Month of Remembrance for Harold and Oswaldo

Oswaldo and Harold:

Today marks one month from the two year mark of the day that the lives of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, and Harold Cepero Escalante were brought to an end. The Christian Liberation Movement over Facebook announced that today June 22, 2014 ( a month before the 2 years of the deaths that have not been cleared up of Harold Cepero and Oswaldo Payá) begins the MONTH OF REMEMBRANCE FOR HAROLD AND OSWALDO. Each day they will recall a piece of information in order  to continue insisting that their deaths be investigated. We will be reproducing them below.

The first item of information that they present is that nearly two years after the families of the two men requested their autopsies:

1. They (Cuban officials) still have not handed over the autopsies to the families.

2. On July 22, a call comes into Bayamo Hospital "I am Lieutenant Colonel of the MININT and I need you to send an ambulance." The nurse replies, "I'm Queen Elizabeth, you know that there are no ambulances and the wounded are brought in the first vehicle that you find." "I repeat that I am Lieutenant Colonel and that you send an ambulance." WHAT WAS A LIEUTENANT COLONEL OF THE MININT. AT THAT TIME, DOING IN THAT ROAD MOMENTS AFTER THE EVENTS?

3. On Saturday July 21, Angel Carromero goes to a currency exchange agency. The clerk asks for your trip and Angel replies that he would visit Varadero. July 22 at 4:15 am the regime Twitterer, Yohandry Fontana tweets "oswaldo goes to varadero" 

4. Aron Modig remembers with great photographic clarity and precision all the details of their stay in Cuba, from the days before and after the tragedy, but absolutely does not remember anything about what happened that day July 22, he doesn't even remember having sent the first message that said that another vehicle had forced them off the road.

5 . July 22 at 5pm, in a telephone call, Felix Rivero Cordoví from Bayamo: "Oswaldo Payá has died in a collision with a police car" http://www.goear.com/listen/560035e/felix-rivero-cordovi-alfredo-viso

6. A doctor, surnamed Perez, when nurses expressed interest in the state of health of Harold Cepero, said: "What is all the fuss, if he is a delinquent who was bringing bombs".

7. In a report read to several friends of the MCL in the hospital of Bayamo, the captain of the forensic police Fulgencio Medina, mentioned the involvement in what happened of another vehicle that was driving in parallel, a red Lada. Angel Carromero first confirmed that a white Lada (of the police), then a red lada followed them, and then a larger blue vehicle (Harold told him it had the license plate of state security) which was the one that hit them. 

8. Cuban experts consulted by the first lawyer who Angel Carromero had told him that forensic evidence presented by the regime was inconsistent. For example, the difference in the description of the displacements between the rear wheels was implausible. 

9. A few years prior to his death, a neighbor alerted Oswaldo that someone had loosened the screws to the wheel of his VW. Without this notice, he could have taken a trip and his whole family could have died. And what would have been the theory of Pablo Iglesias that the deaths in this unconsummated attack was an accident or else the regime would have also killed the other witnesses? (as he has said to justify the Cuban tyranny in the deaths of Harold and Oswaldo )

10 -. Bayamo Hospital, July 22, 2012, in the afternoon. Ángel Carromero is on a stretcher and Aron Modig is brought beside him.
Angel: Aron, did they hit us from behind?
Aron: Yes
Angel: Do you think they'll kill us?
Aron: Probably

11. Poem from Cuba http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2014/07/01/poema-leido-por-damaso-fernandez-miembro-del-mcl-en-el-segundo-aniversario-de-la-muerte-de-oswaldo-paya-y-harold-cepero/

12. María Fuster, vice president of European popular youth, who was in contact with Aron Modig on the day of July 22 in a tweet described the events as a tragic attack and mentioned that the two dissidents were MURDERED. She later deleted the tweets.

13. A senior official in the Spanish Foreign Ministry commented privately that Oswaldo was alive when he was taken out of the vehicle. 

