A Call to Take Actions for Wilman Villar Mendoza, Orlando Zapata & Brothers to the Rescue Martyrs

Two important dates are approaching: Thursday, February 23 and Friday, February 24

Sixteen years ago on February 24, 1996 at 3:21pm and at 3:27pm two Brothers to the Rescue planes were shot down with air to air missiles in international airspace extra-judicially executing Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr in an act of state terrorism.



Two years ago on February 23, 2010 at 3:00pm Cuban prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo died (or was extra-judicially executed) after 83 days on a water-only hunger strike.  During the strike prison officials denied him water contributing to his death which constitute both torture and murder.

One month ago on January 19, 2012  Wilman Villar Mendoza was unjustly imprisoned and then allowed to die by the Castro regime because he was not known internationally. Wilman was 31 years old and a member of the human rights group UNPACU (Union Patriotica de Cuba). He began a hunger strike in Aguadores Prison on November 25, 2011 to protest his unjust incarceration and to demand his freedom. Amnesty International had declared him a prisoner of conscience and holds the Cuban regime responsible for his death.

The Free Cuba Foundation calls on people of good will to join us in fasting and prayer for Wilman Villar Mendoza, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. on February 23 and to then organize vigils and moments of silence between the times when both Brothers to the Rescue planes were shot down at  3:21pm and 3:28pm on February 24.



Now we are announcing activities taking place in Miami, Florida and invite you to send us news about actions that you are carrying out around the world. Please come back to this page. We will be adding photos and images that you can use for your own event(s).

February 23

3:00pm 24 Hour Fast for Wilman Villar Mendoza and Orlando Zapata Tamayo
             Location: Francisco Human Rights Park
             9445 SW 24 Street (Brothers to the Rescue Martyrs Blvd)
             Miami, FL



Raúl Arencibia Fajardo ex-preso de conciencia anuncia un ayuno de 24 horas para recordar a Orlando Zapata Tamayo el pasado 23 de febrero comenzando a las 3:00 de la tarde.



Free Cuba Foundation coordinator Neri Martinez announced a worldwide 24 hour vigil last year for Orlando Zapata Tamayo on February 23, 2011. Orlando Zapata Tamayo died two years ago on February 23, 2010 at 3:00pm after 83 days on hunger strike during which prison officials denied him water and contributed to his death. We shall be doing it again this year and tragically adding the name of  Wilman Villar Mendoza.

February 24

3:00pm Silent Vigil for Justice
Location: Main Fountain Florida International University
11200 South West 8th Street, Miami, FL



Vigil will be at the main fountain at Florida International University between 3:21pm and 3:28pm the times that two Brothers to the Rescue planes were destroyed by air-to-air missiles fired by Cuban MiGs as they flew through international airspace searching for rafters. Family members and friends of  Wilman Villar Mendoza, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. will be there in spirit. This event is for FIU students and members of the FIU Community and has been held annually since 1996.



Families of Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. will be holding a special Mass on Friday, February 24th at 7:30pm on 16th anniversary of the shoot down. Below is the statement that they have released.

You are cordially invited to a

Eucharistic celebration

In memory of

 

Carlos, Armando, Mario & Pablo

 

Friday, February 24, 2012, at 7:30 p.m.

 

St. Brendan Catholic Church

8725 SW 32nd Street

Miami, Florida  33165

 

Celebrant:  Rev. Fernando Heria

 

Armando, Carlos, Mario & Pablo were volunteers flying a humanitarian search and rescue mission for rafters fleeing Cuba.  On Feb. 24, 1996 they were shot down by Cuban war planes over international waters in the Florida Straits.

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER DIES AFTER BEING SUBJECTED TO CRUEL AND DEGRADING TREATMENT WHILE ON A HUNGER STRIKE IN PRISON

Peaceful Resistance Movement urgently requests world solidarity for the memory of Wilman Villar Mendoza

January 20, 2012

 

Cuban human rights defender, Wilman Villar Mendoza, who had been admitted in critical state to the Juan Bruno Zayas Hospital in Santiago de Cuba on January 14 following a 50 day hunger strike (begun November 25, 2012), died on the evening of Thursday, January 18, 2012 of a multiple organ failure and a generalized sepsis.

Wilman Villar Mendoza, who was 31 years old and a member of the human rights group UMPACU (Union Patriotica de Cuba) began a hunger strike in the Prison of Aguadores on November 25, 2011 to protest the false accusations that led to his unjust incarceration and to demand his unconditional freedom. Wilmar was beaten and arrested following a public peaceful protest in the eastern town of Contramaestre on November 14, 2011, and sentenced in a trial he called a “judicial farce” to four years in prison. He was charged with “refusing to obey an official” (desacato), “resistance” (resistencia), and “assault” (atentado).

As most members of the peaceful resistance movement in the island, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, leader of UMPACU, holds the Cuban government directly responsible for the demise of this peaceful human rights defender.  Numerous activists across Cuba declared themselves in mourning and said this sad event unites them even more to continue defending the cause of human rights in Cuba.

The death of Wilman Villar Mendoza did not come about fortuitously nor is it an isolated case. The same terror tactics of mental and physical torture to subdue a political prisoner that have been systematically applied in Cuban prisons and which were applied to Orlando Zapata Tamayo, (who died on February 23, 2010 following a prolonged hunger strike) were also practiced on Wilman:

·         Accused of being a common criminal
·         Isolated in a humid punishment cell
·         Confined naked
·         Deprived of water and medical assistance
·         Transferred to a medical facility once he is in a critical state of health

Wilmar’s widow, Maritza Pelegrino Cabrales, who is a “Lady in White”, is presently being denied access to her husband’s body and the Cuban government has unleashed a wave of repression throughout Cuba as members of the peaceful resistance movement are trying to pay their last respects to their compatriot. The Juan Bruno Zayas Hospital is surrounded by military guards. Liudmila Rodriguez Palomo reported that State Security agents in patrol cars, carrying sticks and stones, violently arrested activists in the Eastern city of Palma Soriano. The house of Jorge Luis Garcia Perez Antunez and his wife, Yris Tamara Perez Aguilera in the Central city of Placetas is surrounded by State Security agents.

For months, the Coalition of Cuban-American Women has been alerting the international community that the lives of those human rights defenders who are publicly struggling on behalf of fundamental freedoms in Cuba are in danger. We urgently call on religious, civic, political and cultural entities and its leaders, as well as the media and the non-governmental human rights organizations worldwide, to recognize and display their solidarity on behalf of these men and women who are sacrificing their lives for the cause of human rights in Cuba.

Coalition of Cuban-American Women / Joseito76@aol.com / Laida A.Carro
FURTHER INFORMATION IN CUBA:  Berta Soler  +5352906820 / José Daniel Ferrer – + 53 53631267 / Maritza Pelegrino Cabrales  + 5353842338  /  Iris T. Perez Aguilera +5352417749  / Jose Luis Garcia Perez “Antunez” +5352731656