[Pages H2887-H2895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

SENSE OF HOUSE REGARDING SYSTEMATIC HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CUBA
COMMITTED BY CASTRO REGIME

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree
to the resolution (H. Res. 179) expressing the sense of the House of
Representatives regarding the systematic human rights violations in
Cuba committed by the Castro regime, calling for the immediate release
of all political prisoners, and supporting respect for basic human
rights and free elections in Cuba.
The Clerk read as follows:

H. Res. 179

Whereas the Cuban Government continues to repress all
peaceful attempts by the Cuban people to bring democratic
change to the island by denying universally recognized
liberties, including freedom of speech, assembly,
association, movement and of the press;
Whereas on March 9, 2003, many of Cuba's prominent
dissidents issued a statement titled ``Joint Statement'' to
the European Union, wherein they reaffirmed their view of the
Cuban Government's ``total vocation to immobility and its
refusal to respect internationally recognized human rights or
accept the existence of legitimate political opposition'' and
further stated that ``in recent times the Cuban Government
has intensified its political and social repression'';
Whereas commencing on March 17, 2003, the Cuban Government
carried out a massive, island wide crackdown on members of
Cuba's pro-democracy movement, which included the arrest of
over 80 dissidents, among them many who signed the ``Joint
Statement'', activists of the Assembly to Promote Civil
Society, promoters of the Varela Project, independent
journalists, and numerous members of Cuba's nascent
independent civil society;
Whereas the Cuban Government arbitrarily searched the homes
and confiscated personal items belonging to pro-democracy
activists;
Whereas independent journalists were among those
incarcerated in this massive crackdown, including Raul
Rivero, known as the dean of the dissident independent
journalists in Cuba;
Whereas independent librarians, who make their homes
available so that the Cuban population may have access to
publications otherwise censored by the Cuban Government, also
became victims of repression, as many were arrested, their
homes ransacked and searched, and publications and other
belongings confiscated;
Whereas Marta Beatriz Roque, and other leaders of the
``Assembly to Promote Civil Society'', an islandwide movement
seeking to coordinate the various sectors of Cuba's nascent
independent civil society who work for a democratic
transition, were incarcerated and face lengthy sentences,
including life sentences;
Whereas activists who have collected or signed petitions
for the Varela Project were also incarcerated in this
crackdown and may also face life sentences;
Whereas more than 80 pro-democracy leaders who work for a
peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba have been
incarcerated and sentenced under ``Law 88'' and ``Law 91'',
two draconian totalitarian laws that call for long sentences
of 10, 15, or 20 years, or life imprisonment, or even death
for pro-democracy activity;
Whereas there is concern for the well-being and safety for
all of Cuba's political prisoners, particularly Juan Carlos
Gonzalez Leyva, who is a blind human rights activist
incarcerated since March of 2002 without being formally
charged, and Leonardo Bruzon Avila, who has been denied
medical attention according to Amnesty International, despite
the effects of a prolonged hunger strike while in prison.;
Whereas a plea for solidarity was made from within the
notoriously harsh prison in Cuba known as ``Combinado del
Este'' and signed by 21 political prisoners, among them Dr.
Oscar Elias Biscet, Francisco Chaviano, Rafael Ibarra, and
Jorge Luis Garcia Perez ``Antunez'' to the member states of
the 59th Session of the United Nations Human Rights
Commission;
Whereas the Cuban Government has carried out ``summary
trials'' to expeditiously sentence pro-democracy leaders to
try to intimidate and silence other pro-democracy activists
on the island, while world attention is primarily focused on
Iraq;

[[Page H2888]]

Whereas the Castro regime has engaged in mass arrests of
dissidents while the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights, of which Cuba is a member, is meeting in Geneva;
Whereas certain member countries of the Latin American and
Caribbean group (GRULAC) at the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights are currently drafting a resolution on the
violations of human rights by the Cuban Government;
Whereas the Cuban Government has repeatedly violated the
rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, and
other international and regional human rights agreements, and
has violated the mandates issued by the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights;
Whereas foreign diplomats and members of the international
press have been barred by the Cuban Government from being
present at the ``summary trials''; and
Whereas pro-democracy leaders on the island have come
together to call for the immediate release of all Cuban
political prisoners, and are requesting international
solidarity with the internal opposition, as reflected in a
March 31, 2003, statement signed by some of the most
prominent dissidents on the island: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the brutal crackdown of the Cuban Government
on the island's peaceful pro-democracy movement;
(2) calls for the immediate release of all Cuban political
prisoners;
(3) supports the right of the Cuban people to exercise
fundamental political and civil liberties, including freedom
of expression, assembly, association, movement, press, and
the right to multiparty elections;
(4) calls on the United States Permanent Representative to
the United Nations and other International Organizations in
Geneva, Switzerland, to work with the member countries of the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights to ensure a
resolution that includes the strongest possible condemnation
of the current crackdown of dissidents and of the gross human
rights violations committed by the Cuban Government; and
(5) calls on the Latin American and Caribbean group
(GRULAC) at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to
exclude Cuba from its slate of candidates for the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights and urges all member
nations to oppose renewing Cuba's membership on the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights until the Government of
Cuba adheres to international human rights standards, such as
those delineated in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).

General Leave

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Nobel peace laureate Eli Wiesel has said: ``. . . to remain silent
and indifferent is the greatest sin of all . . .''
Indifference breeds evil. Indifference is the enemy of freedom.
Indifference helps cloak the deplorable actions of tyrants.
Cuba's ruthless dictator counts on this indifference. Taking
advantage of global attention being focused on Iraq and noting the
worldwide tendency to ignore or minimize the deplorable human rights
condition in Cuba, the Castro regime has launched a full-scale assault
on those who are struggling to bring freedom and democracy to this
enslaved nation. Courageous men and women such as Marta Beatriz Roque,
an independent economist and leading pro-democracy advocate, are being
sentenced to harsh prison terms of 20 years. Marta Beatriz had
previously spent nearly 3 years in prison for publishing, along with
three other colleagues, a paper calling for democratic reforms.
Independent journalists such as Raul Rivero, who is highlighted in the
resolution before us, as the dean of the independent dissident Cuban
journalists, was sentenced to 20 years. Fellow journalists such as
Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso and Hector Maseda Gutierrez also received 20-
year sentences.
Other victims of this wave of repression include Jose Daniel Ferrer,
a member of the Christian Liberation Movement, whose penalty was
increased to death per a special request by the puppet whom the regime
has as the presiding judge. There is also independent union labor
leader Oscar Espinosa Chepe, and Manuel Vazquez Portal, Nelson Molinet
Espino and Nelson Alberto Aguiar.
I enter into the Record their names and their sentences.

