Date: 2010-05-12
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I thank my friend for yielding me the time and Mr. QUIGLEY for introducing this important resolution. The Community of Democracies. a global intergovernmental coalition of over 100 democratic states. has proven its support for the promotion of democracy in civil society over the decade since its founding. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight. as Ms. RosLEHTINEN appropriately mentioned before. the leadership of the Republic of Lithuania. which took over the presidency of the Community of Democracies in July 2009. Lithuania has shown remarkable leadership in pressing forward with the Communitys agenda of promoting democracy. human rights. and freedom in oppressed lands such as Burma. Belarus. and Cuba. Under the guidance of Ambassador Zygimantas Pavilionis. chief coordinator of Lithuanias presidency of the Community of Democracies. the Community created a Parliamentary Forum in March of this year. I have been impressed by Ambassador Pavilionis exceptional leadership and commitment to strengthening the role of the Community of Democracies in fulfilling its mission of promoting democratic institutions and civil society. In March of this year. I was privileged to attend the convening meeting of the Parliamentary Forum of the Community of Democracies in Vilnius. Lithuania. At the first meeting of the Parliamentary Forum. Emanuelis Zingeris. chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas of Lithuania. was elected as the first president of the Parliamentary Forum of the Community of Democracies. Mr. Zingeris is a charismatic and brilliant leader who will doubtless be an effective president of the Parliamentary Forum throughout his term. Also at the Parliamentary Forum. I had the great honor of being elected one of the seven vice presidents of the new entity. along with fellow vice presidents Michal Tomasz Kaminski. Polish member of the European Parliament and chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists in the European Parliament. Michael Gahler. German member of the European Parliament of the Group of the European Peoples Party. Alexandr Vondra. a senator from the Czech Republic. Adriana Gonzalez Carrillo. a senator of the Republic of Mexico. David Kilgour. former member of Parliament and a wellknown human rights activist in Canada. and David Bakradze. speaker of the Parliament of Georgia. Notably. the Parliamentary Forums first adopted resolution at its convening meeting on March 12. 2010. called for the support of Cubas prodemocracy movement. I have a copy of that resolution. Mr. Speaker here. I will insert it into the RECORD. And the Parliamentary Forums international solidarity. as demonstrated by this resolution. a strong and very appropriate. wellwritten resolution that. for example. honors. and I read from it. Cuban prodemocracy fighters such as the martyr Orlando Zapata Tamayo and expresses its admiration for the efforts of other heroes such as Guillermo Farinas. This is a concrete. specific demonstration of genuine solidarity by the Parliamentary Forum of the Community of Democracies with the suffering people of Cuba and the freedom fighters who. within Cuba. are struggling to bring democracy and freedom to that land. Orlando Zapata Tamayo was assassinated by the Cuban dictatorship. and he died after over 80 days on a hunger strike protesting the tortures that he was continuously subjected to as a political prisoner. And Guillermo Farinas is. as we speak. on a hunger strike in Cuba. This institution. the Parliamentary Forum of the Community of Democracies. expressed its solidarity with these Cuban rights fighters. fighters for freedom. And in that way. demonstrated its genuine commitment to furthering democratic institutions and assisting those who are fighting for freedom. The resolution today. Mr. Speaker. that will be passed by the Congress of the United States in support of commending the Community of Democracies on its 10th anniversary is timely. I wholeheartedly support it. I commend the Community of Democracies for 10 years of leadership. and I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this resolution. Again. thank you. Mr. ENGEL. Thank you Ms. RosLEHTINEN. This is an important and timely resolution. These are friends of freedom that were commending today. an institution that. as Ms. RosLEHTINEN pointed out. is not there for cocktail parties or press releases. And it doesnt allow itself to be tarnished. like abominable institutions such as the socalled Human Rights Council of the United Nations. to be tarnished by. in effect. defending tyrannies. The Community of Democracies is that. a community of democracies that stands for and believes in freedom and democracy. Thats why its appropriate to commend them on their 10th anniversary.