[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 28, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2030
       U.S.-CUBAN BASEBALL GAME IS PROPAGANDA BONANZA FOR CASTRO

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, this Monday the latest U.S. concession 
to the Castro dictatorship will take place just a few miles from the 
Capitol when the Baltimore Orioles will play the Cuban national team.
  This event is nothing but a propaganda bonanza for Castro as it helps 
the dictatorship divert attention from the repression that continues on 
the island.
  For every pitch thrown in the game, one more person in Cuba will be 
fearing that one of Castro's thugs could come knock on his door and 
arbitrarily arrest him.
  For every hit, one more political prisoner in Cuba will be hungry and 
needing the medical attention that the regime denies him.
  For every inning that goes by, one more dissident will be harassed 
for speaking merely about bringing freedom to the enslaved island of 
Cuba.
  And let us not fool ourselves. Playing ball with Castro will do 
nothing to help the Cuban people achieve their long-sought freedom.
  Just last Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Commission 
condemned the atrocities of the Castro tyranny. Yet on Monday we will 
play ball with that same dictatorship.
  We must stop rewarding the Castro tyranny while the regime continues 
its brutal repression on the people of Cuba, who desire to live in 
freedom.

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