Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a Fearful Death
By Miriam Celaya
Until last February 23rd, it seemed that the imprisonment of the Black Spring 75 had been one of Castro's utmost blunders. The death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, one of the civic fighters entrapped back then by the strong wave of repression unleashed by the dictatorship, goes to show that the events that took place almost seven years ago continue to have repercussions against the very regime that carried them out.
Not content with having allowed Orlando even a modicum of comfort, to spend his last days among his people, the dictatorship has launched its wolf packs onto the streets to suppress legitimate demonstrations of solidarity and respect by other Cubans for the courage and the resistance of a man who had the high-mindedness to confront the most powerful and protracted dictatorial government Cuba's history has known. Many independent Cubans were detained, others were threatened, and police operations raged throughout the day on February 24th.