[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 43 (Thursday, March 18, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2923-S2929]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION 
                                IN CUBA

  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that S. Res. 57 be 
discharged from the Foreign Relations Committee and, further, that the 
Senate now proceed to its immediate consideration.

[[Page S2924]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 57) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate regarding the human rights situation in Cuba.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be 1 
hour, equally divided, on the resolution and that the only amendment in 
order be an amendment to the preamble which is at the desk.
  I further ask unanimous consent that following the debate time, the 
resolution be set aside and the Senate proceed to a vote on the 
resolution, at a time to be determined by the two leaders.
  I finally ask that following the vote on the adoption of the 
resolution, the amendment to the preamble be agreed to and the 
preamble, as amended, be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I yield myself 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida may proceed for 15 
minutes.
  Mr. MACK. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, I am pleased to have this opportunity today to speak 
about Cuba and why the United States must make every effort to pass a 
resolution in Geneva at the U.N. Human Rights Commission condemning the 
Cuban Government.

  The reality which I seek to convey today is very simply stated. Fidel 
Castro continues to run Cuba with absolute power, based upon the failed 
ideals of the Marxist revolution that he led 40 years ago. He is a 
tyrant, a dictator, and an enemy of freedom, democracy, and respect for 
basic human dignity.
  As many of my colleagues know, I have been reflecting on my Senate 
career lately as I weighed my decision on seeking another term. Let me 
share one of those memories with you right now.
  It was October 19, 1987, when I announced my candidacy for the 
Senate. I traveled to Key West, the southern most point in the 
Continental United States, to make my announcement. I chose this 
location for one simple reason. I knew my passion for foreign policy 
arose from a deeply held conviction that America's freedom could not be 
taken for granted, that our freedom was not complete so long as others 
suffered under the yoke of tyranny. Only 90 miles from where I declared 
my aspiration to be a U.S. Senator in order to take part in the fight 
against the enemies of freedom, Fidel Castro ruled with a failed 
ideology and a cruel iron fist.
  It seems that I have been in the Senate for a long time--10 years--
but if I were to travel to Key West today, I am sad to say, I could 
still point toward Cuba and ask the same questions I did on October 19, 
1987: What does it mean to live in peace if there is no freedom to 
worship God, no freedom to choose our livelihood, no freedom to read or 
speak the truth or to live for the dream of handing over a better life 
to our children and our grandchildren? Peace without freedom is false. 
The Cuban people are only free to serve their masters in war and in 
poverty.
  Mr. President, I have many good friends in the Senate, and I have 
great respect for my colleagues. We share so much of our lives with 
each other each day. And even though we are divided on many issues, in 
our hearts there can be no division on our feelings for the suffering 
people of Cuba. The island so close to our shores serves as a tragic 
reminder of the human cost of tyranny and oppression and that freedom 
is not free.

  Let me propose today that Fidel Castro has not changed in 10 years; 
in fact, he has not changed in 40 years. In the history books, 40 years 
can be covered in a single sentence. But in Cuba, it can also be an 
eternity.
  I think about the 12 years since I made that speech. How many people 
have suffered and died needlessly in 12 years? How many screams of 
agony have reached for the heavens from Havana in 12 years? How many 
tears of sorrow and anguish have fallen in 12 years? I fear we will 
never know the true scale of suffering, even though it takes place so 
close to our shores.
  Some of us have served in the Senate for a few years, some of us for 
10 or 12, and some of us have been here for 30 years or more. Think 
what it must be like serving instead in one of Fidel Castro's prisons 
for all that time. In Cuba you could be imprisoned simply for doing 
what we do each day, and that is engage in the debate of ideas. Think 
about how different our lives would be if we lived in a similar 
environment.
  I assure you, Mr. President, that the human spirit is a powerful 
thing. We know that throughout the world and throughout history mankind 
has struggled for freedom against the greatest of obstacles. That 
struggle lives, breathes, sweats, and thrives in Cuba today. But it 
does so at a great cost.
  I have two short stories I want to share to demonstrate the price 
being paid in Cuba today.
  There is a famous man known as Antunez. He began supporting freedom 
in Cuba in 1980. He has been in and out of prison for much of his adult 
life. As of February 1999, reports out of the prisons have him in poor 
health.
  I want to read a quote from a letter he wrote and successfully 
smuggled out of Cuba 2 years ago. I quote:

       On March 15 [1997], it will be seven years that I have been 
     imprisoned but I have yet to lose my faith and confidence in 
     the final triumph of our struggle. I am proud and satisfied 
     that they will have been unable to--and will never be able 
     to--bend my will, because I am defending a just and noble 
     cause, the rights of man and the freedom of my country.

  A second story: I have recently seen a March 10, 1999, statement of 
Dr. Omar del Pozo, which I want to share with you today. He was a 
prisoner of conscience, sentenced to 15 years in prison for promoting 
democracy and civil society in Cuba. Through the intercession of Pope 
John Paul II, Dr. Pozo was released and exiled to Canada after serving 
6 years of the sentence.
  It is interesting to note the comments of a man who owes his freedom 
from Cuba's prisons to the Pope's visit to Cuba. Listen to what he has 
to say about the so-called changes taking place within the Cuban 
Government. And I am now quoting:

       In Castro's man-eating prisons, lives are swallowed, 
     mangled, and spit out in what can only be described as his 
     revolving-door of infamy. Some may claim that the fact that I 
     am able to stand before you here today is because I am a 
     product of engagement with Castro. While I am certainly 
     grateful for the international outcry that created pressure 
     on Castro to release me, it would be negligent of me not to 
     recognize that as long as the dictator remains in power, 
     there will continue to be political prisoners who are 
     destined to become pawns to be handed over as tokens 
     depending on the occasion . . . . my release in no way 
     benefited the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men and 
     women who were left behind.