Pinar del Rio

Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, Periodista Independiente--
Life in prison.
Horacio Julio Pina Borrego, Periodista Independiente--12
years.
Eduardo Diaz Fleitas, opositor--15 years.
Fidel Suarez Cruz, opositor--12 years.

Ciudad Habana

Raul Rivero Castaneda, Periodista Independiente--Life in
prison.
Jorge Olivera Castillo, Periodista Independiente--Life in
prison.
Ricardo Gonzales Alfonso, Periodista Independiente--Life in
prison.
Hector Maceda Gutierrez, Periodista Independiente--Life in
prison.
Manuel Vazquez Portal, Periodista Independiente--16 years.
Osvaldo Alfonso Valdez, opositor--Life in prison.
Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos, opositor--Life in prison.
Hector Palacio Ruiz, opositor--Life in prison.

La Habana

Miguel Galvan Gutierrez, Periodista Independiente--Life in
prison.
Jose Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernandez, Periodista Independiente--
20 years.
Hector Raul Valle Hernandez, opositor--15 years.

Villa Clara

Librado Linares Garcia, Periodista Independiente--20 years.
Lester Gonzalez Penton, Periodista Independiente--20 years.
Omar Ruiz Hernandez, Periodista Independiente--18 years.
Margarito Broche Espinosa, opositor--25 years.
Omar Pernet Hernandez, opositor--25 years.

Isla de Pino

Favio Prieto Llorente, Periodista Independiente--20 years.

The list seems endless as the daunting reality of what the
dictatorship has done sinks into our consciousness. Since March 18, Mr.
Speaker, Castro's security agents have been storming into the homes of
dissidents and other opposition leaders across the island, confiscating
typewriters, books, papers, and other professional and personal
belongings. And what have been their so-called crimes? Engaging in such
``threatening'' activities such as possessing and lending books by
authors such as Vaclac Havel, Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Hector
Palacios Ruiz, for example, was engaged in such ``treasonous''
behavior, to quote the regime, as helping to draft the document in
December of last year which called for ``free hiring of employees.'' He
was also found in possession of books such as ``Castro's Final Hours''
and ``A Manual for Education in Human Rights'' as well as children's
games.
Every day more and more opposition leaders are sentenced to languish
in squalid jail cells and subjected to the most inhumane and degrading
treatment. We cannot and must not be silent. We cannot and must not be
indifferent to the anguish and misery endured by the Cuban people just
90 miles off our shores at the hands of the depraved and cruel dictator
and his agents of terror.
The European Union has issued statements condemning the arrests and
demanding that these prisoners of conscience be immediately released.
Amnesty International urged Cuba to release all of its prisoners of
conscience and reform the laws which make such detentions possible.
Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights to condemn these abuses and do so strongly and unequivocally.
Human Rights International, the American Society of Newspaper Editors,
and the Inter-American Press Association have all denounced this
incredible Stalinist crackdown. Newspapers such as the Houston
Chronicle, the San Diego Union Tribune, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
have run editorials with headlines underscoring that: ``Saddam and
Fidel are Birds of a Feather''; ``Crackdown in Cuba: A Reminder that
Castro is Still a Tyrant''; and ``Castro's Regime as Repressive as
Ever.''
The Los Angeles Times led its editorials by saying: ``After years of
calling for liberalized relations with Cuba, this editorial page must
now urge American policymakers to hit the brakes.''

[[Page H2889]]

Just today the Washington Post ran an editorial by Richard Cohen
which said: ``I would like to hear some moral outrage about Castro . .
. Fidel Castro is a thug and a fool.''
But it is our turn now to speak. It is our time for the U.S. Congress
to stand behind the Cuban people, side by side, as it has done for so
many times before and is so doing with the Iraqi people.
This resolution is a strong first step. House Resolution 179 details
the sequence of events which have transpired in recent weeks and places
particular emphasis on the plight of these political prisoners such as
Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leyva, a blind human rights dissident imprisoned
for over a year who is gravely ill and has yet to receive medical
attention.

