to disappear! Zapata lives!

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Would you like to be part of this first celebration of Zapata’s birthday? Send us your picture today or not later than tomorrow (May 15th, 2010) with the message “Zapata Vive!” (it can be printed, done by hand, however you want to do it) from anywhere in your city, town or community. Include your name, place where the picture was taken, and your country in the email. Email it to ozt.prensa@gmail.com. It will appear in a post here. Let’s not allow the spirit of freedom of the Cubans to disappear! Zapata lives!

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners


Celebrating the life of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on his birthday, on May 15th, in Sweden.

Would you like to be part of this first celebration of Zapata’s birthday? Send us your picture today or not later than tomorrow (May 15th, 2010) with the message “Zapata Vive!” (it can be printed, done by hand, however you want to do it) from anywhere in your city, town or community. Include your name, place where the picture was taken, and your country in the email. Email it to ozt.prensa@gmail.com. It will appear in a post here. Let’s not allow the spirit of freedom of the Cubans to disappear! Zapata lives!

for the freedom of all cuban political prisoners