[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 21, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
                           CUBAN INDEPENDENCE

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, 95 years ago yesterday, May 20, the 
island of Cuba gained its independence after a long fought struggle 
against the Spanish crown.
  Sadly, while millions of free Cubans outside the island celebrated 
this proud day, for the 11 million Cubans still living under the brutal 
totalitarian dictatorship of the Castro regime, it was just another day 
in the persistent struggle to reclaim the freedoms gained after 
independence from Spain but lost with the rise of Fidel Castro to 
power.
  Yet Cuba's new freedom fighters face similar repressive measures as 
those who led the struggle for Cuban independence in the 1800's.
  As the Interamerican Human Rights Commission recently reported, in 
today's Cuba the harassment, accusations, adoption of disciplinary 
measures, and prison sentences for persons who peacefully display their 
disagreement with the political regime in place have persisted.
  The report adds that those who work against the regime are accused of 
enemy propaganda, contempt, and rebellion. It is for them that Cuba's 
independence leader, Jose Marti, wrote, ``The sufferings endured for 
the sake of winning freedom make us love it the more.''

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