  Dr. Pozo's statement certainly rings true--that the visit of the Pope 
and his personal release and exile from his home do not, counter to 
popular belief, indicate a new day in Cuba.
  He continues on in his statement. Again, I quote:

       Forty years have passed, and a new millennium dawns, and 
     still political prisoners exist in a country only 90 miles 
     from the shores of the freest nation on earth. . . . In the 
     confusion of cliches Cuba has become in the mass media: 
     Castro and cigars, Castro and tourism, Castro and baseball, 
     the terrible tragedy of Cubans and their legitimate needs and 
     desires takes a backseat to the priorities set by the 
     Comandante en Jefe and his regime. The truly tragic part is 
     that there are some who, in the name of profit, are willing 
     to compromise justice and play by his rules, with no regard 
     for the welfare of the Cuban people.

  Just as actions indicate no improvement in the Government of Cuba, 
one could argue that things are not really getting worse. In fact, the 
recent crackdown in Cuba is only a manifestation of the nature of the 
ruling regime. Again, let me quote from Dr. Pozo:

       These past days, I have heard even experienced Cuba 
     observers question why Castro has raised the level of 
     repression at this point in time, considering the many 
     gestures of goodwill he has received internationally prior to 
     and following the Papal visit. The only possible answer is 
     that it is the nature of the beast. Castro can not help it 
     any more than he can help being a totalitarian dictator. It 
     is who he is and will always be. It is because he is 
     motivated by one thing and one thing alone: [and that is] 
     absolute power. He wants to continue to stand on the backs of 
     the Cuban people and he will persecute, torture and kill in 
     order to accomplish his goal of being Cuba's ``dictator for 
     life.'' By now, everyone knows who Castro is and what he is 
     capable of. From this point on, the field can only be divided 
     between those who are willing to overlook his crimes and 
     those who are not.


[[Page S2925]]


  Again, I just point out, those were not my words. These are the words 
of an individual who was released from Castro's prison because of the 
pressure brought on by the international community and by the Pope's 
visit. What he is saying here is that nothing has changed as a result 
of the Pope's visit to Cuba. He is saying nothing has changed. And he 
is saying to us--not me saying, but he is saying to us--that ``the 
field can only be divided [now] between those who are willing to 
overlook [Castro's] crimes and those who are not.''
  Mr. President, in conclusion, let me once again say freedom is not 
free, but it is the most valuable thing that we know; it is, in fact, 
the core of all human progress. Freedom has everything to do with our 
spiritual, physical, and political lives. Without it--without freedom--
what would we do? It is important to think about this in order to 
appreciate the words of the brave men and women in Cuba fighting for 
freedom, because they are, after all, fighting for everything and 
paying a large price indeed.
  I want to reach out to my colleagues today. We loathe tyranny and 
oppression. So let us stand united behind our delegation in Geneva; let 
us proclaim our views at the United Nations Human Rights Commission. 
Let us stand tall and speak with unity, conviction, and strength. Let 
us proclaim: ``The United States of America abhors tyranny and loves 
freedom. We oppose the enemies of liberty and we support those 
struggling for LIBERTAD.''

  That, Mr. President, represents the meaning of this resolution in its 
entirety. I hope my colleagues will join me today in making this most 
important statement.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  Mr. GRAHAM addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I understand that we have 1 hour equally 
divided.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
  Mr. GRAHAM. I yield myself 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, my friend and colleague, a friend and 
colleague who, unfortunately, has recently announced that his next 
phase of life is going to be someplace other than the Senate, started 
with the story of where he commenced his campaign to come to the 
Senate--in the beautiful, unique community of Key West. In addition to 
Key West's physical proximity to Cuba, Key West also has a history 
which is very intertwined with the long efforts of the people of Cuba 
to achieve freedom.
  It was during the period of the Cuban civil war in the 1870s, 1880s 
and into the 1890s that many exiles left Cuba and came to Key West to 
find freedom and a place from which they could relaunch their efforts 
to achieve freedom in their homeland.
  Jose Marti spoke many times in Key West to the exiled community of 
his dreams for a Cuba of independence and freedom. It is in Key West 
that there is the memorial for the USS Maine, the Tomb of the Unknown 
Sailor, for over 200 American sailors who were killed in Havana Harbor 
early in 1898--an event which contributed to the United States eventual 
declaration of war and involvement in what we refer to as the Spanish-
American War. In Key West we find remnants of that long history of the 
yearning of the people of Cuba to live in freedom and independence.
  After having won their independence in 1898, 60 years later, it was 
taken away from them. For four decades, they have lived under the 
oppressive rule of the dictator, Fidel Castro.
  Last month, we recognized another dictatorship in this world, one 
that is not near to us but half a world away. The Senate passed a 
resolution calling for a condemnation of the human rights situation in 
China. We urged the United Nations Human Rights Commission to have that 
on their agenda at their soon-to-be-held meeting in Geneva. With this 
resolution, Senate Resolution 57, we take a similar position condemning 
the human rights situation in Cuba which, unfortunately, is 
considerably worse today than the situation in China.
  This resolution calls on the President to make every effort to pass a 
resolution at the upcoming meeting of the United Nations Human Rights 
Commission condemning Cuba for its abysmal record on human rights. It 
also calls for the reappointment of a special rapporteur to investigate 
the human rights situation in Cuba.

