Oswaldo Paya Sardinas Calls for Release of all Political Prisoners

in a message directed at the delegates of the Non-Aligned summit now being held in Havana, Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, and winner of the Sakharov Price for Freedom of Thought, calls for the release of all political prisoners in Cuba.


oswaldo paya


the following are excerpts from his statement, published by the Miami Herald:

The nations that belong to the Non-Aligned Movement, now at their summit here in Cuba, have proclaimed that the most important mission for this event is the defense of the international rule of law; the right to peace, sovereignty and self-determination of peoples; and the recognition of the right of every nation to provide to its own economic, social and political system. Also a priority is the necessity of a new international economic order.

But these aspirations cannot be disconnected from the aspiration and the right that the citizens of the world have to be free beings whose rights are respected in their native countries.

Yet in Cuba, host for this summit that proclaims these noble goals, peaceful citizens remain imprisoned for defending human rights and advocating changes so that all citizens may enjoy political, social, economic and civil rights.

How can the goals of respecting the right of nations to sovereignty and to choose their own political, social and economic systems be achieved if the citizens of some countries cannot freely express themselves, elect their own government, travel, enjoy all human rights, or if they cannot democratically change the political or economic system because the system has been declared irrevocable?

There is no legitimacy for a nation that does not embrace all of its citizens without exclusions. It is not valid, either, to pit a nation's right to self-determination and sovereignty against the fundamental rights of the peoples and individuals. On the contrary, those rights are inseparable. A nation cannot honestly aspire toward some rights without aspiring toward others.

We are asking the honorable Secretary of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, and all delegates attending this summit, to advocate for the liberation of all nonviolent Cuban political prisoners -- at this event, at the U.N. General Assembly and U.N. Human Rights Council. Requesting the Cuban government to comply with this act of justice contributes to reconciliation and peace among Cubans and to the international peace and justice that the Non-Aligned Movement proclaims.