Date: 2005-09-28
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I want to thank. first of all. the gentleman from Arkansas . who has been so .kind to bring forth this resolution today as a distinguished member of the Committee on International Relations and as a great friend and supporter of human rights throughout the world. including in that oppressed island just 90 miles from our shores. The gentleman from California . when I first arrived in this Congress in January 1993. that same month I was able to witness firsthand the man who has devoted his entire life to defending those who cannot defend .themselves. and since that very month. my admiration that I already had for him has grown ceaselessly. I thank him for. once again. coming forth here in this hall and speaking on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. The resolution before us today. Mr. Speaker. calls for the liberation of each and every one of the thousands. really. unknown is the number. of political prisoners in Cuba. There are hundreds recognized. identified and called "prisoners of conscience" by international organizations such as Amnesty International. There are thousands of others who commit socalled crimes that are not crimes anywhere else. certainly in any democratic societies. crimes like trying to feed their families. crimes like trying to leave the country. something guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So there ate countless political prisoners. The resolution before us calls for the liberation of each and every one of them. immediately. it calls for the legalization of political parties. labor unions and the press by that tyranny. and it calls for free elections. because ultimately the right of selfdetermination is the only right that guarantees all other human rights. and without the right. of selfdetermination. all other human rights. when they are granted by tyrants. they are but gifts from the tyrants to people. to his people. gifts that can be withdrawn at any time. In addition. as the gentleman from Arkansas and the gentleman from California stated. this resolution remembers those who. as we speak today. as we speak. are languishing in dungeons for the socalled crime of seeking and supporting the rights that we cherish and take really for granted. and have for over 200 years in this country. and much of the world certainly takes for granted. the right to speak and the right to elect leaders in periodic elections. E 1315 The right to organize political parties and labor unions. and the right to free expression and to freedom of the press. the right of association. for trying to seek those inalienable rights. people are languishing and suffering. and we remember them today. Now. just a few weeks ago. in July. when this latest roundup occurred of. opposition leaders inside of Cuba. perhaps the most wellknown was the very prestigious jurist Rene Gomez Manzano. as well as the other leaders of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society. A few were subsequently released at the whim of the dictator. they may be picked up at any time. Mr. Gomez Manzanoremains in a cell at this time and has engaged and is engaging in a hunger strike. And there are others whose health has already deteriorated to the point where. for example. MrVictor Rolando Arroyo. his wife informs us today that she fears his imminent death because he is engaged in a hunger strike protesting the conditions that all political prisoners suffer each day in that oppressed island. Mr. Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique is also engaging in a hunger strike. He received a month ago. approximately a month ago. such a brutal beating inside the prison that when he protested for receiving that beating. he was put in what they call a punishment cell. as others in that prison. like Adolfo Fernandez Sainz. and others in hunger strikes like Jose Gabriel Ramon Castillo. like Normando Hernandez. and I will. Mr. Speaker. with your authorization. submit for the RECORD a list that I mentioned before is recognized by international organizations. such as Amnesty International. of hundreds of prisoners of conscience. Now. what we are also doing in this resolution is asking the European Union. because they. in response to this series of crackdowns that the dictatorship has engaged in against the prodemocracy movement. the European Union has. in its wisdom. Mr. Speaker. following the advice and consent of Mr. Zapatero. the Prime Minister of Spain. has decided to appease the dictatorship even more. And the few sanctions that the European Union had. political sanctions they called them. for example. inviting the dissidents to receptions in embassies and allowing them entry into embassies to have discourse. dialogue with members of the diplomatic corps in the embassies of the European Union. those socalled sanctions were ended by the Eu-. ropean Union under the premise and theory that they would encourage the ending of the sanctions. the dictator to be more benevolent. Well. we have seen how the dictator has responded. We are asking in this resolution for the European Union to reconsider its policy of appeasement. and we are asking also that the United Nations. in its Human Rights Commission. pass a resolution asking for the cessation of human righth violations in Cuba. So it is a very appropriate resolution. I commend. again. my colleagues who have been supportive. It is in the tradition. it stands in the tradition of this House of Representatives. this Congress that. in April of 1898. passed the resolution that is wellknown in Cuban history. saying that Cuba is and. of right. ought to be free and independent. and it is in that tradition that we bring forth this resolution today. and I urge its adoption overwhelmingly by colleagues on both sides of the aisle on this day in which so many continue to suffer on that oppressed island.