Havana, Cuba, Apr 28, 2010 / 16:10 pm
The coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement, Oswaldo Paya, sent a letter to the members of the European Parliament thanking them for their March 11 resolution that calls for respect for human rights in Cuba and for the release of political prisoners.
In a letter signed on April 12, Paya said, “The people of Cuba do not have accurate information about the contents of the resolution, which the Cuban government calls an 'aggression' by the European Union against Cuba.”
“In reality,” Paya said, “the content of the resolution is an expression of solidarity with the people of Cuba and of respect for their self-determination.” He explained that it also “calls for respect for the rights that correspond to Cubans as human beings and for the liberation of those who are in prison for defending those rights.”
He mentioned specifically the case of Orlando Zapata Tomayo, who died following a long hunger strike. During his strike, Paya said, Zapata "was being held in a punishment cell in the most inhuman and degrading conditions."
He thanked “the European Parliament and the people of the European Union for their solidarity with the Cuban people who long for peaceful changes towards democracy.”