[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.
____________________