{time} 1445

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume
and rise in strong support of this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank my friend, the gentleman
from Illinois (Chairman Hyde), for expediting consideration of this
resolution; and I want to congratulate my good friend, the gentlewoman
from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), for her powerful and eloquent
statement and for her leadership on this resolution, as well as my
colleagues, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart).
Mr. Speaker, after several years of masquerading as a liberalizing
regime, the brutal and deplorable nature of Fidel Castro's sickening
communist state has manifested itself once again.
In the last couple of weeks, Castro's thugs have arrested and
detained approximately 80 Cubans. Their crime? They sought to express
their disagreement with their government, provide an independent media
voice, stock their shelves with banned literature that reports the
interests of independent labor, and otherwise improve the lot of their
fellow citizens.
Among those arrested, Mr. Speaker, were prominent political
dissidents, such as Marta Beatriz Roque; independent journalists, such
as Raul Rivero and Ricardo Gonzalez; independent labor advocates, like
Pedro Pablo Alvarez; and civil society activists, such as Antonio Diaz
Sanchez of the Varela Project.
The Castro regime intends to place these and other individuals on
trial in what have been called kangaroo courts for allegedly
collaborating with the United States to harm Cuba and its economy.
Just yesterday, a sham court sentenced Marta Beatriz Roque, Antonio
Diaz Sanchez and Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso, among others, to 20 years in
prison for ``acts of conspiracy.'' Neither representatives of the
diplomatic corps nor the international press were permitted to witness
the summary trials, which does not surprise those of us who have
experienced the tactics of the Gestapo in Hitler's time and the KGB
under Stalin. Fidel Castro is a worthy follower of both of these
outrageous dictators.
Not only are the trumped-up charges against these political
dissidents indefensible; Castro and his henchmen are convicting
individuals for practicing their profession and exercising their
fundamental political and civil liberties.
Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, our resolution calls upon the international
community to recognize these outrageous violations of human rights and
to exclude Cuba from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
after its term expires at the end of this year.
Mr. Speaker, while Castro and his henchmen seem intent to break the
backs of many political dissidents and their growing organizations in a
manner not seen since the 1960s, the regime has concentrated much of
its fury against the Varela Project. Founded and led by Oswaldo Paya,
the Varela Project asks Cubans to sign a petition calling for a
referendum on open elections, freedom of speech, freedom for political
prisoners, and free enterprise. Despite gigantic risks, over 30,000
courageous Cubans have penned their names to the petition in the hope
for change.
Mr. Speaker, we have had many contentious disagreements, both in
committee and on this floor, on how best to bring about change in Cuba;
but today this body stands united in solidarity with those who endure
torture, incarceration, and deprivation of all types because they dare
to strive for freedom.
We stand together in strong condemnation of these cowardly arrests
and the outrageous prosecution and persecution of those 80 individuals,
and we demand their immediate release and the release of all political
prisoners in Castro's jails. We stand together in our conviction that,
despite the Castro regime, democracy will prevail in Cuba.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this
resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart), the author of this resolution.
Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the
gentlewoman for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to also thank the gentleman from Illinois
(Chairman Hyde) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Chairman
Ballenger), as well as the ranking members, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Lantos) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Menendez), for expediting this important resolution. It is important it
be considered today because the dictatorship is in the midst of a
brutal crackdown on the peaceful pro-democracy movement in Cuba.
Since the world's attention has been focused on Iraq for some weeks,
the Cuban tyrant decided to crack down on the peaceful pro-democracy
movement, including independent librarians, independent journalists,
independent physicians, and many others; rounded them up and has thrown
them in dungeons.
Some of the so-called summary trials have already taken place.
Perhaps the best known independent journalist in Cuba, Raul Rivero, was
already sentenced in one of those sham Roman circus trials, sentenced
for having a typewriter, for having some articles published. For having
articles published in Spain and in the United States and for other such
``crimes,'' Raul Rivero has been sentenced to 20 years.
Marta Beatriz Roque, mentioned by the distinguished gentleman from
California, perhaps one of the best known of the political prisoners
rounded up in this totalitarian crackdown, was sentenced to 20 years.
Her indictment makes interesting reading, if it can be called an
indictment.
The dictatorship charged her with having created a Web page, with
having a computer in her home, with utilizing a server in the United
States for her Web page, for having spoken on Radio Marti, for having
published articles in an independent publication known as
``Encuentro,'' for having in her possession in her home a fax machine
of the mark Panasonic, and for having a copy machine, a Canon copy
machine.
That is in the so-called indictment in the year 2003, in this
hemisphere, by the Cuban tyrant, the indictment prepared by the Cuban
tyrant of Marta Beatriz Roque, who has been sentenced to 20 years.
I think that much of the responsibility for what is going on in Cuba
today, unfortunately, lies with the fact that the international media
does not report sufficiently with regard to what happens in Cuba.
A distinguished new colleague of ours recently actually told me she
had witnessed a Special Order that we did precisely on this crackdown,
a number of us last week, the distinguished new gentlewoman from
Michigan (Mrs. Miller of Michigan). She asked me, ``Where can we read
about what is going on? Why don't we read in our major newspapers about
the details of this totalitarian brutal crackdown in a country 90 miles
away?'' I think she has a very legitimate point. I think the media has
a responsibility to report about such things in a neighboring country
90 miles away.
So today is the day, Mr. Speaker, when we need to as a Congress of
the United States set our differences aside and concentrate on the
brutal totalitarian crackdown that is taking place in Cuba and speak
with one voice that this Congress, as it has so many times in the past,
stands for human rights and demands human rights, starting

[[Page H2890]]

with the cessation of the brutal crackdown being perpetrated on the
Cuban people. And as the resolution continues to state, we call for the
respect of all elemental human rights, including the right of self-
determination, which can be manifested only through free and fair
multiparty elections.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 5 minutes to my
good friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the ranking
member on the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, the chairman of
the Democratic Caucus and an indefatigable fighter for freedom in Cuba.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman for
yielding me time and for his statement before as well.
Mr. Speaker, where is the outrage? Where is the outrage regarding the
latest barbarity from the dictatorship of Fidel Castro?
Where is the outrage that a blind dissident, Juan Carlos Gonzalez
Leiva, is detained in the harshest of political prisons and that the
Castro regime denies him his needed medication; that Leonardo Bruzon,
an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience who suffers from the
ill-effects of a hunger strike, is denied needed medical attention?
Where is the outrage, that three of the four brave authors of the
pro-democracy essay, ``La Patria Es De Todos,'' the nation belongs to
everyone, Marta Beatriz Roque, Rene Gomez Manzano and Felix Bonne, have
been mercilessly thrown in jail and face sentences raging from 20 years
to life?
Ms. Roque, who had the audacity to call herself an independent
economist and criticized Cuba's economy, has already been sentenced to
20 years. The fourth author, the Afro-Cuban leader, Dr. Oscar Elias
Biscet, who already served 3 years for displaying national flags upside
down in an act of civil disobedience, will also be sentenced. His three
colleagues having the audacity to fast peacefully to protest his
detention.
Where is the outrage, that the independent journalists movement in
Cuba, led by journalist and poet Raul Rivero, have been rounded up, had
their houses ransacked by state security thugs, and their professional
personal belongings taken from them?
We learned this morning that Raul Rivero was sentenced to 20 years.
Among the dangerous materials that Rivero possessed was a collection of
Martin Luther King's speeches autographed by former President Jimmy
Carter on his recent trip to the island.

