Recognizing the 5th anniversary of the death of Oswaldo Pay Sardias, and commemorating his legacy and commitment to democratic values and principles.

Recognizing the 5th anniversary of the death of Oswaldo Pay Sardias, and commemorating his legacy and commitment to democratic values and principles. Whereas Oswaldo Pay Sardias was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1952 and became a nonviolent critic of the communist government as a teenager, resulting in 3 years of imprisonment in 1969 at a work camp in Cuba, formerly known as Isla de Pinos Whereas, in 1987, Oswaldo Pay Sardias founded the Christian Liberation Movement that called for peaceful civil disobedience against the rule of the Communist Party of Cuba and advocated for civil liberties; Whereas, in 1992 and 1997, attempts by Oswaldo Pay Sardias to run as a candidate for the National Assembly of People's Power were rejected by Cuban authorities; Whereas, in 1998, Oswaldo Pay Sardias and other leaders of the Christian Liberation Movement established the Varela Project in order to circulate a legal proposal to advocate for democratic political reforms within Cuba, including the establishment of freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free elections, freedom to start private businesses, and amnesty for political prisoners; Whereas, in 2002, the Varela Project delivered a petition to the National Assembly of Peoples Power with 11,020 signatures from Cuban citizens calling for a referendum on safeguarding basic freedoms, an end to one-party rule, and citing Article 88 of the Constitution of Cuba that allows Cuban citizens to propose laws if the proposal is made by at least 10,000 Cuban citizens who are eligible to vote; Whereas, in 2003, Oswaldo Pay Sardias redelivered the petition to the National Assembly of People's Power with an additional 14,384 signatures, establishing the biggest nonviolent campaign to oppose the Communist Party of Cuba; Whereas, in March 2003, the crackdown on Cuban dissidents by the Government of Cuba, referred to as the Black Spring Whereas, in 2007, Oswaldo Pay Sardias called on the National Assembly of Peoples Power to grant amnesty to nonviolent political prisoners and to allow Cubans to travel freely without a government permit; Whereas, in 2009, Oswaldo Pay Sardias developed a Call for the National Dialogue; Whereas petitions and calls by Oswaldo Pay Sardias to the National Assembly of Peoples Power were repeatedly dismissed and disparaged by the Government of Cuba; Whereas Oswaldo Pay Sardias, his family, and friends endured years of harassment and intimidation for the peaceful political activism of Oswaldo Pay Sardias; Whereas Oswaldo Pay Sardias has been formally recognized in the past for his dedication to the promotion of human rights and democracy, including by receiving the Homo Homini Award in 1999, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2002, the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award from the United States National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in 2003, and being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Vclav Havel, the former President of the Czech Republic, in 2005; Whereas, on July 22, 2012, Oswaldo Pay Sardias and Harold Cepero, a fellow pro-democracy activist, died in a troubling car crash in Granma Province, Cuba, after being followed by government agents; Whereas the Government of Cuba has failed to conduct a credible investigation into the car crash that led to the death of Oswaldo Pay Sardias; Whereas the trial and conviction of ngel Carromero, a youth leader of the People's Party who was visiting Cuba and driving the car at the time of the crash, did not include testimony from key witnesses, and did not resolve questions about whether another car was involved or whether Mr. Carromero was coerced by the Government of Cuba into signing a false statement of guilt; Whereas, in 2012, the United States Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 525, 112th Congress, agreed to July 24, 2012, honoring the life and legacy of Oswaldo Pay Sardias; Whereas, in 2013, a number of United States Senators and the United States Department of State called for an impartial, third-party investigation by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States into the circumstances surrounding the death of Oswaldo Pay Sardias; Whereas, in 2013, ngel Carromero spoke in detail during an interview with the Washington Post about being hit by another car during the crash, being mistreated and coerced by Cuban authorities following the crash, and being made the scapegoat Whereas the dissidents of the Black Spring Whereas the 2016 Human Rights Report on Cuba by the United States Department of State cited ongoing human rights abuses by the Government of Cuba, namely the abridgement of the ability of citizens to choose their government; the use of government threats, physical assault, intimidation, and violent government-organized counter protests against peaceful dissent; and harassment and detentions to prevent free expression and peaceful assembly. That the Senate (1) recognizes and commemorates the legacy of Oswaldo Pay Sardias on the 5th anniversary of his death on July 22, 2017; (2) honors the commitment of Oswaldo Pay Sardias to democratic values and principles; (3) calls on the Government of Cuba to allow an impartial, third-party investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Oswaldo Pay Sardias; (4) urges the United States to continue to support policies and programs that promote respect for human rights and democratic principles in Cuba in a manner that is consistent with the aspirations of the Cuban people; (5) urges the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States to continue reporting on human rights issues in Cuba, and to request a visit to Cuba in order to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Oswaldo Pay Sardias; and (6) calls on the Government of Cuba to cease violating human rights and to begin providing democratic political freedoms to Cuban citizens, including freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free elections, freedom to start private businesses, and amnesty for political prisoners.

Summary: Commemorates the legacy of Oswaldo Paya Sardinas on the sixth anniversary of his death on July 22, 2018, and honors his commitment to democratic values. Calls on the Cuban government to cease violating human rights and to begin providing democratic political freedoms to its citizens.