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Cuba's Paya awarded EU's top human rights prize |
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Free Cuba Foundation |
| Date Posted: |
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Dec 17, 02 - 2:32 PM |
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http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/ |
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Posted on Tue, Dec. 17, 2002
Cuba's Paya awarded EU's top human rights prize
By CONSTANT BRAND
Associated Press Writer
Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya shows the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought he received Tuesday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Paya was allowed by Cuban leader Fidel Castro to leave Cuba for the first tIme in his life to receive this award. CHRISTIAN LUTZ/AP
BRUSSELS, Belgium - (AP) -- The European Union awarded Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya its top human rights prize Tuesday and pledged to support his efforts to bring democracy to his home country.
The 2002 Sakharov Award honored his human rights activism, which dates back to the 1960s when he was condemned to forced labor by the regime of President Fidel Castro.
Despite fearing for the safety of his family back home, Paya traveled to Strasbourg, France, to receive the award at the headquarters of the European Parliament.
''The day before I left, they broke down my door, they have threatened me and my family with death. I was afraid, but you don't get paralyzed by fear, you go on,'' he said.
Paya thanked the 15-nation bloc for supporting the cause of human rights in Cuba.
''This prize is for all Cubans because I believe that, in awarding it, Europe wishes to say to them, you too are entitled to rights,'' Paya told the packed 626-seat legislature.
''There are thousands of men and women who are fighting in the teeth of persecution for the rights of all Cubans. Hundreds of them have been imprisoned solely for having proclaimed and stood up for those rights,'' he said.
Named after the late-Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, the 15,000-euro (US$15,467) prize is awarded annually to people who defend human rights and democracy, even at risk to their personal safety.
European Parliament President Pat Cox praised Paya for his tireless work for democracy in Cuba.
''You represent for many Cubans today what Andrei Sakharov represented in the 1980s for many Soviet citizens. You represent hope,'' Cox said. ``We recognize your personal courage ... to use peace and not terror as the pathway to democracy in Cuba. We walk with you on your journey.''
Paya, who head a Christian-oriented dissident group, is a lead organizer of the Varela Project. It aims to gather signatures for a referendum on basic human rights, including those for political prisoners.
Paya, 50, founded Cuba's Christian Liberation Movement in 1987. The nonviolent opposition movement calls for deep political and economic changes in Cuba's communist system.
By last weekend, it was not sure whether Cuban authorities in Havana would allow Paya to travel to Strasbourg to receive the award. A last-minute appeal by Cox and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar to Castro secured his first trip outside Cuba.
Varela Project organizers in May turned in a petition of 11,020 signatures asking the Cuban parliament for a voters' initiative on the proposed reforms. The Cuban Constitution requires 10,000 signatures to put a referendum on the ballot.
The 2002 prize was the 15th award handed out by the EU. Last year it was shared by two peace activists -- an Israeli and a Palestinian -- and an Angolan priest.
Previous winners include ex-South African President Nelson Mandela, East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao and Ibrahim Rugova, the Kosovo leader.
Paya said he would use the prize to fund his group's referendum drive.
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