[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 279 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 279

   Condemning the July 13, 1994, sinking of the ``13th of March'', a 
  tugboat carrying 72 unarmed Cuban citizens, by vessels of the Cuban 
                              Government.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 5, 1994

   Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
    Torricelli, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Gilman, Mrs. Meek, Mr. 
 Gutierrez, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Hastings, and Mr. Deutsch) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Condemning the July 13, 1994, sinking of the ``13th of March'', a 
  tugboat carrying 72 unarmed Cuban citizens, by vessels of the Cuban 
                              Government.

Whereas there are credible reports that on July 13, 1994, vessels of the Cuban 
        Government fired high-pressure water hoses, repeatedly rammed, and 
        deliberately sank the ``13th of March'', a tugboat carrying 72 unarmed 
        Cuban citizens;
Whereas approximately 40 of the men, women, and children passengers on the 
        ``13th of March'' drowned as a result of the actions of the Cuban 
        Government, including over 20 children aboard;
Whereas President Clinton deplored the sinking of the ``13th of March'' as 
        ``another example of the brutal nature of the Cuban regime'';
Whereas all of the male survivors of the ``13th of March'' have been imprisoned 
        by the Cuban Government;
Whereas the freedom to emigrate is an internationally recognized human right and 
        freedom's fundamental guarantor of last resort; and
Whereas the Cuban Government, by prohibiting the existence of a free press and 
        by jamming TV and Radio Marti, denies the Cuban people the right of free 
        access to information, including information about this tragedy: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) condemns the Cuban Government for deliberately sinking 
        on July 18, 1994, the ``13th of March'', a tugboat carrying 72 
        unarmed Cuban citizens, causing the death of approximately 40 
        Cuban citizens, including over 20 children;
            (2) urges the President to direct the United States 
        Representative to the United Nations to urge the United Nations 
        Security Council to adopt a resolution that--
                    (A) condemns the sinking of the ``13th of March''; 
                and
                    (B) provides for a full internationally supervised 
                investigation of the incident; and
            (3) urges the Cuban Government--
                    (A) to release from prison and cease intimidation 
                measures against all survivors of the sinking of the 
                ``13th of March'';
                    (B) to identify all individuals missing from such 
                sinking;
                    (C) to recover the bodies of the dead from such 
                sinking; and
                    (D) to return such bodies to their families so that 
                these men, women, and children may have appropriate 
                burial services.
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