[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 154 (Friday, November 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FREEDOM FOR RICARDO RAMOS PEREIRA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 17, 2005

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about Ricardo Ramos Pereira, a political prisoner in totalitarian 
Cuba.
  Mr. Ramos Pereira is a member of the November 30 Democratic party and 
a member of the pro-democracy opposition in totalitarian Cuba. 
Unfortunately, those who believe that freedom, liberty, and the right 
to worship are the birthright of all men and women are targeted by the 
tyrant's machinery of repression.
  According to an article for the Information Bridge Cuba Miami (IBCM), 
Mr. Ramos Pereira was arrested on January 25, 2002 for participating in 
a mass offered on behalf of all the political prisoners in Cuba. IBCM 
also reports that on February 28, 2002, Mr. Ramos Pereira was arrested 
for simply participating in a civic activity at the Catholic Church of 
the Passionists. More than 2 years later, in a sham trial, he was 
sentenced to 5 years in the totalitarian gulag.
  Let me be very clear, Mr. Ramos Pereira is currently languishing in 
the depraved conditions of the totalitarian gulag for his belief in 
freedom. The U.S. State Department describes the conditions in the 
gulag as, ``harsh and life threatening.'' The State Department also 
reports that police and prison officials beat, neglect, isolate, and 
deny medical treatment to detainees and prisoners. It is a crime of the 
highest order that people are imprisoned in these nightmarish 
conditions simply for their belief in democracy and freedom of 
religion.
  Mr. Ramos Pereira is one of the many heroes of the peaceful Cuban 
democratic movement who are locked in the dungeons of the dictatorship 
for their beliefs. They are symbols of freedom and democracy who will 
always be remembered when freedom reigns again in Cuba. President Bush 
addressed those brave men and women who spread the light of freedom in 
the darkest corners of the world when he said, in his second inaugural 
address, ``Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can 
know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free 
country.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is a profound embarrassment for mankind that the 
world stands by in silence and acquiescence while political prisoners 
are systematically tortured in totalitarian gulags. My Colleagues, we 
must demand the immediate and unconditional release of Ricardo Ramos 
Pereira and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

                          ____________________