[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 34 (Friday, February 27, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUBA: A SQUANDERED OPPORTUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 27, 2015

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month I held a 
hearing to examine the state of human rights in Cuba, which is a very 
timely topic indeed, given the Obama administration's sea change in 
policy toward Cuba announced at the end of last year.
   I have repeatedly asked whether in undertaking this change in 
policy, the Obama administration used the considerable leverage that it 
wields to seek to better the condition of the Cuban people, or whether, 
as I fear, an opportunity was squandered in its haste to achieve a 
diplomatic breakthrough and create a legacy for the President.
   The hearing was not only about Castro regime accountability, but 
also Obama administration accountability, with Congress exercising its 
role of both oversight and as a bully pulpit for reminding the world 
that Cuba remains a Communist dictatorship which continues to arrest 
political dissidents--over 200 so far in 2015--and one whose caudillo, 
Raul Castro, has declared would not change, even in response to the 
Obama administration's concessions.
   This Castro regime continues to harbor fugitives from justice such 
as Joanne Chesimard, who was convicted in the 1973 murder of a state 
trooper in my home state of New Jersey, Officer Werner Foerster. 
Indeed, earlier this month, we had the Assistant Secretary of State for 
the Western Hemisphere Roberta Jacobson appear before the full Foreign 
Affairs Committee. I asked her what the response of the Cuban 
Government was when she raised the issue of the return of Joanne 
Chesimard to justice. She replied that the Cuban Government stated that 
it was ``not interested in discussing her return.''
   This is unacceptable. I received a statement from Christopher J. 
Burgos, the President of the State Troopers Fraternal Organization of 
New Jersey, wherein he states on behalf of our Jersey State Troopers 
that ``We are shocked and very disappointed that returning a convicted 
killer of a State Trooper was not already demanded and accomplished in 
the context of the steps announced by the White House regarding this 
despotic dictatorship.''
   We had with us three very brave and uniquely qualified witnesses to 
the brutality of the Cuban dictatorship, three human rights activists 
who at great personal cost to themselves and their families stood up 
for human dignity.
   We heard about the deplorable state of human rights in Cuba, how 
Afro-Cubans in particular face discrimination on a day-to-day basis, 
and the brutality with which human rights activists, including women, 
are treated. We heard of murders sanctioned by the government, of 
beatings, of arrests and re-arrests.
   And I would also like to point out that after testifying here, in 
public, two of our witnesses returned to Cuba. They know that one day 
the regime will exact a price against them for their temerity. Yet they 
insisted on appearing, so that they can share the truth of what is 
happening in their beloved isle. What bravery!
   I therefore would like to dedicate the hearing I held to the Cuban 
people, who have suffered for so many decades under the brutal regime 
of the Castro brothers, and to thank our witnesses for testifying. I 
also would like to thank in particular my dear friend and colleague, 
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for her leadership day-in-and-day-out, in good 
weather and in bad, on behalf of the people of not only Cuba, but in 
countries such as Venezuela, China, and Vietnam, where the people 
continue to suffer under oppressive rulers. Thank you, Ileana, for your 
leadership and moral clarity.
   It is thus my belief that there should be no easing of the pressure 
until Cuba has met definitive and concrete human rights and democratic 
milestones. Among these milestones are the release of all political 
prisoners, the end of harassment and a policy of releasing and then re-
jailing, the ending of restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, 
and on the rights of Assembly. Moreover, the Church must be allowed to 
conduct its affairs fully and freely without government interference.
   And, finally, the Castro regime must be held to account for their 
harboring of some seventy fugitives from justice, including Joanne 
Chesimard, who is on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list.
   To that end, I would like to state that I intend to introduce 
legislation that will complement our existing legislation on Cuba, in 
particular Helms-Burton, making sure that important human rights 
milestones are met before our government makes concessions that are 
effectively unilateral, squandering leverage.

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