  Last year, for the first time in many years, no resolution on human 
rights in Cuba was passed by the United Nations Human Rights 
Commission. Perhaps this hiatus in U.N. condemnation of Cuba was due to 
the hopes that were raised as a result of the Pope's visit in January 
of 1998. Unfortunately, if that were the case, there has, in fact, been 
a significant worsening of the human rights situation in Cuba since the 
Pope's visit.
  According to the independent group, Human Rights Watch,

       As 1998 drew to a close, Cuba's stepped up persecutions and 
     harassments of dissidents, along with its refusal to grant 
     amnesty to hundreds of remaining political prisoners or [to] 
     reform its criminal code, marked a disheartening return to 
     heavy-handed repression.

  The Cuban Government also recently passed a measure known as Law 80 
which criminalizes peaceful, prodemocratic activities and independent 
journalism, with penalties of up to 20 years in jail.
  The State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices in 
Cuba for 1998 notes that the government continues to systematically 
violate the fundamental civil and political rights of its citizens. 
Human rights advocates and members of independent professional 
associations, including journalists, economists, doctors, and lawyers 
are routinely harassed, threatened, arrested, detained, imprisoned and 
defamed by the government. All fundamental freedoms are denied to 
citizens. In addition, the Cuban Government severely restricts worker 
rights, including the right to form independent trade unions, and 
employs forced labor, including child labor.
  The most recent example of this horrible repression in Cuba is the 
trial of four prominent dissidents--Vladimiro Roca, Marta Beatriz 
Roque, Felix Bonne and Rene Gomez Manzano. They were all charged with 
sedition. After being detained for over 19 months for peacefully 
voicing their opinion, the trial of these four brave patriots has drawn 
international condemnation. To demonstrate the hideous nature of the 
Castro regime, Marta Beatriz Roque has been ill, believed to be 
suffering from cancer, and has been denied medical attention during her 
long period of detention.
  During the trial, authorities have rounded up scores of other 
individuals, including journalists and dissidents, and jailed them for 
the duration of the trial. The trial was conducted in complete secrecy 
with photographers prevented from even photographing the streets around 
the courthouse. This trial reminds me of the worst days of Stalinist 
repression in the Soviet Union.
  This week, Castro's dictatorship found the four dissidents guilty and 
sentenced them to terms ranging from 3\1/2\ to 5 years--5 years in 
prison for simply making a statement about democracy. This action has 
outraged the world.
  This outrageous spectacle has caused even Castro's closest friends to 
rethink their relationship with Cuba. Canadian Prime Minister Chretien 
has indicated that Canada will review its entire relationship with 
Castro. The European Union issued a strong statement condemning this 
repression.
  This is not the type of conduct that we have come to expect in our 
hemisphere, where Cuba remains the only nondemocratic government. This 
level of repression and complete disregard for international norms 
cannot be ignored. I hope that all of our colleagues will join my 
colleague, Senator Mack, and myself, in condemning the human rights 
situation in Cuba and calling for action at the United Nations Human 
Rights Commission.
  Last month, we voted unanimously to support a resolution condemning 
human rights in China. Unfortunately, we have within 100 miles of our 
shores a situation in Cuba that is worse than that halfway around the 
world in China--a situation that deserves the full effort of our 
government to assure that it is not ignored by the international 
community.

[[Page S2926]]

  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a series of 
newspaper items from the press in this country as well as in Europe, 
Latin America and in Canada, condemning the human rights abuses in 
Cuba.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 [From the Miami Herald, Mar. 18, 1999]

                Free Four Dissidents, Europe Tells Cuba

                        (By Andres Oppenheimer)