14 .  An inconsistent sequence. In the photos of the vehicle that the Cuban regime presented are seen details of damage and position that demonstrate they were staged. http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2013/12/15/una-secuencia-incoherente/

15. Video “Remembering Harold” http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2014/01/22/recordando-harold-cepero/

16. They killed them when they were on the path. THE PEOPLES PATH http://www.elcaminodelpueblo.org/

17. Music "Todos Cubanos" (All Cubans)  Lyrics by Oswaldo Payá http://youtu.be/iwtLHmOlXUk

18. Dictatorships are neither right or left, they are merely dictatorships. - Oswaldo Payá Strasbourg, December 10, 2002 http://cubanexilequarter.blogspot.com/2012/12/10-years-ago-today-oswaldo-paya.html 

19. Signatures requesting an investigation http://www.change.org/es/peticiones/comunidad-internacional-aclaren-las-circunstancias-de-la-muerte-de-oswaldo-paya-y-de-harold-cepero

20. All Cubans, all brothers and now freedom. http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/proyecto-de-ley-de-reencuentro-nacional/

21. MCL members in Cuba request investigation into the deaths of Harold Cepero and Oswaldo Payá http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2014/07/10/miembros-de-mcl-en-cuba-piden-investigacion-sobre-muertes-de-harold-cepero-y-oswaldo-paya/

22. “Oswaldo Payá” Prize II granted to Venezuelan Table of Democratic Unity (MUD)  http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2014/07/12/ii-premio-oswaldo-paya-otorgado-a-la-mud-venezolana/

23. Harold. The sense of charity and love http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2014/02/07/harold-cepero-escalante-el-sentido-de-la-caridad-y-el-amor-por-janisset-rivero-directorio-democratico-cubano/comment-page-1/

24. Witness statements that contradict the version of regime (and who were contacted by Spanish) disappeared from where they were stored.
25. Oswaldo Payá, May 2000 http://cubanexilequarter.blogspot.com/2014/07/oswaldo-paya-sardinas-and-his.html

26. “They have told me that they will kill me before this regime ends, but I will not flee." - Oswaldo Payá.

27. Poem from Cuba . By Omar Lores MCL http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2014/07/16/poema-en-memoria-de-oswaldo-paya-por-omar-lores-coordinador-del-mcl-en-holguin/

28. "To those who persecute us we say: I do not hate you, but I do not fear you." - Oswaldo Payá

29. "Cubans do not know how to,  we can not,  and do not want to live without freedom." - Oswaldo Payá 

30. "For the sake of your family, you must accept what Elizardo Sánchez says, that it was an accident." It was the call made to Carlos Payá on July 25,  2014 by the director of the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights ( Observatorio Cubano para los Derechos Humanos )

On June 17, 2014 in Geneva Switzerland the spokesman of the Christian Liberation Movement in Europe, Regis Iglesias accompanied Ángel Francisco Carromero Barrios the Spaniard, driving the car on the day Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero were killed and addressed a forum at the United Nations hosted by UN Watch and the Cuban Democratic Directorate in which they called for an international investigation into the two deaths. You can watch it below along with the hysterical reaction by the Cuban diplomat in the question and answer session that followed.

In the audience the U.S. Ambassador Keith Harper reaffirmed the position of the U.S. government:

“We reiterate our call for an independent international investigation into the death of Oswaldo Payá.”
"We have a simple question: What is Cuba afraid of?"

Following outbursts by Cuban and Venezuelan delegates during the event the U.S. Ambassador sent out the following Tweet: "Cuba [is] trying to stifle dissent at the UN, just as it does at home."

As the two year mark of the suspicious deaths of Oswaldo and Harold approach they are remembered as is the call for an international investigation no matter how much the dictatorship in Cuba wishes that were not the case.

European People's Party youth back Varela Project and investigation into deaths of Oswaldo and Harold

Youth of the European People's Party back Varela Project and call for the European Parliament to initiate an international investigation into deaths of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero

YEPP Resolution: Support the opposition in Cuba

Adopted at the YEPP Congress in Sofia, Bulgaria on 9-12th May

Recognizing:

• That Angel Carromero, who was in the car, when the Cuban opposition figures Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero were killed, now has given interviews saying that the event was not an accident
• That the regime in Cuba has continued to deny the basic human rights of its citizens such as the freedom of speech and the freedom of association
• Oswaldo Paya, the leader of the Christian Democratic movement on Cuba, pioneered the Varela Project in 2002 seeking a national referendum to guarantee freedom of expression and association, amnesty for political prisoners and free elections. The petition drew more than 11,000 signatures.
• That Oswaldo Paya has been awarded the Sakharov prize for human rights and has been nominated by the Norwegian parliamentarian Dagrun Eriksen - from the Norwegian Christian Democratic Party for the Nobel Peace Prize several times
• That Oswaldo Paya and another opposition figure Harold Cepero died in a car crash
• That Angel Carromero, who was in the car with them has recently given interviews saying that the event was not an accident

Acknowledging:

