[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 43 (Thursday, March 13, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2125-S2126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING DR. OSCAR BISCET

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I join today with Senators 
Martinez and Menendez, and other colleagues, to highlight the ongoing 
struggle for freedom being waged by a people oppressed by their own 
government, and to honor the struggle of one particular individual 
whose commitment to bringing that freedom has never wavered, even in 
the face of overwhelming oppression.
  Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet is a Cuban physician and human rights activist 
who has dedicated himself to the struggle to bring democracy, justice 
and freedom to Cuba.
  Dr. Biscet was unjustly sent to prison by a regime scared of the 
truth that his activities threatened to unveil--the

[[Page S2126]]

truth that dissent in Cuba is regularly and brutally repressed; that 
political prisoners are regularly incarcerated in institutions that 
deprive them and their fellow inmates of basic life necessities; and 
most importantly, that the people of Cuba, like all people, long for 
liberty and the opportunity to take care of their families and loved 
ones free from repression by their own government.
  Dr. Biscet embodies the hopes and dreams of 11 million Cubans; we are 
here today to honor his efforts and his fellow Cubans' hopes and dreams 
by introducing this bill, which would award Dr. Biscet a Congressional 
Gold Medal for his tireless work on behalf of the Cuban people.
  It is our desire that this gesture will serve not only as a signal of 
hope to Dr. Biscet, who--charged with ``insulting symbols of the 
fatherland,'' ``public disorder'' and ``instigation to commit 
crimes''--sits today in the notorious `Cuba Si' prison as a symbol of 
the Cuban regime's oppression, but also as a signal to that government 
and those like it around the world that we are watching, and that 
liberty ultimately always prevails.

                          ____________________