       The 15-country European Union issued a strong statement 
     Wednesday calling for the release of four Cuban dissidents 
     who received harsh sentences in Havana this week, while 
     European and Latin American officials said they are 
     rethinking their recent overtures to the island.
       In a statement issued in Brussels, the EU said the Cuban 
     dissidents, who received prison terms of between 3\1/2\ and 5 
     years for publishing a pamphlet criticizing the government, 
     had been exercising the universally recognized right to 
     freedom of expression. ``The European Union cannot accept 
     that citizens who do so be criminalized by state 
     authorities,'' the statement said.
       The four dissidents--Vladimiro Roca, Felix Bonne, Rene 
     Gomez Manzano and Marta Beatriz Roque--are well known 
     intellectuals who were arrested after publishing a manifesto 
     titled The Homeland belongs to all.
       The French news agency AFP reported Wednesday that Cuba's 
     failure to release the four could lead to Cuba's exclusion 
     from upcoming talks between the EU and African, Caribbean and 
     Pacific Rim developing countries. EU officials were not 
     available late Wednesday to comment on the report.
       The EU recalled that it had expected the four dissidents to 
     be released last year when it agreed to Cuba's request for 
     observer status in its discussions with developing countries 
     who are beneficiaries of Europe's Lome economic cooperation 
     agreement.
       ``The EU therefore repeats its calls for the prompt release 
     of the four and will continue to evaluate the development of 
     this matter,'' the statement said.
       ``In addition, the EU wants to convey its disappointment at 
     the fact that neither diplomats nor foreign news media were 
     allowed to attend the trial of the dissidents, despite the 
     fact that their relatives had been told that the trial would 
     be open to the public,'' it said.
       The EU also said it was concerned about the temporary 
     detention and house arrest of several dozens people connected 
     to the imprisoned dissidents and by new Cuban laws that 
     ``curtail the exercise of citizen's rights.''
       Although Cuba customarily rejects such denunciations as 
     intervention in its internal affairs, the EU statement is 
     considered significant because the European group has 
     steadfastly maintained friendly diplomatic and trade 
     relations with Cuba in the face of threats of retaliation 
     from powerful critics of Cuba in the U.S. Congress.
       The Helms-Burton Act, which imposes sanctions on countries 
     investing in Cuban property confiscated from U.S. citizens, 
     was aimed at some European investors but their governments 
     have challenged the law and refused to back down.
       In a telephone interview hours before the statement was 
     released, Sweden's international cooperation minister, Pierre 
     Shori, told The Herald that the recent developments in Cuba 
     are ``alarming.'' Shori said that ``the toughening of the 
     laws against dissidents goes against what the Cuban 
     authorities have said in their dialogue with the European 
     Union.''
       The EU statement came a day after Canada said it was 
     reconsidering its support for Cuba's return to the 
     Organization of American States (OAS) after Monday's 
     sentencing of the four dissidents. Cuba's OAS membership was 
     suspended in 1962.
       The EU statement did not mention the possibility of 
     excluding Cuba from the first European-Latin American summit, 
     to be held June 28-29 in Rio de Janeiro. Fifteen European and 
     33 Latin American and Caribbean presidents, including Cuba's 
     Fidel Castro, are expected to attend.
       The EU condemnation of Cuba's latest crackdown against 
     peaceful opponents, however, marks a possible reversal of the 
     island's ties with the European Union, which had been warming 
     up since 1996 and appeared ready for a significant 
     improvement since Pope John Paul II's visit to the island 
     last year.
       Meanwhile, top officials from several Latin American 
     countries--including Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and El 
     Salvador--said their governments were rethinking whether to 
     attend a summit of Ibero-American countries in Havana in 
     November. Nicaragua has already announced it will not attend.
       Latin American foreign ministers are to discuss 
     participation at the Havana summit at a meeting in Veracruz, 
     Mexico, on Friday. But a senior Mexican official said 
     Mexico--which presides over the Veracruz meeting--will oppose 
     any effort to organize a boycott of the Cuba summit and that 
     such a move ``is not on the agenda.''
                                  ____


               [From the Financial Times, Mar. 17, 1999]

                     Cuba: Trading Partners Protest

                          (By Pascal Fletcher)

       Cuba has jailed our well-known political dissidents accused 
     of sedition, drawing condemnation from the U.S. and criticism 
     from leading trade and investment partners Canada and Spain.
       The jail sentences announced on Monday ranged from 3\1/2\ 
     to five years and were less than those sought by the 
     prosecution. But foreign diplomats said they still sent a 
     strong message from Cuba's one-party Communist government 
     that it would not tolerate opposition, even when it is 
     peaceful.
       Jean Chretien, Canada's prime minister, who had asked Fidel 
     Castro, Cuba's president, to release the four, described the 
     sentences as ``disappointing'' and added his government would 
     be reviewing the range of its bilateral activities with 
     Havana. Jose Maria Aznar, Spanish premier, said the jail 
     terms were a ``step backwards'' for human rights in Cuba.
       The four--Vladimiro Roca, Felix Bonne, Rene Gomez and 
     Martha Beatriz Roque--were convicted of inciting sedition 
     after they criticised one-party communist rule, called for a 
     boycott of elections and urged foreign investors to think 
     twice about investing in Cuba.
       Mr. Roca, the son of Cuban Communist party founder Blas 
     Roca, was jailed for five years.
       Mr. Bonne and Mr. Gomez each received four-year sentences 
     and Ms. Roque three-and-a-half years. All had already been 
     held for 20 months.
       U.S. President Bill Clinton called for their immediate 
     release, saying they had not received a fair trial.
                                  ____


                [From the Washington Post, Mar. 2, 1999]

                            The Havana Four

       Vladimiro Roca, Martha Beatriz Roque, Felix Bonne, Rene 
     Gomez: Note those names. They are dissidents in Communist-
     ruled Cuba who went to trial in Havana yesterday. These brave 
     people were jailed a year and a half ago for holding news 
     conferences for foreign journalists and diplomats, urging 
     voters to boycott Cuba's one-party elections, warning 
     foreigners that their investments would contribute to Cuban 
     suffering and critizing President Fidel Castro's grip on 
     power. For these ``offenses'' the four face prison sentences 
     of five, or six years.
       Castro Cuba has typically Communist notions of justice. By 
     official doctrine, there are no political prisoners, only 
     common criminals. President Castro rejects the designation of 
     the four, in the international appeals for their freedom, as 
     ``prisoners of conscience.'' Their trial is closed to the 
     foreign press. Some of their colleagues were reportedly 
     arrested to keep them from demonstrating during the trial.
       Fidel Castro is now making an energetic effort to recruit 
     foreign businessmen to help him compensate for the trade and 
     investment lost by the continuing American embargo and by 
     withdrawal of the old Soviet subsidies. He is scoring some 
     success: British Airways, for instance, says it is opening a 
     Havana service. Many of the countries engaged in these 
     contacts with Cuba do so on the basis that by their policy of 
     ``constructive engagement'' they are opening up the regime 
     more effectively to democratic and free-market currents than 
     is the United States by its harder-line policy.
       The trial of the four provides a good test of this 
     proposition. The four are in the vanguard of Cuba's small 
     nonviolent political opposition. Acquittal would indicate 
     that in this case anyway the authorities are listening to the 
     international appeals for greater political freedom. But if 
     the four are convicted and sentenced, it will show that the 
     regime won't permit any opposition at all. What then will be 
     international crowd have to say about the society-
     transforming power of their investment?