• That it is required that 40 MEPs supports an international investigation for it to be started
• That Oswaldo Paya was a Spanish citizen
• One important goal of the European Union is to spread democracy and human rights

YEPP calls on:

• For the European Parliament to initiate an international investigation into what caused the deaths of Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero
• A referendum to be held in Cuba in line with the demands from the Varela Project
• That the possible and necessary legal steps be taken in Spain to ensure that the cases is followed and given a proper handling.
• The Castro regime to stop immediately the persecution of members of the Cuban opposition and their families including the family of Oswaldo Payá

http://youthepp.eu/sites/default/files/library/Support%20the%20opposition%20in%20Cuba.pdf

CLM reiterates demand for independent investigation into deaths of Oswaldo and Harold

"Today, six months since the deaths of my father and Harold Cepero, remains the certainty of two full lives, free, dedicated to love." - Rosa Maria Payá Acevedo, twitter, January 22, 2013

Oswaldo and Harold

Declaration of the Christian Liberation Movement

"We do not respond to provocations, or pressure to the victims coming from whomever it comes".

The Christian Liberation Movement reiterates its demand that the deaths of Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero be investigated independently of the Cuban government.

Witnesses with whom we have spoken, the sms that exist and the versions tested by our movement indicate that the events of that fateful July 22 on the Tunas-Bayamo road were the result of an attack.

We trust in our friends, who have all our respect and support. We do not respond to provocations, or pressure to the victims coming from whomever it comes.

The Christian Liberation Movement is one of harmony of standards and coherence in the actions of their leaders and activists inside and outside Cuba is absolute and unwavering.

On behalf of the Christian Liberation Movement;

Rosa Maria Payá Acevedo                   Regis Iglesias Ramirez

Friday January 18, 2013.

Declaración del Movimiento Cristiano Liberación

“No respondemos provocaciones, ni presiones a las victimas vengan de quien vengan”.

El Movimiento Cristiano Liberación ratifica su demanda de que sean investigados de manera independiente del gobierno cubano las muertes de Oswaldo Paya y Harold Cepero.

Los testigos con quienes hemos podido hablar, los sms que existen y las versiones contrastadas por nuestro Movimiento indican que los hechos ocurridos aquel fatal 22 de julio en la carretera Tunas-Bayamo fueron producto de un atentado.

Confiamos en nuestros amigos, quienes tienen todo nuestro respeto y respaldo. No respondemos provocaciones, ni presiones a las victimas vengan de quien vengan.

El Movimiento Cristiano Liberación es uno y la sintonía de criterios y la coherencia en los actos de sus lideres y activistas dentro y fuera de Cuba es absoluta e inquebrantable.

A nombre del Movimiento Cristiano Liberación;

Rosa Maria Paya Acevedo                   Regis Iglesias Ramirez

Viernes 18 de Enero de 2013.

http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2013/01/18/declaracion-del-movimiento-cristiano-liberacion-5/

Lech Walesa calls for an international investigation into Oswaldo Paya's death

In a letter to Oswaldo Paya's widow backs the demand for an international and transparent investigation into the human rights defender's death.

Lech Walesa in a letter to Oswaldo Paya's widow calls for international investigation

Lech Wałęsa 
The city of Gdańsk, July 31, 2012 

Lady Ofelia Acevedo 
Christian Liberation Movement
Havana, Cuba 

Dear Madam: 

Once again please accept my condolences on the occasion of the sudden death of Oswaldo. Before this tragedy, I feel that all that we have been moved, we are one family - we are united by faith in the ideas and values, whose propagator was Oswaldo. We share a concern about the works created by him, we are also joined together in the hope of that new Cuba, for which Oswaldo was struggling, to finally become a reality.

Oswaldo has done something exceptional - he has not only integrate the divided opposition, but also has convinced the public that changes are possible. I know how hard it is to overcome fear, to break the stagnation and apathy of the people living in a totalitarian country where there is no freedom. I know how hard it is to fight for ideals when in everyday life you face misunderstanding, hostility, and aggression. How easy it is to renounce one's goals when the regime proposes privileges and a comfortable life. Oswaldo never chose the easy way. Stubbornly and against the difficulties, often finding rejection and hatred, he was realizing his most cherished and only goal: a free and just Cuba, to which he wanted to arrive through nonviolent means. 

I regret that I never had the opportunity to meet with Oswaldo and personally express my admiration for his courage and his extraordinary spiritual strength. But Oswaldo, although he died, in my memory he will remain alive forever. I am confident he will stay alive in the memory of all, for whom freedom and human rights are a fundamental value. 

