(EFE).- Democratic and Republican congressmen from the United States came together to present a bill with a view to renaming the street in front of the Cuban Embassy in Washington in honor of the late Cuban opponent Oswaldo Payá (1952-2012).
“Changing the name of the street in front of the Cuban embassy in DC will honor the brave martyrs of the movement for the freedom of Cuba. It will also be a permanent reminder that, thanks to the work of brave activists like Oswaldo Payá, the days of the regime are numbered and the Cuban people will be free,” Republican Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart said in a statement.
In addition to Díaz-Balart, sponsors of the Oswaldo Payá Way bill are Republican congressmen Carlos A. Giménez, Nicole Malliotakis and María Elvira Salazar, as well as Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The Senate version of this bill was introduced by Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rick Scott, Republicans, and Bob Menendez, Dick Durbin, and Ben Cardin, Democrats.
In the statement, Díaz-Balart accused the “thugs” of Castroism for the death of Payá and fellow activist Harold Cepero, which occurred when the car in which they were traveling on a Cuban highway collided with the Spanish politician Ángel Carromero at the wheel.
Payá’s family never accepted the official Cuban version that the cause of the accident was excessive speed and denounced before the Spanish courts and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which has not yet issued a ruling, that they were victims of a “murder” at the hands of “state security” agents.
“Oswaldo Payá was targeted by the Cuban dictatorship because he was an effective and tireless defender of religious freedom and representative government”
“Oswaldo Payá was targeted by the Cuban dictatorship because he was an effective and tireless defender of religious freedom and representative government,” Díaz-Balart stressed.
Democrat Wasserman Schultz said she is proud to join her colleagues in Congress “in honoring this human rights hero by making his presence permanent, right in front of the Cuban Embassy, as a constant reminder of his work to bring justice to the Cuban people”.
The Republican Malliotakis, of Cuban origin, highlighted that Oswaldo Payá “dedicated his life to fight for democracy, religious freedom and human rights” and “his legacy lives on thanks to the courage of those who fight against the oppressive regime of Cuba.” .
Giménez, a former Miami-Dade mayor, said Owaldo Payá Street in Washington “will serve as a constant reminder of how Castro’s brutal communist regime continues to indiscriminately imprison, terrorize and murder the freedom-loving Cuban people.”
“On the 71st anniversary of Payá’s birth there is no better way to honor his legacy than to name the street in front of the Cuban Embassy after him. This will be a permanent reminder of the legacy of a man who fought on the right side of history. “said Republican Salazar, also of Cuban origin.
In addition to founding the Christian Liberation Movement, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas won the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought awarded by the European Parliament in 2002.
It was granted to him by the Varela Project that he launched in 1998 in order to activate a popular consultation on the political system in Cuba. He managed to collect 25,000 signatures of support throughout the country for his initiative and presented it to the Cuban Congress, but the consultation was not called.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