                 [From the Miami Herald, Mar. 11, 1999]

            ``The Sadness I Feel for Cuba Stays on my Mind''

                            (By Raul Rivero)

       Havana.--From my cell I could see Tania Quintero, Cuba 
     Press correspondent, her face shadowed by the cell's iron 
     lines. From her cell, she could hear the hoarse voice of 
     Odalys Cubelo, another Cuba Press correspondent. And one 
     could feel the presence of Dulce Maria de Quesada, dissident, 
     quiet and silent, sitting on the edge of the gray cement bed.
       Not too far from this dark basement, where we were being 
     held, the trial of the four members of the Working Group of 
     Internal Dissidence was taking place.
       Tania wanted to be present at the trial because she is a 
     first cousin of Vladimiro Roca, one of the accused. Odalys 
     wanted to cover the trial as a journalist, and Dulce Maria, a 
     retired librarian and dissident, wanted to be there because 
     she felt that she had the right to show a gesture of 
     solidarity with the accused.
       I also wanted to follow the trial as a journalist, as a 
     Cuban citizen and as a friend of the four intellectuals being 
     tried. Yet I was jailed with eight common prisoners accused 
     of violence, assault, armed robbery and pimping.
       Of course, many ideas crossed my mind, and I experienced 
     many feelings during those 30 hours in jail. As days go by, 
     however, it is the shame and sadness I feel for Cuba that 
     stays on my mind.
       I ask myself, what are these professional and decent women 
     doing in a police-station cell? What is going on in Cuba that 
     honorable daughters of this country, belonging to three 
     different generations and from different political origins 
     and upbringings, may be arrested on the streets and placed in 
     a cell

[[Page S2927]]

     with women accused of prostitution and armed robbery?
       I felt more pain for the imprisonment of those three 
     friends than for my own jailing. This is because I perceived 
     their punishment as a symbol anticipating a sacrificial pyre.
       Tania and Odalys--like Marvin Hernandez, who had been 
     imprisoned for 48 hours and began a hunger strike in 
     Cienfuegos--have demonstrated professionalism, integrity and 
     discipline while going through this exercise of independent 
     journalism in Cuba.
       A few hours after being relatively free to go home, I was 
     to have a unique ``meeting'' with Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello 
     [one of the dissidents being tried]. There she was in my 
     living room, the brilliant economist who loves poetry and 
     good music, wearing her prisoner's uniform--on my TV screen. 
     A state broadcaster was insulting her, calling her a 
     stateless person and a ``marionette of imperialism.''
       Since Marta's ``visit'' was so peculiar, I almost commented 
     aloud to her about a note that she sent me from the Manto 
     Negro [Black Cloak] prison at the end of 1998. ``Here we 
     are,'' she had written, ``without any apparent solution but 
     with a lot of faith in God, because there is nothing 
     impossible for Him.''
       Marta asked me to put together for her ``some material on 
     neoliberal business globalization and the financial crisis in 
     Asia. I want to state my opinions on the subject.'' A strange 
     request from a woman in prison, it's true. Marta's presence 
     in the kind of Cuba that we have can be disquieting and odd.
       Her note concluded: ``Say `hello' to Blanca and tell her I 
     recall her great coffee. I hope God allows me to drink some 
     of it soon, sitting in your living room.''
       There I had been with Tania, Odalys and Dulce Maria in the 
     jail, and Marta later ``came'' to my home, and I couldn't 
     even offer her coffee.
                                  ____


               [From the London Economist, Mar. 6, 1999]

                            Cosy Old Castro?

