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[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5956-S5957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                         DEATH OF OSWALDO PAYA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, some of you may have seen in the press 
last week that an inspiring Cuban citizen who tirelessly fought for a 
peaceful transition to democracy recently died in a tragic car accident 
on that island.
  Oswaldo Paya was a modest man. A brave man. A hero. A Cuban patriot.

[[Page S5957]]

  And he was also very wise.
  He realized that one of the best ways to change the cruel and 
repressive Cuban regime was to work from within.
  He used a provision in Cuba's constitution to seek peaceful political 
change and openness.
  More specifically, he and his team created the Varela Project to 
gather more than 11,000 signatures of Cuban citizens on a petition that 
called for a more open political system.
  Keep in mind that putting one's name on a petition to the Cuban 
Government is a courageous thing to do on that island. It puts that 
person and his or her family at great risk.
  Nonetheless, in May 2002, he bravely presented the petition to the 
Cuban National Assembly for action exactly as allowed for in the Cuban 
Constitution.
  What did the Cuban Government do in response to a heroic and 
reasonable call for change allowed for under the country's own laws?
  It harassed Paya and his followers. It began its own referendum that 
made the island's socialist system ``irrevocable,'' even after an 
additional 14,000 signatures were added to the Varela Project petition.
  A year later many of Paya's allies were arrested in a crackdown that 
sent many dissidents, writers, and even librarians to prison.
  Can you believe this craven response?
  The Cuban Government couldn't blame this Cuban-born effort on the 
United States, on other outside forces, on any of the usual suspects on 
which it blames all the island's woes.
  Thousands of brave Cubans asking for political reform within the 
bounds of their own constitution were simply belittled, ignored, and 
harassed.
  Paya was a modest man. I had hoped to meet him on my trip to the 
island earlier this year, but we were unable to visit--you see, the 
Cuban government doesn't want outsiders to visit people like Paya.
  His peaceful and tireless efforts for peaceful change earned him the 
European Parliament's Sakarov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2002, the 
National Democratic Institute's W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award in 
2003, and a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize from Vaclav Havel in 
2005.
  Paya's daughter Rosa Maria said amid her loss and tears last week 
that her father never gave up hope that the country could be changed 
from within and that ``he just wanted for Cubans to have their rights . 
. . that's all he ever wanted.''
  Tragically the Cuban Government even arrested almost 50 Cubans who 
showed up to pay their respects at Paya's funeral.
  Can you imagine--arresting people at a peaceful memorial service?
  My colleagues, Senators Bill Nelson, Menendez, and Rubio, have 
introduced a Senate resolution recognizing his work and calling for the 
peaceful democratic changes in Cuba that Paya spent his life pursuing. 
I am pleased to be a cosponsor of that resolution and was happy to see 
that it passed the Senate just yesterday.
  Lastly, let me note that Paya was often concerned for his safety--
sadly, given the Cuban Government's treatment of those wanting 
political freedom, not an unwarranted fear.
  So I want to emphasize an important point in the Senate resolution on 
Mr. Paya. Specifically, I call on the Cuban Government to conduct a 
credible and transparent investigation into the auto accident that 
caused his death.
  The Cuban Government owes this Cuban patriot and the Cuban people 
nothing less than a full accounting of his death. It also owes them the 
basic freedoms he tirelessly stood for.
  Mr. President, I want to also take this opportunity to talk about 
another tragedy that continues day after day in Cuba--that of the 
detention of American citizen Alan Gross.
  Alan was arrested more than 2\1/2\ years ago while trying to help the 
Cuban people have greater ability to communicate with one another.
  When you go to Cuba, you realize the Castro regime not only blames 
the United States for all its woes but cynically makes it difficult for 
everyday Cubans to communicate or connect to the outside world using 
the Internet.
  That is why thousands upon thousands of Cubans use a free Internet 
library every year at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.
  Alan Gross was arrested initially as a spy and eventually sentenced 
to 15 years in prison.
  That is right--15 years.
  Mr. Gross apologized for his actions and has asked for Cuban 
compassion to allow him to visit his 90-year old mother suffering from 
inoperable lung cancer in the United States. The United States recently 
let a former Cuban detainee who was out on supervised release in the 
United States visit his ailing brother in Cuba, but the Cuban 
Government has shown no such decency in return.
  I met Alan in January in Cuba, and I am appreciative of the Cuban 
Government for allowing me that visit. He tried to remain in good 
spirits, but it wasn't easy. He has lost more than 100 pounds since his 
incarceration. He struggles to keep busy and healthy in jail, but it is 
not easy. Quite simply, he has been separated from his family for far 
too long.
  Alan Gross is a kind, decent man. He is no spy. He is no threat to 
anyone. In fact, despite all that has happened, he noted to me how 
deeply he still cares for the Cuban people.
  Let me say this as clear as I can: Alan Gross should no longer be a 
pawn of the Cuban Government in its disagreements with the United 
States.
  The Cuban Government has made its point. It will get nothing but 
international shame from holding Alan any longer.
  Let me also note that I do not support the failed U.S. embargo 
against Cuba and think the best way to see change on the island is to 
flood it with American ideas and people.
  But I will have to think long and hard before I do anything further 
to ease our relations while Alan remains so cruelly behind bars.
  To Oswaldo Paya's family and brave colleagues and to Alan Gross, 
please know that you are not forgotten here in the Senate and around 
the world.

                          ____________________
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