It's hard to calm the pain and be resigned to the loss of a loved one. It is difficult to understand the meaning of this suffering, when the family is denied the truth about the circumstances of the death of someone close. The lack of official information, the denial of contact with the participants of the accident, raises questions about the version of events presented in the mass media in Cuba. That is why I am supporting your efforts and those of the MCL for an open transparent investigation and to convene an international commission to investigate the circumstances of the accident.

I assure you of my prayers also. 

Lech Walesa

Original in Spanish taken from the MCL website:

Lech Wałęsa

La ciudad de Gdańsk, el 31 de Julio del 2012

Señora Ofelia Acevedo

Movimiento Cristiano Liberación

La Habana, Cuba

Estimada Señora:

Otra vez más le ruego acepte mis condolencias con motivo de la muerte repentina de Oswaldo. Ante la tragedia, siento que todos los que hemos sido conmovidos, somos una familia – nos une la fe en las ideas y valores, cuyo propagador fue Oswaldo; nos une la preocupación por la obra creada por él; nos une también la esperanza sobre que nueva Cuba, por la cual estuvo luchando Oswaldo, finalmente va a ser la realidad.

Oswaldo ha hecho algo excepcional – ha logrado no sólo integrar a la oposición dividida, sinó también ha convencido a la sociedad de que los cambios son posibles. Yo se qué difícil es superar al miedo, romper al marasmo y la apatía de la gente que vive en un país totalitario, donde no existe la libertad. Yo se qué difícil es luchar por los ideales, cuando en la vida cotidiana uno enfrenta la incomprensión, la enemistad, la agresión. Qué fácil es renunciar a los objetivos de uno cuando el régimen propone privilegios y una vida cómoda. Oswaldo jamás ha escogido el camino más fácil. Con obstinación y en contra a las dificultades, frecuentemente encontrando al rechazo y al odio, estaba realizando su objetivo más querido, único: Cuba libre y justa, hacia a la cual quería llegar por la vía pacífica.

Lamento que nunca he tenido la oportunidad de encontrarme con Oswaldo y personalmente expresarle mi admiración por su valentía y su extraordinaria fuerza espiritual. Pero Oswaldo, aunque ha fallecido, en mi memoria se queda vivo para siempre. Confío que va a quedar vivo en la memoria de todos, para los cuales la libertad y los derechos humanos son un valor fundamental.

Es dificil calmar al dolor y resignarse a la perdida de un ser querido. Es difícil comprender el sentido de este sufrimiento, cuando a la familia se le niega conocer la verdad sobre las circunstancias de la muerte del cercano. La falta de las informaciones oficiales, el negar el contacto con los participantes del accidente, despierta dudas sobre la versión de los acontecimientos, presentada en los medios de difusión masiva en Cuba. Es por esto que yo estoy apoyando los esfuerzos Suyos y los del MCL por abrir la investigación transparente y por convocar a una comisión internacional que investigue las circunstancias del accidente

Les aseguro también sobre mí oración.

Lech Walesa

Petition Demanding International and Transparent Investigation into the deaths of Paya and Cepero

"I'm not going to accept the version the government's giving. In no way do I accept it." - Ofelia Acevedo, Oswaldo Paya's widow

On July 22, 2012 Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, founder and leader of the Christian Liberation Movement and Harold Cepero Escalante, member of the cited movement, lost their lives on the Las Tunas-Bayamo highway, in the island of Cuba. In the wrecked car traveled together with them, Ángel Francisco Carromero and Jens Aron Modig, Spanish and Swedish citizens respectively.

In the absence of official information to clarify to the families of the deceased the truth of the accident that killed Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero, we ask, as required by respect for truth and the duty of care to the pain of the victims of this tragic event, to proceed in the shortest possible to make known the truth of what happened.

In the words of Ofelia Acevedo, widow of Oswaldo Payá, founder and new leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, the families of the two dead dissidents do not look for the guilty, but for the truth. We join this claim and demand the opening of a transparent investigation conducted by an international organization whose sole purpose is the pursuit of truth.

Only in this manner can the contradictions that from the outset have surrounded the deaths of Payá Sardiñas and Cepero Escalante dissipate. We also ask, according to international law and the most basic duties of justice to be met by any government in the world that the process of inquiry into the truth of the death of Payá Sardiñas and Cepero Escalante, guarantee the Spanish and Swedish citizens that traveled aboard the wrecked car, care and fair legal defense and according to law.

Original Spanish text of the petition and form to add your name available here.