[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  CALLING FOR ACTION FROM THE UNITED STATES ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN 
                                  CUBA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Ros-Lehtinen] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to voice the 
outrage and despair of a people. The Cuban community in exile is still 
in agony over the tragic deaths of the 32 Cubans in the tugboat 
incident of July 12 in which a tugboat filled with over 70 Cuban 
refugees sank at the hands of Castro's military men as the freedom-
seeking Cubans attempted to flee the island in search of liberty and 
democracy. Last week my colleagues and I came before the House to bring 
attention to the deliberate torture imposed on the 70 people trying to 
leave the island nation. It is extremely disturbing to think of what 
will happen to other Cubans who attempt to escape from the infernal 
clutches of that ruthless dictator who has no regard for humanity.
  The 90-mile journey from Cuba to the Florida Keys that kills 
thousands of Cuban refugees each year, has now become the convenient 
scapegoat of the Castro regime. Mr. Speaker, how many more lives will 
Castro have to kill before the international community takes notice? 
For 35 years, this great country, the United States, has been fighting 
to save the people of Cuba, but to no avail. The international 
community has been silent on this issue. We still stand alone in our 
crusade to liberate the people of Cuba. The United Nations and the 
Organization of American States uphold the beliefs of human rights and 
democracy and condemn violations of these beliefs in almost every 
region of the world, except in the tiny island only 90 miles from the 
coast of the United States. The United Nations has spoken quite clearly 
on the subject of Haiti. Why? Because the United States had put 
pressure on this international body. But what about Cuba? Why the 
silence on Cuba? Is Cuba's regime any less bloody? Any less ruthless? 
Why does the United States not pressure our allies to stand with us on 
the issue of Cuba? How can it be that the world's compassion has not 
yet reached the people of Cuba? Will the people of Cuba have to 
continue to sink into the depths of hell, and torture, before someone 
will take notice?
  In his speech to the Cuban people, Raoul Castro, Fidel's brother, 
blamed the immigration policy of the United States toward Cuba as the 
actual culprit in the deaths of the 32 Cubans. Mr. Speaker, this 
blatantly false accusation cannot go unanswered. It is the 
responsibility of the government of every sovereign nation to provide a 
better life for its people. We have a commitment to humanity to protect 
those Cubans who face oppression for merely speaking out on behalf of 
freedom and democracy. As part of our commitment to humanity, we 
provide safe havens for the thousands of Cubans who have been forced 
out of their country.
  For 35 years, we have had to save thousands of Cuban refugees facing 
death because of a single madman's thirst for power and wealth. Castro 
does not have the best interest of the Cuban people in his mind or in 
his heart, and he proved this on July 12, when he allowed his boats to 
continuously ram the tugboat carrying 70 Cubans to freedom. The United 
States is not at fault in this tragic and deliberate action by the 
Castro regime nor should this great country stand by and allow Castro's 
thugs to accuse us before the international community.
  Castro would rather see the death of his own people before he admits 
that his policies have failed. We must strengthen our positions against 
the Castro regime among our allies around the world. We must send out a 
message to Fidel Castro that we will not tolerate his crimes against 
humanity. History has proven that the longer we allow men like this to 
remain in power, the longer they have to systematically torture, 
brainwash, and dispose of people who oppose him. Not only are the Cuban 
people forbidden to have basic human rights, but they are also not 
allowed to leave Cuba because they are in opposition to the tyrannical 
rule of Fidel Castro.
  Mr. Speaker, recent years have seen the end to many tragic situations 
around the world. This great Nation has been instrumental in its 
commitment to promote and defend democracy around the world, and we 
have seen the results of our determination in places such as the former 
Soviet Union and the eastern nations of Europe. We have also seen many 
of our neighboring countries in this hemisphere reform themselves, yet 
we cannot make a dent in the misery of the Cuban people, due to 
Castro's ruthless grip on every aspect of a Cuban's life. As long as 
Fidel Castro is allowed to continue to degrade the people of Cuba, this 
hemisphere is not safe. There will never be peace and tranquility in 
our hemisphere as long as Castro is allowed to blame the United States 
for the crimes he commits. Peace can only be achieved by people with 
good intentions, and, sadly enough, the trail of dead bodies Fidel 
Castro has left behind is proof that his intentions are quite short of 
being good or peaceful.

  We must label the actions of Fidel Castro as acts of terrorism, and 
we must work to achieve international condemnation and isolation of 
Cuba until Castro is removed from power. He is a threat to the very 
existence of a people and that is the equivalent of genocide. Many 
Cuban men, women, and children have died trying to inform the world of 
the tragedy that befalls their island nation and now it is time for us 
to carry the torch of freedom for them.
  The United States must do more to have our international allies 
condemn this brutal act.
  The United States has been forceful on Haiti. Why are we so silent on 
Cuba?

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