{time} 1500

It was taken as evidence of subversive thought.
Where is the outrage, that those who gathered the signatures of
30,000 brave men and women who, much like our Founding Fathers, with
the stroke of a pen, had the courage to peacefully demand a referendum
calling for democratic changes, were unceremoniously rounded up and are
being sentenced in show trials reminiscent of Hitler and Stalin?
Where is the outrage that independent union activists have been
rounded up, that this crackdown occurs when the U.N. Human Rights
Commission meets in its annual session in Geneva? The Castro
dictatorship's membership of that commission is itself a mockery and a
travesty.
The show trials have begun, with the same coerced confessions and the
same betrayal of dissident organizations by Castro's security agents
who infiltrated these groups.
And what are the verdicts? Guilty. Guilty of criminal association.
Guilty of enemy propaganda. Guilty of dangerousness. Guilty of contempt
for authority, of resisting authority. Guilty of seeking democracy and
a respect for human rights. That is Castro's socialism.
So far, 47 peaceful dissidents have been sentenced to between 12 and
27 years in prison in what the State Department calls ``Kangaroo
courts'' that began proceedings last Thursday.
Let me just mention a few of those sentenced.
Omar Rodriguez Saludes, an independent journalist known to ride his
bicycle to news conferences with a camera dangling by a strap from his
neck: 27 years, the hardest sentence so far. Hector Palacios, one of
the key figures promoting the Varela Project: 25 years. Oscar Espinosa
Chepe, who wrote critical articles about the Cuban economy for the
Internet: 25 years. Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso, Raul Rivero's editor at
``De Cuba'' magazine: 20 years.
And it goes on and on.
So to all who go sip wine with Castro, smoke his cigars and are
regaled by his soliloquies, where is the outrage?
Mr. Speaker, the expression of international outrage has begun from
European governments to Jimmy Carter to the AFL-CIO. May we all raise
our voices to join the growing chorus of outrage and condemnation of
this dictatorship heard around the world, heard everywhere, except for
these hallowed halls. May this Congress not sit silent now as the show
trials proceed. May this Congress stand in solidarity with those
dissidents and human rights activists who heeded Pope John Paul's words
during his visit to Cuba: ``Do not be afraid.'' ``Do not be afraid.''
Let us in this bastion of democracy also not be afraid to vote for
this resolution.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to explain
what this bill actually does. I have had some Members ask.
House Resolution 179 establishes the nexus which exists between the
current wave of repression and the 59th session of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights which is currently being held in Geneva. And
in doing so, it takes into account the dictatorship's systematic and
gross human rights violations and its repeated demonstrations of
contempt for the mandates issued by the U.N. Commission on Human
Rights.
Further, it calls for a resolution to be offered and passed at the
Human Rights Commission, which accurately reflects this grim reality.
It seizes the opportunity which presents itself in May of this year
when Cuba's membership on the commission expires. It does so by calling
on the Nation of Latin America and the Caribbean group to oppose and
deny the regime a seat on this human rights body. More importantly,
this resolution calls for the immediate release of all Cuban prisoners
of conscience. It sends a strong, definitive message that the United
States Congress stands with the dissidents, the independent
journalists, and all pro-democracy activists, and not with their
oppressor.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), the distinguished ranking member
of the Committee on Ways and Means, and an indefatigable fighter for
human rights across the globe.
(Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation
without any hesitation.
Most all Americans, and certainly those in this House, are strong
advocates for democracy all over the world, and we had hoped that the
seeds of democracy would have grown in Cuba. Many of us have taken
different approaches how we would want to do this, but one thing is
abundantly clear: It has taken too long for Castro to recognize the
importance of open elections and, certainly, no Americans can find any
justification of the wanton and massive arrests of people, many of whom
who were advocates of normalization, all of whom were advocates of
democracy, to have been arrested with closed and secret trials and
without any evidence that their conduct was a threat to the security of
the people in Cuba.
While we also are reminded that some of us are old enough to have
supported the July 26 resolution against Batista and recognize that we
do not want those days ever to return, still we are not satisfied with
the progress that has been made in terms of moving toward democracy,
and it is hard for us to believe that the Cuban Government wants us to
believe that these people were arrested because they were involved in a
conspiracy with the United States of America to overthrow their
government. If they truly believe that the United States intended to
overthrow their government, they should have exercised their right to
have kicked out the chief of the U.S. Interests Section there, and then
not to hold their people hostage and subject

[[Page H2891]]

to the painful sentences that have been imposed upon them.
I join in urging the Cuban Government to release these people, to
open up these courthouses, and to whatever complaints they have about
the conduct of any Americans that are in Cuba, to let the whole world
see it. But I am glad to stand with my colleagues and ask for an
immediate response to the call of this House, and that is to release
the prisoners forthwith.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution introduced by my
colleague, Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart condemning the actions of
the government of Cuba in violation of the rights of its citizens. It
is not the resolution that I would have drafted, but it comes close
enough in reflecting my objections to these actions.
Representatives of the Cuban government want us to believe that their
actions in arresting and prosecuting Cuban citizens were based on
evidence of their involvement in a conspiracy with the United States to
overthrow their government. The Cuban citizens being prosecuted--many
of them journalists and advocates of open elections and supporters of
normalization of relations with the United States--allegedly consorted
with the Chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana in this
conspiracy at private meetings, including visits to each others' homes.
The so-called evidence is that the United States government provided
the Cuban activists with millions of dollars with which to carry out
the conspiracy and that these Cuban citizens, therefore, were in
violation of Cuban law.
It is hard to believe that the Cuban government feels so insecure
that these mass arrests had to be carried out, that the trials had to
be held in secret, without any evidence exposed to the Cuban people or
to the international community, or that the God-given right of Cuban
citizens would be so violated. It is even harder to believe that if
this conspiracy theory held water, the person who was at the center of
the conspiracy--the Chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana--
would be allowed to remain in Cuba.
Hardly anyone could disagree that Castro-led revolution of 1959 had
improved the lives of the great majority of Cuban citizens. But we've
waited too long for the revolution to take the next step in offering
true democracy to all Cubans. Some Americans believe that the best way
to bring democracy to Cuba is a policy of embargo, cutting off all
food, medicines, travel, trade and social and family contacts.
Some of us believe that--as with other communist countries, such as
China and North Vietnam--a better way is to tear down barriers and
allow the Cuban people to see the benefits of democracy. In my view,
such a policy of engagement is far better than the use of propaganda
and the distribution of radios and pamphlets. U.S. citizens are the
most effective ambassadors of democracy.
Despite the ability of supporters the embargo to sustain that failed
policy for over 40 years, there has been a great deal of progress in
the movement toward normalization of relations between our countries.
Just as in February 1996, when the Cuban government shot down two
unarmed private aircraft piloted by Cuban-Americans based in Miami,
this time there was no threat to the security of the Cuban government.
Just as the shooting incident set back the development of our
relationship for several years, that unwarranted violation of the
rights of ordinary Cubans, in my humble opinion, has further set back
the efforts of the Cuban and American people to move toward democracy
and free trade.
For 30 years, I have been part of a sometimes unpopular effort to
improve relations between our countries. I would be less than honest if
I did not say now that the response of the Cuban government to concerns
raised from many quarters has been less than adequate. I will continue
to support any effort by our two countries to improve that
relationship, but I cannot support this action taken by the Cuban
government. Indeed, I am forced to condemn it.
I know that this view is shared by many of my colleagues, and I hope
that the Cuban government will seek ways to undo this unfortunate
setback to relations between our countries.
I hope that they will reconsider this action against people who were
seeking to demonstrate their political differences with their
government. I hope that the government will take the most drastic
action for any government to take, to reverse itself and release the
prisoners.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York
for his statement of support.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my good friend, the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Flake), a member of our Committee on International
Relations
Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this
time, and I thank the gentlewoman and the gentleman from Florida for
authoring this important resolution. It is important to all of us.
For those of us who have followed the situation in Cuba, we have been
saddened and sickened by the events that have happened over the last
month, although I do not believe any of us have been surprised. This
latest crackdown typifies the last 43 years now that Fidel Castro has
been in power. It is all too typical.
Let us look at what is going on here. I had the opportunity to be in
Cuba just less than a month ago and we met with several of the
dissidents at that time. Hector Palacios, director of the Independent
Center for Social Studies and the key organizer of the Varela Project,
was just sentenced to 25 years. Oswaldo Alfonsa, also an organizer for
the Varela Project, 18 years. Oscar Espinosa Chepe, an economist,
former diplomat and independent journalist, 20 years.
As the gentleman from New York noted, I do not think anybody,
anybody, believes that these people are guilty of the crimes that they
have been charged with. They are simply guilty of voicing ideas and
ideas that this regime is too afraid of.
This resolution is important because it allows us to let people
across the country and across the world, and particularly those who sit
on boards and commissions of the United Nations, to understand that a
regime like this does not deserve to sit in judgment of others on human
rights after what is going on right now, and after a record like this.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the resolution.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 6 minutes to the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), one of the leaders on the
House Committee on International Relations, and our acknowledged expert
on Latin America.
Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
As others have stated, this for me, too, is a day of disappointment
and sadness, profound sadness, of human rights violated, and of
diplomatic opportunities squandered. As a sovereign nation, only Cuba
can decide how to attend to its own national security. But over the
last 3 weeks, decisions have been made in Havana that seriously
undermine efforts to normalize relationships with the United States.
I come to the floor today as part of a group, the so-called Cuba
Working Group. It is bipartisan in nature, 25 Republicans, 25
Democrats. We have spent considerable time and effort to tear the wall
down that has divided our people for some 40 years. This has put us at
odds with the White House. It has put us at odds with many of our
colleagues that are sitting here today. But we are not at odds today.
At this moment, we stand together. In the past I have called on
President Bush to lift the U.S. restrictions on travel by Americans to
Cuba, to let our people go. Well, today, I call on President Fidel
Castro to let his people go.
For me, this issue is more than political, it is personal, because
some of those who have been arrested are my friends. I want to speak
about 2 of them. My colleagues have heard their names here. Hector
Palacios, a Varela Project organizer, and Oscar Dhepe, an independent
journalist. Their arrests and convictions pain me more than anyone in
this Chamber can comprehend. They are men of exceptional character and
integrity who seek peaceful change. They are not agents of violence or
insurrection. Far from it. They acknowledge Cuba's advances in health
and education brought about by the revolution, and they want to
accelerate that progress in other areas, so they work through modest,
small, yet courageous acts within the Cuban Constitution. They create
and have made every effort to create political space.
Hector's apartment houses one of the first so-called independent
libraries in Cuba, a few shelves devoted to old medical encyclopedias
and geography texts, some children's books donated by members of my
office. But when Hector was arrested, these books were taken away.
Doctor Seuss is not a threat to the Cuban revolution.
During our visits, we talk about how to hasten a climate of mutual
respect between the people of our 2 countries, between our governments.
Ironically,

