[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 29, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CONTINUED REPRESSION IN CUBA

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                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 29, 2003

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member wishes to commend to his 
colleagues the April 12, 2003, editorial from the Lincoln Journal Star, 
entitled ``Castro shows he is still a brutal tyrant.'' As the editorial 
correctly notes, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's recent crackdowns on 
political dissent cannot be tolerated.

                Castro Shows He Is Still a Brutal Tyrant

       Early this year, the College of Journalism and Mass 
     Communications at the University of Nebraska arranged a trip 
     to Cuba for students in its depth reporting class.
       The students made an effort to talk to dissenters, pro-
     democracy activists and independent journalists.
       Today, six of the people they met are in prison, according 
     to student Sarah Fox. In addition, two Cubans met by the UNL 
     group have been identified as government spies, according to 
     Professor Joe Starita, a leader of the visit.
       Since March 18, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has jailed more 
     than 75 Cubans, including many in the recent Varela Project, 
     which collected more than 10,000 signatures last year calling 
     for a pro-democracy referendum.
       Castro's latest round of suppression shatters hopes the 76-
     year-old autocrat will permit meaningful progress toward 
     democracy near the end of his long stay in power.
       The people jailed by Castro were guilty only of exercising 
     freedoms--criticism of the government, political activism, 
     independent journalism--that Americans take for granted.
       Raul Rivero, a poet and independent journalist, already has 
     been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pre-ordained legal 
     proceedings. Also facing long prison sentences are economist 
     Martha Beatriz Roque, labor activist Pedro Pablo Alvarez and 
     editor Ricardo Gonzalez.
       During the crackdown, government officials hauled the 
     dissidents from their homes and confiscated tape recorders, 
     fax machines, computers and clippings from American 
     newspapers.
       Amnesty International described the sentences as ``a giant 
     step backward for human rights.'' The U.S. State Department 
     described them as ``the most despicable act of political 
     repression in the Americas in a decade.'' The Human Rights 
     Watch said Cuba is ``flouting fundamental human rights 
     norms.''
       The level of repression in Cuba has fluctuated during the 
     43 years Castro has held power. In recent years, however, 
     Castro seemed more tolerant of dissent, and he opened the 
     doors of the island nation to tourists and international 
     visitors.
       Despite the welcome influx of foreign currency, Castro 
     eventually felt threatened by the opposition movement in 
     Cuba. Adding to Castro's paranoia was encouragement given to 
     Castro's opponents by the American government.
       The top U.S. diplomat in Cuba, James Cason, met with 
     dissidents, offered them public support and allowed them to 
     use U.S. facilities in Cuba for their meetings.
       If Castro had been willing to continue loosening the reins 
     of power, Cuba could have enjoyed the economic benefits of 
     increased tourism and trade. Instead, his crackdown reaffirms 
     that Castro is nothing more than a garden variety tyrant more 
     interested in clinging to power than improving the lives of 
     his people.

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