[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 68 (Friday, May 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FREEDOM FOR REGIS IGLESIAS RAMIREZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2005

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about Regis Iglesias Ramirez, a political prisoner in 
totalitarian Cuba.
  Mr. Iglesias Ramirez is a member of the Christian Liberation 
Movement. Because of his belief in freedom of religion, democracy and 
human rights, Mr. Iglesias Ramirez is an opponent of the nightmare that 
is the Castro regime. Despite the constant threat of retribution by the 
dictatorship, he has continually demanded his inalienable human rights.
  Unfortunately, in March 2003, as part of the regime's heinous 
crackdown on peaceful, pro-democracy activists, Mr. Iglesias Ramirez 
was arrested. In a sham trial, he was sentenced to 18 years in the 
totalitarian gulag.
  Mr. Iglesias Ramirez is languishing in an inhuman, grotesque gulag 
simply because of his religious convictions and his desire to live in 
liberty. According to Amnesty International, he has been threatened and 
harassed because he persists in studying his Bible while incarcerated 
by the regime. It is reprehensible that, at the dawn of the 21st 
Century, men and women like Mr. Iglesias Ramirez are still locked in 
dank dungeons because of the tenets of their faith.
  Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is May 20, and on that day, 103 years ago, the 
Cuban people obtained their independence; the Republic of Cuba was 
born. Today the Cuban people, led by heroic activists such as Mr. 
Iglesias Ramirez, continue to fight for freedom. It is my fervent hope 
that next year, on May 20, the Cuban people will be able to celebrate 
the anniversary of Cuba's independence and also celebrate the return of 
freedom to that long suffering island.
  Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable that peaceful Cubans of all 
genders, creeds and colors are locked in Castro's barbarous gulag 
because they believe in a free Cuba. While the entire world sits by and 
ignores the suffering of the Cuban people, brave men and women like Mr. 
Iglesias Ramirez represent the best of mankind. My Colleagues, we must 
demand freedom and human rights for all people, especially those who 
live under the darkness of totalitarian regimes. We must demand 
immediate and unconditional freedom for Regis Iglesias Ramirez and 
every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

                          ____________________