[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 584 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 584

   Acknowledging the peaceful hunger strike of Guillermo ``El Coco'' 
  Farinas, a political dissident in Cuba, applauding his bravery and 
commitment to human rights, and expressing solidarity with him and his 
                                 cause.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 28, 2016

   Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Menendez) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Acknowledging the peaceful hunger strike of Guillermo ``El Coco'' 
  Farinas, a political dissident in Cuba, applauding his bravery and 
commitment to human rights, and expressing solidarity with him and his 
                                 cause.

Whereas Fidel Castro and Raul Castro have led an oppressive, totalitarian, 1-
        party Communist state in Cuba for 57 years;
Whereas the Castro regime has unyieldingly violated basic human rights and 
        steadfastly suppressed peaceful dissent in Cuba, despite nonviolent 
        calls for change in Cuba and internationally;
Whereas the unconditional reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the 
        United States and Cuba has failed to meaningfully improve the 
        predicament of the people of Cuba;
Whereas Guillermo ``El Coco'' Farinas is an internationally renowned Cuban 
        dissident dedicated to advocating for political freedoms and human 
        rights in Cuba;
Whereas the Communist Party of Cuba has viewed political freedoms and human 
        rights as antithetical to the totalitarian agenda, and a threat to the 
        existence, of that party;
Whereas El Coco Farinas has repeatedly stated his willingness to give up his own 
        life for the cause of freedom and liberty in Cuba;
Whereas El Coco Farinas held a 7-month hunger strike in 2006 to call attention 
        to the Cuban Government's practice of Internet censorship in Cuba;
Whereas El Coco Farinas held another hunger strike in 2010 to protest the Cuban 
        Government's practices of making politically motivated arrests and 
        maintaining prisoners of conscience;
Whereas the Government of Cuba denied El Coco Farinas an exit visa in 2010 to 
        travel to Strasbourg, France, to receive the European Parliament's 
        Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, in recognition of the efforts of 
        El Coco Farinas to peacefully advocate for political freedoms in Cuba;
Whereas at the funeral of fellow activist Oswaldo Paya, who is widely believed 
        to have been murdered by the Castro regime, El Coco Farinas was among 
        dozens of dissidents who were arbitrarily arrested;
Whereas El Coco Farinas initiated another hunger strike in the summer of 2016 to 
        call international attention to the continued brutality committed by the 
        Cuban Government;
Whereas, on September 12, 2016, El Coco Farinas ended that hunger strike 
        following the release of a fabricated report that the European Union had 
        conditioned relations with Cuba on improvements in the human rights 
        situation in Cuba, which the European Parliament later confirmed was 
        false and the Cuban American National Foundation denounced as a 
        ``discrediting campaign to misinform the people of Cuba and the 
        international community'';
Whereas in recognition of his unwavering efforts to peacefully push for reforms 
        for the people of Cuba, El Coco Farinas has been awarded--

    (1) the 2006 Cyber-Freedom Prize by Reporters Without Borders;

    (2) the Weimar International Human Rights Award; and

    (3) the 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European 
Parliament; and

Whereas recognition of the recent hunger strike of El Coco Farinas and an 
        expression of solidarity with him and his cause sends a positive signal 
        of the enduring commitment of the people of the United States to the 
        people of Cuba: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the courage of Guillermo ``El Coco'' Farinas in 
        standing up to the relentless repression of the Government of 
        Cuba;
            (2) recognizes El Coco Farinas for his perseverance in 
        seeking meaningful change for the people of Cuba through 
        peaceful means;
            (3) acknowledges that the efforts of the Government of Cuba 
        to undermine the latest hunger strike of El Coco Farinas, 
        through the release of a fabricated report, failed to diminish 
        the international attention that his hunger strike attracted to 
        the human rights situation in Cuba; and
            (4) expresses solidarity and support for El Coco Farinas, 
        his valiant efforts, and his commitment to basic human freedoms 
        for the people of Cuba.
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