[[Page H2892]]

they argued persuasively for an end to the embargo and travel
restrictions on Americans to Cuba. Let me quote from Oscar Chepe, who
presently is incarcerated for 20 years in a Cuban jail. This is his
quote. These are his words: ``Experience demonstrates that isolation
breathes life into totalitarianism. On the other hand, contact between
peoples free individuals from falsehoods and from the lives without
dignity that they are forced to lead.''
As the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) indicated, we are told
that these arrests had nothing to do with the content of their words.
Rather, they are intended to send a message to the United States in
response to a perceived pattern of illegal provocations from our own
State Department.
Well, I submit that the message we have received is very different
and deeply disturbing. It is that diversity of thought is not welcome
in Cuba, even at the expense of jeopardizing progress toward
normalization. How else can we explain 20- and 25-year sentences for
Hector and Oscar and dozens of others after only cursory consultations
with their lawyers and quick trials, closed to the public, foreign
diplomats, and the international media.
It is inconceivable, if one knows these men, that they were
conspiring with the United States. Like dozens of other detainees, they
were working in behalf of the Cuban people. Nobody else. They posed no
threat to the Cuban Government.
As I said, I disagree with some of my colleagues in Cuba. For
example, I have chosen to travel there, to visit with people like
Hector Palacios and Oscar Chepe. And unlike my friends from Florida,
some of my friends, I oppose U.S. policies which prevent ordinary
Americans from offering the same solidarity to those seeking change in
our relationship with Cuba, a relationship that has been stated so
eloquently by another prominent Cuban dissident who was recently
released from serving 5 years in a Cuban jail. His name is Vladimiro
Roca, and he said that the relationship ought to be characterized by
dialogue, negotiation, and reconciliation. Again, those are his words.

{time} 1515

But that is a debate for another day. I might have written this
resolution somewhat differently, but I commend my colleagues for
bringing it to the floor of the House; and I urge my colleagues all of
my colleagues to support it; and I ask the Cuban Government to release
these people.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the distinguished majority whip.
Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to rise in support of this
resolution and in opposition to the deplorable behavior we see in Cuba
today as evidenced by these so-called desires. That people whose only
desire is freedom would be swooped up in these kinds of numbers and
brought to trial at a time when it is clear in the mind of the dictator
that we are looking at other things, shows just how wrong he is.
Once again this regime is showing its true colors. These actions
continue to be proof of Castro's horrific record of repression, that no
matter how much we argue and no matter which side we are on in other
debates, people agree on this floor today, it continues to be the kind
of commitment that Castro makes to his people, a commitment to repress
them.
The Castro regime has chosen this particular time because they
thought we were looking elsewhere. We show on the House floor today
that we are not looking elsewhere, that we continue to look at Cuba, we
continue to hope for the liberation of Cuba, we continue to hope for
the greater freedom for the Cuban people. The civilized world cannot
stand quietly by and tolerate these terrible abuses of individual
rights. As we try to bring freedom to another country, we have to
continue to stand for freedom in this hemisphere. And today we join the
President of the United States, the European Union, and many others,
including the Catholic Church, who have condemned these actions.
I urge the huge vote on this resolution as we send an important
message to Castro.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that each side may
have an additional 10 minutes so all of our colleagues may be heard.
Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, I object.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). An objection is heard.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to request my colleague to
reconsider his objection. This is a matter of great principle. Several
colleagues would like to speak on this subject, and I think it is
singularly unfair to deny them the opportunity to do so.
Mr. MURTHA. I object, Mr. Speaker.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that each side
be granted an additional 5 minutes.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, would my friend agree to 5 minutes on each
side?
Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my objection. I will agree to 5
minutes each side.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. There is a unanimous consent for 5
additional minutes for each side.
Hearing no objection, each side is granted an additional 5 minutes.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
now has 6 minutes remaining.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. All voices must
condemn the recent crackdown by the Government of Cuba against
political dissent. Those arrested include two dozen independent
journalists, leaders of independent trade unions and opposition
political parties, and pro-democracy activists involved in the
countrywide reform effort known as the Varela project.
It makes no difference whether you are for or against change in U.S.
policy towards Cuba. On this matter we speak with one voice. These
arrests are unacceptable. The summary trials and harsh sentences merit
universal condemnation.
Mr. Speaker, I have had the privilege of traveling to Cuba many times
and have met directly with Cuban independent journalists and members of
the dissident community. Many of these individuals were arrested in the
latest crackdown. They are receiving harsh sentences for actions we
take for granted here in the United States: the right to hold meetings,
have discussions, and express opinions different from those held by our
government.
The Cuban Government has said that these arrests are in response to
actions by U.S. Ambassador Cason and the U.S. Interests Section that
are perceived as deliberate attempts to foment subversion in Cuba.
Mr. Speaker, those grievances should be raised and resolved between
the two governments, but no action of the United States Interests
Section justifies in any way these recent arrests. The right of
diplomats to meet with people who represent a range of views, including
people who peaceably dissent from the policies and priorities of their
own governments, should not be impeded. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I believe
the restrictions on U.S. diplomats in Cuba and Cuban diplomats in the
United States are just plain wrong.
Mr. Speaker, I am seriously concerned about the increased tensions
and hardening of positions in U.S. Cuban relations. They do little to
advance human rights or open political space in Cuba; in fact, quite
the opposite. I fear that without a concerted effort to change our
policies towards one another for the better, it will only lead to
greater restrictions in both countries and fewer opportunities for
moderate voices in both countries to engage directly with one another.
I will conclude by urging the Cuban Government to release immediately
all these prisoners and all prisoners of conscience.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. McCotter), a member of our Committee on
International Relations.
Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution.
We in America inhabit the bosom of freedom. Yet, scant miles, though
a lifetime away from our shores, suffering and dying under an
antiquated Communist tyrant, the Cuban people yearn to breathe free. By
passing this resolution, we in the citadel of freedom