       Like any old trouper, Fidel Castro has a neat sense of 
     timing, and surefooted ability to confirm both his friends 
     and his critics in their views. It is three years since his 
     air force cruelly shot down two unarmed planes sent 
     provocatively towards Cuba by an exile group. The result was 
     Bill Clinton's signature on the Helms-Burton act, tightening 
     still further the American embargo against the island. Helms-
     Burton is not, in fact, the most damaging piece of such 
     American law, but the regime hates it. It was no coincidence 
     that last month Mr. Castro proposed, and his rubber-stamp 
     legislature at once approved, fierce penalties for all who 
     ``collaborate'' with the American government--or, 
     specifically, with foreign media--in the effort to strangle 
     Cuba's economy or upset its socialist system. The few brave 
     Cubans who dare to criticise the regime, and even to publish 
     their views abroad, said this was aimed at them. And, as if 
     to confirm it, the regime chose this week to put on trial--
     for just one day, and almost out of public view--four of the 
     best-known dissidents.
       Their offense, among others, is to have published in mid-
     1997 a document entitled ``La Patria es de Todos'', ``The 
     Fatherland Belongs to All''--a claim deeply offensive to Mr. 
     Castro's Communist Party, which likes to claim Cuba, its 
     anti-colonial past and its present alike as exclusive party 
     property. The four heretics were promptly arrested. Even 
     though the new law was not applied to their case, they now 
     risk sentences of years in prison, for the crime of telling 
     the truth.
       Mr. Castro has thus confirmed his admirers' unwavering 
     belief in his unwavering addiction, after 40 years of power, 
     to the basics of Stalinism. Cuba's official media, of course, 
     approve; and even abroad the sort of lickspittles who 40-50 
     years ago swallowed the show-trials of Eastern Europe can be 
     found to defend this fresh attack on those whom they smear as 
     ``so-called'' dissidents (if not common criminals, nut-cases 
     or both). More important, Mr. Castro has comprehensively 
     thumbed his nose at outsiders who thought that, while 
     reluctantly opening chinks of free-marketry into Cuba's 
     economy he might also open chinks for free thought and free 
     speech. These hopefuls included Pope John Paul, who came 
     visiting 14 months ago, and whose visit did indeed win 
     freedom (albeit mostly in exile) for some dissidents, and 
     greater freedom for his church. Its inter-American bishops' 
     conference was held last month in Cuba, for the first time. 
     But even as the bishops met, the new gagging law was going 
     through.
       This renewed assault on free thought must worry those 
     governments--in Latin America, in Canada and Europe--which 
     argue that constructive engagement may get Mr. Castro to 
     loosen his grip. An Ibero-American summit is due to be held 
     in Cuba this year. Spain has talked of a royal visit, though 
     the trials have already led it to rethink. Even Mr. Clinton 
     has recently made some gestures towards Cuba's citizenry, if 
     only to have its regime spit them back in his face.
       The stick plainly does not work: the American embargo no 
     more promotes freedom in Cuba today than for decades past. 
     But neither, on current form, do dialogue, trade and 
     investment, and the carrot of more if only Mr. Castro would 
     let go a little. His successors may soften, hoping to 
     preserve his achievements (yes, they exist) and their own 
     power, while loosening the handcuffs of Marxist economics and 
     thought-control. But the old ham himself, it seems, aims to 
     hoof on.
                                  ____


                [From the Globe and Mail, Mar. 3, 1999]

                         Cuba's Favourite Patsy

                            (By Marcus Gee)

       Last April, Jean Chretien flew down to meet Cuba's Fidel 
     Castro, becoming the first Canadian prime minister to do so 
     since 1976. By all accounts they got along famously. Mr. 
     Chretien praised Cuban-Canadian friendship and told a few 
     jokes. Mr. Castro praised Cuban-Canadian friendship and told 
     a few jokes. Mr. Chretien had just one thing to ask of his 
     host: Could Cuba please release four Cubans who had been 
     jailed for criticizing the government.
       On Monday, 10 months later, Mr. Castro gave his answer. He 
     put the four on trial for sedition. Marta Beatriz Roque, 
     Felix Bonne, Rene Gomez Manzano and Vladimiro Roca--the so-
     called Group of Four--face jail terms of up to six years for 
     ``subverting the order of our socialist state.'' Their crime: 
     urging voters to boycott Cuba's rigged one-party elections 
     and scolding foreign investors for propping up the Castro 
     regime.
       The decision to press on with the trial despite protests 
     from Canada and others is yet another example of Mr. Castro's 
     determination to crush all opposition to his ragged 
     dictatorship. It is also final, definitive proof that 
     Canada's Cuba policy has failed. With the opening of this 
     caricature of justice, that policy lies gutted like a trout 
     on a pier.
       Ottawa calls its policy ``constructive engagement.'' When 
     it took office in 1993, Mr. Chretien's government decided to 
     step up contacts with Cuba. More high-level visits, more 
     trade and investment, more development aid.
       The idea was to set Canada apart from the United States, 
     which has tried for years to bring down Mr. Castro with a 
     trade embargo and other pressure tactics. The U.S. strategy 
     had clearly failed; so Ottawa would try a gentler, more 
     Canadian approach. By ``engaging'' Mr. Castro, we would win 
     his confidence and persuade him of the error of his ways, 
     meanwhile tweaking Uncle Sam's nose and winning a new market 
     for Canadian exporters.
       In a visit to Cuba in 1997, Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy 
     persuaded Mr. Castro to let Canada help Cuba build a ``civil 
     society''--a favourite Lloydism. Canadian MPs would visit 
     Cuba to impart their wisdom about parliamentary democracy. 
     Canadian lawyers and judges would tell their Cuban 
     counterparts how an independent justice system works. 
     Canadians would even help Cuba strengthen its citizens' 
     complaint process, a kind of national suggestion box.
       All this came to pass. The practical effect on human rights 
     in Cuba: zero. Mr. Castro's human-rights record remains the 
     worst in the Americas. Cuba is still a one-party state where 
     elections are a sham, the judiciary is still a tool of state 
     oppression, independent newspapers and free trade unions 
     don't exist, and more than 300 Cubans still languish in jail 
     for ``counter-revolutionary crimes.''
       Far from allowing a civil society to flourish, Mr. Castro 
     has been cracking down. Just two weeks before the trial of 
     the Group of Four, the rubber-stamp National Assembly passed 
     a new anti-subversion law that sets penalties of up to 20 
     years in jail for anyone ``collaborating'' with the tough 
     U.S. policy on Cuba. Clearly aimed at Cuba's tiny group of 
     independent journalists, the law would make it a crime, for 
     example, to talk to the U.S.-funded Cuban-language Radio 
     Marti. Cuba's fear of bad press is so intense that it jailed 
     a Cuban doctor for eight years after he talked to the foreign 
     press about a dengue fever epidemic in the city of Santiago.
       Mr. Castro's one concession to Canada, if it can be called 
     that, has been to release a dozen or so political prisoners 
     and let them come to Canada--in other words, to send them 
     into exile. When Mr. Chretien came tuque in hand to Havana 
     last April, bleating about the value of ``dialogue over 
     confrontation,'' his host used him as a backdrop for a rant 
     against the U.S. embargo, which he compared to genocide.
       Yet his gains from the cozy relationship with Canada have 
     been huge. His strategy for many years has been to drive a 
     wedge between the United States and its allies on the Cuba 
     issue. Helped by the stupid Helms-Burton law, which seeks to 
     penalize foreign companies that do business with Cuba, he has 
     been making new friendships in Europe, the Caribbean and 
     Latin America. The friendship of Canada, a country renowned 
     for championing human rights, is by far his biggest coup. And 
     he didn't even have to ask.
       In its summary of Canada's Cuba policy, the Department of 
     Foreign Affairs explains why Cuba has been so keen on 
     Canada's friendship. ``Given our longstanding relations, 
     Canada's status as a technologically advanced North American 
     nation, and the lack of a heavily politicized agenda, Canada 
     has been seen as a trusted interlocutor with a balanced 
     perspective.'' Down at the pub, they call that a dupe.

