Havana, Cuba, Mar 3, 2010 / 10:53 am
The former president of Poland and winner of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, Lech Walesa, sent a letter to the friends and family members of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the Cuban prisoner of conscience who died in captivity last week. Walesa denounced the Cuban government for “silently doing away with those who call for freedom and democracy.”
In his letter, Walesa said, “With great sadness I have received the news of the death of the Cuban prisoner of conscience, Orlando Zapata Tamayo.” His death, Walesa continued, “is another sign that the regime of the Castro brothers pays no attention to the urging of the international community to end its human rights violations.”
“The tragic death of Orlando takes on symbolic importance and is a desperate cry for help.” Walesa noted that the death calls for “real action, fundamentally by politicians and those who make decisions but choose to turn a deaf ear to the voices of the representatives of civil society in Cuba."
The former Polish president concluded his letter expressing his “deepest sympathy and prayers to the family and friends of Orlando Zapata Tamayo.”
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