[[Page H2893]]

say to the Cuban people, we hear you and we will help you. For if we do
not, we will betray our own cherished democratic principles and our
refusal will constitute a mute chorus of deafening silence in the face
of human suffering. I urge adoption of the resolution.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my good friend, the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 179 that
condemns the brutal crackdown of the Cuban Government on the island's
peaceful pro-democracy movement and calls for the immediate release of
all Cuban political prisoners.
Mr. Speaker, I have addressed this House on several occasions
regarding Castro's continued assault on and disregard for human rights
and democracy. I and several of my colleagues have spoken recently of
Castro's decision to arrest and try over 80 nonviolent human rights
advocates, pro-democracy leaders, and independent journalists in what
has become a campaign by the regime to silence all voices of peaceful
opposition on the island.
Inside of a month Castro has arrested, arraigned, tried, and
sentenced many of the dissidents, some receiving prison terms as long
as 27 years.
Mr. Speaker, there is an article in today's New York Times that I
would like to enter into the record, and it mentions James Cason, the
U.S. diplomat that has been spoken of, and it says that the reason this
is happening is because they have become such effective advocates that
the government attacks them.
The reason this is happening is these dissidents are having an
impact. People believe in them in Cuba. They are having an impact on
basically changing and reforming the government ultimately. They have
become voices of change. That is why it is so important that we here in
the United States basically condemn what Castro is doing, because
otherwise people like them will not continue.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this
resolution. These recent actions by the Castro regime are simply the
next step in the systematic denial of even the most basic human rights
for the citizens of Cuba. Congress must send a strong message to Castro
that despite his hopes that the world would be looking the other way,
that his actions have not gone unnoticed and will not be allowed to
continue.

[From the New York Times, April 8, 2003]

Cuban dissidents Get Prison Terms as Long as 27 Years

(By David Gonzalez)

Miami, Apr. 7.--Cuban courts today began handing out prison
terms of up to 27 years to dozens of dissidents, including
journalists and librarians, who had been advocating
democratic reforms, according to human rights groups and news
reports from Havana.
The harsh sentences capped five days of trials in which
state security agents who had infiltrated dissident groups
testified against their supposed colleagues on charges of
subversion and collaborating with American diplomats. Almost
80 people were arrested in an islandwide sweep that started
last month and that has been condemned by numerous human
rights advocates, the European Union and foreign leaders.
Hector Palacios, a key organizer of the Varela Project,
which seeks democratic reforms, was sentenced to 25 years.
Marta Beatriz Roque, an independent economist who angered
authorities when she invited the chief American diplomat in
Cuba to her home in February, received a 20-year sentence.
Omar Rodriguez Saludes, an independent journalist who
covered the news scooting around Havana on a battered
bicycle, was handed the longest sentence: 27 years.
Cuban authorities said the dissidents had conspired with
James Cason, the United States diplomat, and they brought
charges against them under a law that makes illegal any
support of measures like the American trade embargo that
would harm the island's economy or sovereignty. During an
appearance at the University of Miami today, Mr. Cason had a
one-word reply when asked if he thought--as the Cuban
government had suggested--that he provoked the crackdown by
his repeated meetings with dissidents.
``Lies,'' he said.
He defended his contacts with the dissidents as a normal
part of his work, saying that the American mission in Havana
provided people with books, Internet access and newspaper
clippings, among other services. They did not, he said, pay
the groups or give them their marching orders, but supported
their call for a quick and peaceful transition to democracy.
``We should be clear, the opposition is not a shadow
government waiting to move into power,'' Mr. Cason said in
his speech. ``They are simply among the few who openly say
what so many others believe, that it is time for change.
Because they have become effective advocates, the
government attacks them, labeling them subversive
traitors.''
International groups condemned the sentences, saying those
arrested were exercising fundamental freedoms protected by
the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, of which Cuba is a
signer. Several Latin nations have introduced a proposal to
censure Cuba at the current session of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
``It's perverse that there's a massive crackdown in Cuba
just at the moment that the United Nations is examining
Cuba's human rights record,'' said Jose Miguel Vivanco, the
Americas director of Human Rights Watch. ``The commission
must condemn these abuses, and do so strongly and
unequivocally.''
Relatives of some dissidents denounced the lengthy prison
terms as effective life sentences. Raul Rivero, a poet and
the dean of the island's independent journalists, who was
given a 20-year sentence, suffers from phlebitis and other
illnesses.
``This is so arbitrary for a man whose only crime is to
write what he thinks,'' said Mr. Rivero's wife, Blanca Reyes.
``What they found on him was a tape recorder, not a
grenade.''
Mr. Cason said that the United States would offer moral
support to those who would assume the work of those now in
jail.
The Cuban government put limits on Mr. Cason's movements
after he traveled some 6,000 miles around the island in his
first six months. Some have speculated the government might
decide to keep him out of the country, a possibility he
accepted.
``They can shoot the messenger if they want,'' Mr. Cason
said. ``There will be more messengers coming.''

