III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 525 

Honoring the life and legacy of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 24, 2012 

Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. RUBIO) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and legacy of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as. 

Whereas, on Sunday, July 22, 2012, 60-year-old Cuban dissident and activist Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as died in a car 

crash in Bayamo, Cuba; 

Whereas, at a young age, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as criticized 

the communist government in Cuba, which led to his imprisonment at a work camp on Cuba’s Isle of Youth in 

1969; 

Whereas, in 1988, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as founded the Christian Liberation Movement as a nondenominational political organization to further civil and human rights in 

Cuba; 

Whereas, in 1992, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as announced his intention to run as a candidate to be a representative on 


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•SRES 525 IS 

the National Assembly of Popular Power of Cuba and, 2 

days before the election, was detained by police at his 

home and determined by Communist Party officials to be 

ineligible to run for office because he was not a member 

of the Communist Party; 

Whereas, in 1997, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as collected hundreds 

of signatures to support his candidacy to the National 

Assembly of Popular Power, which was rejected by the 

electoral commission of Cuba; 

Whereas the Constitution of Cuba supposedly guarantees the 

right to a national referendum on any proposal that 

achieves 10,000 or more signatures from citizens of Cuba 

who are eligible to vote; 

Whereas, in 1998, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as and other leaders 

of the Christian Liberation Movement created the Varela 

Project, a signature drive to secure a national referendum on ‘‘convert[ing] into law, the right of freedom 

of speech, the freedom of press and freedom of enterprise’’; 

Whereas, in May 2002, the Varela Project delivered 11,020 

signatures from eligible citizens of Cuba to the National 

Assembly of Popular Power, calling for an end to 4 decades of one-party rule, to which the Government of Cuba 

responded by beginning its own referendum that made 

Cuba’s socialist system ‘‘irrevocable’’, even after an additional 14,000 signatures were added to the Varela 

Project petition; 

Whereas the Varela Project is the largest civil society-led petition in the history of Cuba; 


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•SRES 525 IS 

Whereas Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as bravely led the Varela 

Project at great risk to himself, his loved ones, and his 

associates; 

Whereas, in March 2003, the Government of Cuba arrested 

75 human rights activists, including 25 members of the 

Varela Project, in the crackdown known as Cuba’s 

‘‘Black Spring’’; 

Whereas Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as’s dedication to freedom and 

faith earned him the Sakarov Prize for Freedom of 

Thought from the European Parliament in 2002; 

Whereas Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as received the W. Averell 

Harriman Democracy Award from the United States National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in 

2003; 

Whereas Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as was nominated for the 

Nobel Peace Prize by Va ́clav Havel, the former president 

of the Czech Republic, in 2005; and 

Whereas President Barack Obama stated, ‘‘We continue to be 

inspired by Paya ́’s vision and dedication to a better future for Cuba, and believe that his example and moral 

leadership will endure.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes and honors the life and exem3 plary leadership of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as; 

4 (2) offers heartfelt condolences to the family, 

5 friends, and loved ones of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as; 

6 (3) praises the bravery of Oswaldo Paya ́

7 Sardin ̃as and his colleagues for collecting more than 


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•SRES 525 IS 

1 11,000 verified signatures in support of the Varela 

2 Project; 

3 (4) in memory of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as, calls 

4 on the United States to continue policies that pro5 mote respect for the fundamental principles of reli6 gious freedom, democracy, and human rights in 

7 Cuba, in a manner consistent with the aspirations of 

8 the people of Cuba; 

9 (5) in memory of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as, calls 

10 on the Government of Cuba to provide its citizens 

11 with internationally accepted standards for civil and 

12 human rights and the opportunity to vote in free 

13 and fair elections; and 

14 (6) calls on the Government of Cuba to allow 

15 an impartial, third-party investigation into the cir16 cumstances surrounding the death of Oswaldo Paya ́

17 Sardin ̃as. 

Æ 


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