[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E605-E606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REGARDING HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUBA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOE SCARBOROUGH

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2001

  Mr. SCARBOROUGH. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in condemning the 
repressive and totalitarian actions of the government of Cuba against 
the Cuban people. I fully support H. Res. 91 and join with the sense of 
the House of Representatives that the President should work toward a 
policy of directly assisting the Cuban people, strengthening the forces 
of change, and improving human rights within Cuba.
  Since Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the Cuban 
government has severely repressed its citizens. Cuba barely survives as 
one of the last hard-line Communist states anywhere in the world, and 
unfortunately continues its abysmal human rights record to this day. 
Following the Soviet Union's collapse and the decline of its role as 
Soviet satellite, Cuba experienced severe economic deterioration from 
1989 to 1993. Despite limited reforms implemented in 1994, economic and 
social conditions there have not significantly improved. We must press 
for more.
  The Castro regime violates all the Cuban people's fundamental civil 
and political rights, denying its citizens the freedoms we Americans 
hold most sacred. In Cuba, there is no such thing as freedom of 
assembly, freedom of press, freedom of speech, or freedom of religion. 
In law and in practice, the Castro regime suppresses all opposition and 
dissent, and controls and monitors religions institutions. In addition, 
Cuba's government regularly denies workers' rights and routinely 
prevents

[[Page E606]]

international human rights monitors from accessing the country.
  The United States' objective for Cuba is to bring democracy and 
respect for human rights to our island neighbor. We must continue a 
policy that keeps maximum pressure on the Cuban government until 
reforms are enacted, but we must not forget the Cuban people who are 
unconscionably forced to live without the most basic freedoms. Nobody 
deserves to live and die at the hands of communism. Fortunately, 
through our persistence and steadfast knowledge that the United States 
is morally right, Mr. Speaker, I assure you ultimately freedom will 
prevail.

                          ____________________