On One Year Anniversary Of Death Of Cuban Patriot Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Ros-Lehtinen Urges The Cuban People To Never Lose Hope As His Death Was Not In Vain & Democracy Will Come To Cuba Regardless Of The Regime’s Attempts To Thwart It
Feb 21, 2011 Issues: Education
Miami, Florida – Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) issued the following statement in honor of the one year anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a Cuban patriot who died while on a hunger strike protesting the sub-human conditions of his imprisonment at the hands of the ruthless Castro tyranny.
Said Ros-Lehtinen:
“This week the Cuban exile community solemnly observes two anniversaries that remind us of the brutality and outright murderous ideology of the dictatorship that has engulfed our island nation for more than half a century.
It is so very sad to note that the tragic and avoidable death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo at the hands of the Castro regime comes on the day before the anniversary of the shoot down of the unarmed pilots of Brothers to the Rescue.
Tomorrow, February 23rd we remember the heroic actions of one man who was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to demonstrate to the world the callous and cold blooded actions of a dying regime that refuses to accept that its failed revolution has come to an end. Just one day later, on February 24th, we honor the memory of four valiant individuals, Armando Alejandre, Jr., Mario de la Peña, Carlos Costa, and Pablo Morales, who never gave up on their dream of a free and democratic Cuba and also paid the ultimate price for confronting the Castro brothers.
Free and democratic nations must stop engaging the Castro regime and place their faith on the heroic Cuban people who continue to struggle against the overwhelming oppression of the Castro police state. We must double up our support for the internal peaceful opposition movement, and we cannot ease restrictions on the Butchers of Havana. To quote Orlando’s mother, Reina Luisa Tamayo: ‘Zapata Lives, it is prohibited to forget.’”
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