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the vice chairman of our Committee on
International Relations.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, since mid-March the Castro dictatorship has carried out
a massive crackdown on human rights defenders, independent journalists,
and trade unionists and other brave and noble pro-democracy activists
throughout Cuba.
Not satisfied with the ongoing torture and mistreatment and
incarceration of approximately 400 political prisoners, Castro has
begun a new, ominous, and shameful attack on another 80 of the best and
brightest and most courageous of Cuba. Now, as we meet here today, his
people and his thugs are beating, victimizing, and sentencing to very
long prison sentences those who are the cream of the crop in Cuba, who
believe in freedom and democracy.
Castro, with all eyes diverted on Iraq and the war in Iraq, is trying
to silence dissent with violence, ``show'' trials, and incarceration.
This latest manifestation, Mr. Speaker, of cruelty by the Castro
dictatorship is but another, but a highly significant other, reminder
of the true character of this regime. It is cruel, brutal and an
egregious violator of human rights.
Mr. Speaker, Castro's brutal actions hopefully will serve as a wake-
up call to those in the United States, especially those in the United
States Congress who argue that it is time to lift the travel ban and
sanctions against Cuba. I especially want to focus, Mr. Speaker, on
those in the European Union who have been trading with the island
country of Cuba for so many years without any linkage whatsoever to
human rights. Trade, trade, trade, while this barbaric dictatorship
gets worse and worse and worse.
In previous Congresses, Mr. Speaker, I have offered an amendment to
lift the travel ban, if and only if political prisoners are freed and
felons who have committed acts of violence in the United States against
U.S. police, including a trooper from the State of New Jersey, are
brought to the U.S. in order to be held accountable. That amendment,
sadly, lost.
Now, today on the floor we are united in rhetoric and sentiment for
those who are being incarcerated and mistreated. But we also need
linkage, Mr. Speaker. We need to recognize that actions, and
particularly those that are linked to trade and travel bans, can be
very efficacious--actions always speak louder than our words. I call
upon the European Union, Mr. Speaker, to engage the human rights abuses
of Castro with something more than rhetoric. Members of the EU have
been trading, as has Canada, for so many years. What have they gotten
for it? Maybe they made a few bucks or a few Euros or a few Canadian
dollars, but they have,

[[Page H2894]]

however unwittingly, aided and abetted this brutal tyrant in horrific
repression against his people.
I urge strong support for the gentlewoman from Florida's (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) resolution, and I hope this is a wake-up call about what this
regime is all about.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to my colleague, the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney).
Mr. FEENEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all of the sponsors of this
resolution, especially my friends from Florida.
Mr. Speaker, there is an old saying that people do not miss fresh air
until they live without it. My friends from south Florida understand
what it is like to live without freedom and without fresh air.
While American men and women are halfway around the world fighting
for freedom and democracy, we are finding out who our friends are. We
are also finding out throughout the world who the really bad actors
are. You can judge bad guys because while the cat is away, the rats are
playing just 90 miles off the Florida border. And I will say that the
roundup of these individual freedom fighters, who remind me of the
original founders of our Republic, who pledged in the Declaration their
lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to stand up for what is
right, the most recent roundup by Castro and his evil regime is nothing
but a modern-day Stalinist purge.
I will say as we are fighting to free the Iraqi people, so we should
stay the course and fight to free the Cuban people. I urge a unanimous
vote by this House of Representatives and, once again, I want to thank
all of my colleagues who are sponsors of this resolution.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. After
speaking, I will yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-
Balart) to close.
Mr. Speaker, I started my remarks quoting Eli Wiesel, and I would
like to end the remarks that I have on this resolution by this same
gentleman who has meant so much for freedom and human rights and free
expression of ideas throughout the world.
Eli Wiesel said, ``Just as despair can come to one only from other
human beings, hope too can be given to one only by other human
beings.''
Let us be that beacon of hope for the Cuban people. Let us support
this resolution. Let us support those freedom fighters, those valiant
fighters for free thought who are actually given sentences for
possession of typewriters, for possession of books, for possession of
computers, for giving interviews to foreign journalists. Let us be that
beacon of hope that Eli Wiesel spoke about.

