Orlando Zapata Tamayo Will Never be Forgotten

Orlando Zapata Tamayo Will Never be Forgotten / CID
Posted on May 25, 2013

Yesterday, May 15, an emotional meeting of the Holguin CID delegation
remembered the birth of the martyr Orlando Zapata Tamayo on May 15,
1967. The story of his humble and courageous life stressed the
authenticity of his patriotism. To him the country was sacrifice and
duty. His clash against tyranny involved no desire for publicity nor
even the slightest trace of a dubious role.

Ricardo MedinaThe testimony of those who were his fellow prisoners, as
in the case of Ricardo Santiago Medina, member of the National Executive
Committee of the CID, is that of a true Christian who knew that the
freedom of Cuba could only be achieved with evolution and boldness.

The day of his death on February 23, 2010, after a more than eighty day
hunger strike without proper assistance, OZT carried a cumulative
sentence of 36 years in prison for peaceful protest that in any
democracy wouldn't even lead to a fine.

The regime thought that because of was a poor and unknown black man his
murder would go unpunished. They never imagined that given the
seriousness of her son's condition, Reina Luisa Tamayo's desperation
touched the hearts of millions of people. Nor did they calculate that
once they consummated the crime, Reina would write one of the most
moving and courageous pages in the history of Cuba denouncing the
tyranny in the streets of our country.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo was a legitimate opponent. He always put his life
on the frontline. He had the courage to maintain his dmeands and his
opposition to the bitter end. Orlando was a direct incarnation of the
historic political prisoners, the ones who when no one in the world
listened maintained the dignity of the struggle for democracy at the
cost of extraordinary personal sacrifice.

For those involved in the final battle against the Castro regime and to
all the people of Cuba who aspire to the change that is coming, Orlando
Zapata Tamayo should not be a patriotic memory, but a living example by
which we must measure all the pretenders to leadership.

16 May 2013

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