[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 67 (Thursday, May 25, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S5283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONDEMNING THE APRIL 25, 2006, BEATING AND INTIMIDATION OF CUBAN 
                     DISSIDENT MARTHA BEATRIZ ROQUE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to Calendar No. 445, S. Res. 469.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 469) condemning the April 25, 2006, 
     beating and intimidation of Cuban dissident, Martha Beatriz 
     Roque.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to considerthe 
resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be 
printed in the Record, without further intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 469) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 469

       Whereas the 47-year communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro 
     in Cuba received the lowest rating from Freedom House in its 
     ``Freedom in the World 2005'' report for political rights and 
     civil liberties, and is categorized by that organization as 
     ``repressive'' and having ``virtually no freedom'';
       Whereas Human Rights Watch describes Cuba in its ``World 
     Report 2006'' as ``an undemocratic government that represses 
     nearly all forms of political dissent'';
       Whereas human rights observers have documented that the 
     regime in Cuba attempts to intimidate human rights dissidents 
     and their families through ``acts of repudiation,'' 
     consisting of mobs of regime supporters screaming threats and 
     insults;
       Whereas, on April 25, 2006, an act of repudiation against 
     Martha Beatriz Roque became violent when she was punched, 
     knocked down, and dragged outside her home in Havana while 
     she was leaving to attend a meeting with Michael E. Parmly, 
     the Chief of Mission-Designate for the United States 
     Interests Section in Havana, Cuba;
       Whereas Martha Beatriz Roque is a citizen of Cuba and 
     leader of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, a 
     coalition of 365 independent civil society groups within 
     Cuba;
       Whereas, in March 2003, the regime of Fidel Castro 
     imprisoned dozens of Cuban dissidents including Martha 
     Beatriz Roque for their activities supporting freedom and 
     democracy; and
       Whereas Martha Beatriz Roque was released in 2005 for 
     health reasons without a pardon or a commutation of her 
     sentence: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the brutality of the regime of Fidel Castro 
     toward Martha Beatriz Roque, a 61-year-old woman in frail 
     health;
       (2) demands the regime of Cuba allow the people of Cuba to 
     exercise their fundamental human rights, rather than 
     responding to calls for freedom with imprisonment and 
     intimidation;
       (3) commends the courage and perseverance of Martha Beatriz 
     Roque and all dissidents in Cuba;
       (4) calls on the regime of Cuba to release the hundreds of 
     political prisoners still held today and to stop the 
     intimidation of dissidents and their families; and
       (5) calls for continued international support and 
     solidarity with pro-democracy leaders in Cuba.

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