[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1794-E1795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FREEDOM FOR JULIO CESAR LOPEZ RODRIGUEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 8, 2005

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about Julio Cesar Lopez Rodriguez, a political prisoner in 
totalitarian Cuba.
  Mr. Lopez Rodriguez is an independent librarian and pro-democracy 
activist in totalitarian Cuba. According to Human Rights First, Mr. 
Lopez Rodriguez is Vice President of the Frente Linea Dura movement and 
Director of its independent library. He is a longtime activist for 
democratic change.
  Independent librarians in Cuba, such as Mr. Lopez Rodriguez, provide 
the indispensable service of circulating truth at a time when the 
tyrannical regime provides only propaganda. These heroic librarians 
circulate important works, including literature written by authors such 
as George Orwell, Vaclav Havel, and Dr. Martin Luther King, whose works 
are among the classics of anti-totalitarian literature.
  As part of the tyrant's heinous July 2005 crackdown on peaceful pro-
democracy opponents, on 22 July, Mr. Lopez Rodriguez was arrested as he 
tried to participate in a peaceful demonstration outside the French 
Embassy in Havana, demanding the release of political prisoners in 
Cuba. As part of this vicious crackdown, approximately 30 brave 
opponents were arrested at home, on their way to the demonstration or 
on the sidelines of the gathering.
  Mr. Lopez Rodriguez is currently languishing in an abhorrent, inhuman 
cell in the totalitarian gulag. The State Department reports that 
police and prison officials beat, neglect, isolate, and deny medical 
treatment to detainees and prisoners, including those convicted of 
political crimes. It is a crime of the highest order that people who 
work for freedom are imprisoned in these nightmarish conditions.
  Despite the regime's constant gangster style repression, freedom and 
democracy are on the march in Cuba. Courageous leaders like Mr. Lopez 
Rodriguez defy the dictator's machinery of repression and, despite 
every threat and obstacle, demand liberty for the people of Cuba. 
Through their bravery, through their actions, and because of their 
unwavering commitment, and the works of thousands of other Cuban 
patriots, Cuba will be free again.
  Mr. Speaker, it is completely unacceptable that, while the world 
stands by in silence, Mr. Lopez Rodriguez languishes in the gulag 
because of his belief in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule 
of law. My colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional 
release of Julio Cesar Lopez Rodriguez and every political prisoner in 
totalitarian Cuba.

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