{time} 1530

Mr. Speaker, I yield the remaining time to the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart).
Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the
gentlewoman for yielding the time to me, and I also want to thank the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart) for bringing this
resolution to the floor.
We have heard about this horrible thing that is going on just 90
miles away from the United States coast, these people getting arrested.
What are they getting arrested for? What have they gotten convicted
for? Let me just mention Raul Ramon Rivero, an independent journalist
and leader of the Cuba press newspapers service who, by the way, has
been sentenced to 20 years, Mr. Speaker, 20 years in prison for the
following reasons:
Because he created an independent press organization, 20 years for
that. Because he is circulating materials published by human rights
groups, 20 years for that, Mr. Speaker. Because he is a member of the
Cuban Society of Independent Journalists, 20 years in prison for that,
Mr. Speaker. Because, the audacity, he has a Sony tape recorder. Mr.
Speaker, furthermore, he has the audacity of having a Samsung computer;
and if that was not enough to deserve 20 years in prison, it is because
he has had meetings in his home with other independent journalists.
That is the reason, Mr. Speaker, why he is serving 20 years, why the
tyranny has sentenced him for 20 years in prison. It is not a joke. It
is not a cruel joke. Those are the reasons, and like reasons for why
these people are being sentenced to 20 years or life imprisonment just
90 miles away from our coast.
Mr. Speaker, some still do business with that tyrant, with Castro;
and some want to do business with Castro, with the Castro regime. Doing
business with the Castro regime, Mr. Speaker, which is Castro's will,
that is what he wants, he says it every single day, doing business with
that tyrant, Mr. Speaker, and let us make it very clear, is doing
business with a criminal. It is doing business with an international
terrorist. It is doing business with a thug, with a tyrant. Mr.
Speaker, it is doing business with a murderer; and yes, just listen to
him, what he says, it is doing business with a mortal enemy of the
United States of America and the American people.
Let us remember what Marta Beatriz Roque, who now has been sentenced
to prison for these same types of issues, what she has been saying time
and time again. One of the reasons that she is going to prison is
because she has said that we must keep the sanctions on the tyranny; we
must keep the pressure on until finally there are free elections in
Cuba.
That is the goal, Mr. Speaker. That is what we need to do. That is
what we need to succeed in achieving for the Cuban people, and that is
why it is important. That is a step to free elections. That is a step
to freedom in Cuba.
We overwhelmingly support this resolution and want to make sure that
the world sees that everybody understands that we will not tolerate, we
will not tolerate this type of behavior; and we are not going to do
business with that kind of anti-American thug, criminal, assassin and
terrorist just 90 miles away from our shores.
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this
resolution.
The world has condemned Cuba's recent crackdown on human rights and
democracy activists. What is most troubling is that this is nothing
new. The recent crackdown is merely a continuation of the systematic
human rights violations in Cuba committed by the Castro regime.
Today I was most discouraged to learn of the prison sentences that
have been handed down to dozens of these dissidents, who have been
charged with ``subversion'' and collaborating with American diplomats,
among other charges. Hector Palacious is but one I'll mention. Along
with Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, Mr. Palacios has been a key organizer of
the Varela Project, an effort to win Cuban popular support for a
referendum on open elections, freedom of speech, freedom for political
prisoners, and free enterprise. Yesterday he was sentenced to 25 years
in prison for advocating democratic reforms.
Today I join my colleagues in condemning Cuba's crackdown on
democracy, in calling for the release of all Cuba's political
prisoners, in supporting the right of the Cuban people to exercise
their political and civil liberties, and in calling on the world to
insist in the strongest terms that the Government of Cuba adhere to
international human rights standards.
I enclose for the record a letter to me from former Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright, now Chairman of the National Democratic
Institute for International Affairs. NDI has worked with organizers of
the Varela Project to promote the movement internationally, and last
year NDI honored Oswaldo Paya Sardinas for his courageous efforts to
promote democracy. Enclosed also is a statement from him calling for
the immediate release of the activists. Mr. Paya calls this moment the
``Spring of Cuba'' because for the first time, a peaceful movement is
flourishing there. We must do all we can to help it take root.
Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my strong support for H.
Res. 179. The recent crackdown by the Cuban government on political
dissidents is without reason or measure. The Cuban government must
recognize that if it wants to become a full member of the family of
democratic nations, and re-establish ties with the United States, it
must abide by the fundamental rules of a democracy. At the very top of
that list is freedom of expression.
I believe that the United States can assist Cuba in its move towards
greater freedom and openness. The American Congress and the
Administration can lead by example, by lifting the travel ban, and
lifting the trade embargo. How can we advocate for greater freedom when
we prevent American companies and consumers from benefiting from trade
with Cuba? How can we call for greater openness when we do not let
American citizens exercise

[[Page H2895]]

their constitutional right to travel freely, to Cuba if they so desire.
America can also lead by example by avoiding needless antagonization of
Cuba. Wherever they are, our diplomatic community must always act
diplomatically.
Current U.S. policy towards Cuba has proved a failure. It makes no
sense to continue down the path of isolation. The recent actions by the
Cuban government, while reprehensible, do not change that central fact.
U.S. policy should be based on U.S. national interests, not a system of
rewards and punishments for good or bad behavior. In this instance, the
Cuban government has behaved badly and they should be properly
sanctioned for it, in America and in the world community. This
resolution is an appropriate measure. I do not think, however, that it
should affect policy. This should not lead to greater restrictions. To
the contrary, the response should be greater exchange between the U.S.
and Cuba. Greater freedom and openness will lead to a more free and
open Cuban society. As we call on Cuba now to change its policy, we
must also ask ourselves what we can do to have a more free and open
policy. Lifting the travel and trade ban on Cuba would be a good start.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of
this resolution. I also thank my South Florida colleagues, Lincoln
Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart for bringing
this resolution to the floor. I stand with them today to condemn the
brutal and inhumane attacks by Fidel Castro on innocent human rights
activists, trade union leaders, journalists and ordinary citizens in
Cuba.
Fidel Castro has taken advantage of the power he has in his country
and over his citizens for years. Today, he is taking advantage of the
world's focus on the war in Iraq to once again suppress Cuban
dissidents who are trying to exercise basic rights of freedom of
expression, seeking a peaceful evolution towards a democracy he so
obviously deplores.
Mr. Speaker, here in the United States, protesters are using their
First Amendment rights to speak their minds on the war in Iraq. Whether
they support the Bush administration or not and whether we agree with
them or not, people in this country rally to voice their concerns over
the war, and other issues, without the fear of being brutally attacked
and imprisoned for the rest of their lives.
In Cuba however, the freedom to express your mind is nonexistent. The
imprisoned dissidents in Cuba are part of a growing movement who are
continuously followed, harassed, phone-tapped and detained.
For merely stating their opinions, signing petitions and writing
articles advocating the end of the dictatorship in Cuba, these
activists are charged as criminals. They are threatened for gathering
in each other's private homes to talk about the resurrection of a
better life in Cuba for themselves and for future generations to come.
Mr. Speaker, these callous and repressive acts by Castro's regime are
nothing new. They have been occurring long before my colleagues and I
came to Congress. Many of the prisoners will probably face years of
imprisonment, joining several hundred political prisoners who have been
previously sentenced for similar harmless acts. For decades now, Castro
has repeatedly used the repression of his citizens as a means of
retaining authority and control over his country and over his people.
It is for these reasons I stand in strong support of this resolution
and ask my fellow colleagues to join me to condemn the arrests of these
individuals and insist the immediate release of all political prisoners
in Cuba.
Mr. Delay. Mr. Speaker, on March 17th of this year, Fidel Castro
initiated his most draconian crack-down on political dissidents in
recent years.
He has ordered the arrest of more than 80 pro-democracy activists. He
has tried them in proceedings the State Department called a ``kangaroo
court.'' And he has sentenced them to decades in prison on illegitimate
charges.
Castro was wrong to think he could tighten his choke-hold on the
human rights of his people under the radar of the civilized world.
The United States may be engaged in armed conflict on the other side
of the world, but no fog of war can conceal Castro's barbarism.
And no freedom-loving nation can reward such behavior with trade
policies that, however well-intentioned, would enrich a terrorist
regime 90 miles off our shores.
If Castro cared about the Cuban people, he would stop brutalizing
members of the pro-democracy movement. He would release all his
political prisoners, and restore individual liberties to his people.
He would recognize the human rights of all Cubans, especially those
with the courage to speak the truth about his goon squad of a
government.
This resolution calls on the Cuban dictator to do all of these
things, and it puts the House of Representatives once again on the side
of our oppressed neighbors and against their oppressor.
I urge all Members to support it.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Linder). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 179.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.

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