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in 
the Record a letter from the President of the AFL-CIO, John J. Sweeney, 
directed to Fidel Castro, dated March 5, 1999, condemning the human 
rights conditions in Cuba.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:


[[Page S2928]]


         American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial 
           Organizations,
                                    Washington, DC, March 5, 1999.
     Dr. Fidel Castro,
     President, Republic of Cuba, Plaza de la Revolucion, Havana, 
         Cuba.
       Dear Mr. President: The AFL-CIO, representing over 13 
     million working men and women in the United States, 
     vigorously objects to your government's recent measures to 
     silence all opposition in your country, including the passage 
     of laws proscribing freedom of expression with the penalty of 
     death, and increasingly violent physical attacks, arrests, 
     and other forms of harassment perpetrated against pro-
     democracy activists.
       Despite Pope John Paul's historic visit to your country, 
     during which he asked the world to open itself to Cuba and 
     for Cuba to open itself to the world, and the subsequent 
     release of several political prisoners, these most recent 
     measures promulgated and implemented by your government make 
     for a giant step backward. A number of victims of this most 
     recent wave of repression were independent trade union 
     activists.
       Some human rights activists have termed the recent campaign 
     of repression as the most significant operation since the 
     1996 break-up of the Concilio Cubano. On March 1, security 
     forces detained dozens of local activists and blocked foreign 
     observers, including the chief U.S. Envoy to Havana, from 
     attending the trial of the so-called ``Group of Four.'' 
     Vladimir Roca the son of the deceased Cuban Communist hero 
     Blas Roca, Marta Beatrize Roque, an economist, Felix Bonne, 
     an academic, and Rene Gomez, an attorney, have been jailed 
     for the past 19 months for holding news conferences for 
     foreign journalists and diplomats, for urging voters to 
     boycott your country's one-party elections, for warning 
     foreigners that their investments would contribute to Cuban 
     suffering and for openly criticizing the Communist Party. 
     Such actions would be considered a normal exercise of freedom 
     of expression in any democratic society. We also understand 
     that the defendants are jointly accused of ``other acts 
     against the security of the state in relation with a crime of 
     sedition.'' For these ``offenses'', the four defendants face 
     prison sentences of five to six years. Although your 
     government denies holding prisoners of conscience, it labels 
     the four, as it does other opposition figures, as ``counter-
     revolutionary'' criminals.
       The unwarranted arrests, threats and physical intimidation 
     are in direct violation of the rights defined and protected 
     by the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 
     to which Cuba is a signatory.
       The AFL-CIO respectfully requests that your government 
     rescind these most recent measures of repression, as well as 
     freeing the scores of prisoners of conscience who still 
     inhabit your country's jails. The AFL-CIO also wishes to 
     acknowledge and condemn the recent campaign of government-
     sponsored repression which victimized the individuals 
     mentioned in the list which is enclosed. Although a number of 
     these individuals have been released from state detention, 
     they should never have been arrested in the first place.
           Sincerely,
                                                  John J. Sweeney,
                                                        President.

