[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 28, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S6241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 584--ACKNOWLEDGING THE PEACEFUL HUNGER STRIKE OF 
     GUILLERMO ``EL COCO'' FARINAS, A POLITICAL DISSIDENT IN CUBA, 
 APPLAUDING HIS BRAVERY AND COMMITMENT TO HUMAN RIGHTS, AND EXPRESSING 
                   SOLIDARITY WITH HIM AND HIS CAUSE

  Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Menendez) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 584

       Whereas Fidel Castro and Raul Castro have led an 
     oppressive, totalitarian, 1-party Communist state in Cuba for 
     57 years;
       Whereas the Castro regime has unyieldingly violated basic 
     human rights and steadfastly suppressed peaceful dissent in 
     Cuba, despite nonviolent calls for change in Cuba and 
     internationally;
       Whereas the unconditional reestablishment of diplomatic 
     relations between the United States and Cuba has failed to 
     meaningfully improve the predicament of the people of Cuba;
       Whereas Guillermo ``El Coco'' Farinas is an internationally 
     renowned Cuban dissident dedicated to advocating for 
     political freedoms and human rights in Cuba;
       Whereas the Communist Party of Cuba has viewed political 
     freedoms and human rights as antithetical to the totalitarian 
     agenda, and a threat to the existence, of that party;
       Whereas El Coco Farinas has repeatedly stated his 
     willingness to give up his own life for the cause of freedom 
     and liberty in Cuba;
       Whereas El Coco Farinas held a 7-month hunger strike in 
     2006 to call attention to the Cuban Government's practice of 
     Internet censorship in Cuba;
       Whereas El Coco Farinas held another hunger strike in 2010 
     to protest the Cuban Government's practices of making 
     politically motivated arrests and maintaining prisoners of 
     conscience;
       Whereas the Government of Cuba denied El Coco Farinas an 
     exit visa in 2010 to travel to Strasbourg, France to receive 
     the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of 
     Thought, in recognition of the efforts of El Coco Farinas to 
     peacefully advocate for political freedoms in Cuba;
       Whereas at the funeral of fellow activist Oswaldo Paya, who 
     is widely believed to have been murdered by the Castro 
     regime, El Coco Farinas was among dozens of dissidents who 
     were arbitrarily arrested;
       Whereas El Coco Farinas initiated another hunger strike in 
     the summer of 2016 to call international attention to the 
     continued brutality committed by the Cuban Government;
       Whereas, on September 12, 2016, El Coco Farinas ended that 
     hunger strike following the release of a fabricated report 
     that the European Union had conditioned relations with Cuba 
     on improvements in the human rights situation in Cuba, which 
     the European Parliament later confirmed was false and the 
     Cuban American National Foundation denounced as a 
     ``discrediting campaign to misinform the people of Cuba and 
     the international community'';
       Whereas in recognition of his unwavering efforts to 
     peacefully push for reforms for the people of Cuba, El Coco 
     Farinas has been awarded--
       (1) the 2006 Cyber-Freedom Prize by Reporters Without 
     Borders;
       (2) the Weimar International Human Rights Award; and
       (3) the 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the 
     European Parliament; and
       Whereas recognition of the recent hunger strike of El Coco 
     Farinas and an expression of solidarity with him and his 
     cause sends a positive signal of the enduring commitment of 
     the people of the United States to the people of Cuba: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the courage of Guillermo ``El Coco'' Farinas in 
     standing up to the relentless repression of the Government of 
     Cuba;
       (2) recognizes El Coco Farinas for his perseverance in 
     seeking meaningful change for the people of Cuba through 
     peaceful means;
       (3) acknowledges that the efforts of the Government of Cuba 
     to undermine the latest hunger strike of El Coco Farinas, 
     through the release of a fabricated report, failed to 
     diminish the international attention that his hunger strike 
     attracted to the human rights situation in Cuba; and
       (4) expresses solidarity and support for El Coco Farinas, 
     his valiant efforts, and his commitment to basic human 
     freedoms for the people of Cuba.

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