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I commend our distinguished colleagues from 
Florida, Senators Bob Graham and Connie Mack, for their leadership in 
the bipartisan effort to defend the rights of the Cuban people.
  Their Senate Resolution No. 57--of which I am a proud cosponsor--is a 
timely reminder to the administration that the United States must speak 
out clearly in behalf of those whose own voices are choked by communist 
repression--be they in China or Cuba. Our principled, consistent 
defense of human rights must be heard at the upcoming meeting of the 
U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
  In recent weeks, Fidel Castro has executed a brutal crackdown on 
courageous Cubans and independent journalists who seek freedom from the 
heavy-handed treatment imposed on them by the Castro government.
  Just this week, he sentenced four prominent, peaceful dissidents to 
up to 5 years in prison for daring to criticize Castro's failed 
communist experiment.
  There's nothing new about Castro's brutality. But the latest Castro 
crackdown is significant because it violates Castro's commitments to 
the Pope. The Pope asked Castro to ``open up to the world'' and to 
respect human rights. Castro's reply has now been heard: He gave a 
bloody thumbs-down to the Pope's plea.
  The latest crackdown also comes despite years of Canadian coddling 
and European investment in Cuba. The Canadians' self-described ``policy 
of engagement'' has served to prop-up the Castro regime but has done 
nothing to advance human rights or democracy.
  Thos who have urged unilateral concessions from the United States in 
order to nudge Castro toward change surely will now acknowledge that 
appeasement has failed--as it always does.
  The U.S. response to this latest wave of repression must be resolute 
and energetic. We must invigorate our policy to maintain the embargo on 
Castro, while undermining Castro's embargo on the Cuban people.
  We should make no secret of our goal: I myself have declared publicly 
and repeatedly that, for the sake of the people of Cuba, Fidel must go. 
And, whether he goes vertically or horizontally is up to him.
  Since the Pope's visit to Cuba, I have urged the administration to 
increase United States support for Cuban dissidents and independent 
groups, which include the Catholic Church. Once again, I call on the 
Clinton administration to increase U.S. support for dissidents, to 
respect the codification of the embargo, and to work with us on this 
bipartisan policy.
  Castro's recent measures make clear that he is feeling the heat from 
our efforts to reach out to the Cuban people. That is why Castro is 
trying to crush dissidents and independent journalists, who are daring 
to tell the truth about his regime. That is why he has made it a 
criminal offense for Cubans to engage in friendly contact with 
Americans.
  Castro's cowardly brutality--when one pauses to think about it--shows 
that he is a weak and frightened despot. His cruelty should make us 
more determined than ever to sweep Castro-ism onto the ash heap of 
history.
  Senate Resolution 57 calls upon the administration to use its voice 
and vote at the upcoming meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Commission to 
support a strong resolution that will condemn Castro's systematic 
repression and appoint a special rapporteur to document the regime's 
willful violations of universally recognized human rights.
  Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I rise today in support of S. Res. 57, 
expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the human rights situation 
in Cuba.
  I am pleased to join Senator Graham, Mack and my other colleagues in 
support of this resolution. This is a timely resolution. As the U.N. 
Human Rights Commission is preparing to meet in Geneva later this 
month, we are witnessing a new crackdown on human rights in Cuba.
  This week, four prominent dissidents were sentenced to jail terms 
ranging from three and a half to five years by the Cuban government. 
Their crime--exercising their right to speak and support a peaceful 
transition to democracy.
  These courageous people, Vladimiro Roca, Rene Manzano, Felix Bonne, 
and Marta Beatriz Roque, were arrested for their peaceful criticism of 
the Communist Party platform. They were held over one year without 
being charged. They were tried in a closed door proceeding that 
violated all standards of due process. Scores of human rights activists 
and journalists were arrested before and during their trial to prevent 
demonstrations of support for the accused. Fidel Castro ignored calls 
from the Vatican and the Canadian government for their release. 
Yesterday, the European Union issued a strong statement calling for 
their release.
  The trial prompted international outrage, but came as little surprise 
for those who have followed Castro's policy of eliminating peaceful 
dissent. The government regularly pursues a policy of using detention 
and intimidation to force human rights activists to leave Cuba or 
abandon their efforts. The four dissidents bravely rejected the Cuban 
government's offers to go into exile rather than face trial.
  One year after the Papal visit, an event which many hoped would bring 
greater openness to Cuba, Fidel Castro has slammed the door closed on 
the world and on the Cuban people. 1999 has brought about no change in 
Castro's unyielding policy of stifling human rights. To the contrary, 
Castro is tightening his iron grip on the Cuban people.
  First, he began the year by rejecting the Administration's expanded 
humanitarian measures. Among other initiatives, the measures establish 
direct mail service between the U.S. and Cuba, and expand remittances 
to individual Cuban families and charitable organizations. These 
measures, designed to ease the suffering of the Cuban people caused by 
40 years of

[[Page S2929]]

communism, were called acts of ``aggression'' by the Cuban government.
  Second, a new security law for the ``Protection of National 
Independence and Economy'' was passed by the Cuban government in 
February. The law criminalizes any form of cooperation or participation 
in pro-democracy efforts. It imposes penalties ranging from 20 to 30 
years, for those found to be cooperating with the U.S. government. 
Government officials have already warned human rights activists that 
violations are punishable under the new law.
  And third, the State Department Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices details the same human rights abuses as last year and the 
year before. One is hard-pressed to find any improvements. The Report 
repeats last year's finding that the Cuban government's human rights 
record remains poor. It reiterates the finding that the government 
continues to ``systematically violate fundamental civil and political 
rights of its citizens.'' Security forces ``committed serious human 
rights abuses.''
  The examples of human rights violations in the Report are numerous, 
and startling. Human rights activists are beaten in their homes and 
outside churches. People are arbitrarily detained and arrested. 
Political prisoners are denied food and medicine brought by their 
families. Even children are made to stand in the rain chanting slogans 
against pro-democracy activists.
  I would, therefore, say to those countries seeking increased ties 
with Cuba--take a look at this record. Do not lend any credibility or 
legitimacy to a government that denies its people basic human rights, 
and punishes those seeking a peaceful transition to democracy.
  While the Western Hemisphere gradually moves towards greater respect 
for human rights, Cuba remains mired in its communist past. Once again, 
it is the Cuban people who suffer.
  This resolution demonstrates that the United States' Senate stands 
united, not divided, in condemning human rights abuses in Cuba. It also 
sends a strong message to not only the U.N. Human Rights Commission, 
but also to the Cuban people. We will stand with you and support you 
until the day that you are free.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this resolution.
  Mr. MACK. There are no further speakers on my side, so I am prepared 
to yield back the remainder of my time.
  Mr. GRAHAM. There are no other speakers on our side of the aisle, so 
I also yield back the remainder of our time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
  Mr. MACK. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Enzi). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________