[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 80 (Wednesday, May 16, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 511--HONORING LAS DAMAS DE BLANCO AS THE RECIPIENT OF 
          THE 2018 MILTON FRIEDMAN PRIZE FOR ADVANCING LIBERTY

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

                              S. Res. 511

       Whereas Las Damas de Blanco (also known as the ``Ladies in 
     White'') is a group composed of wives and female relatives of 
     imprisoned political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and 
     peaceful dissidents in Cuba;
       Whereas, in April 2003, during the wave of repression known 
     as the ``Black Spring'', a group of strong and courageous 
     women formed Las Damas de Blanco in response to the wrongful 
     imprisonment of their family members by the Cuban regime;
       Whereas, since the inception of the group, the members of 
     Las Damas de Blanco have attended Sunday mass in the Church 
     of Santa Rita in Havana, Cuba, and then marched peacefully 
     through the streets of Havana holding photos of their jailed 
     relatives and white gladioluses;
       Whereas members of Las Damas de Blanco regularly march to 
     advocate for the release of all political prisoners and the 
     freedom of the Cuban people from Cuba's repressive regime;
       Whereas, despite leading peaceful protests, members of Las 
     Damas de Blanco are regularly attacked by Cuban regime 
     security forces and prevented from exercising their 
     fundamental rights of the freedoms of expression and 
     assembly;
       Whereas, according to Amnesty International--
       (1) Las Damas de Blanco ``remain[s] one of the primary 
     targets of repression by Cuban [G]overnment authorities''; 
     and
       (2) members of Las Damas de Blanco are frequently detained 
     and ``often beaten by law enforcement officials and state 
     security agents dressed as civilians'' while in detention;
       Whereas, according to the Human Rights Watch 2018 World 
     Report, ``detention is often used preemptively to prevent 
     people from participating in peaceful marches or meetings to 
     discuss politics, and detainees are often beaten, threatened, 
     and held incommunicado for hours or days'';
       Whereas the Human Rights Watch 2018 World Report noted 
     that, ``Cuban Police or state security agents continue to 
     routinely harass, rough up, and detain members of Las Damas 
     de Blanco before or after they attend Sunday mass'';
       Whereas, in 2005, Las Damas de Blanco was selected to 
     receive the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, but the 
     Cuban regime did not allow the members of the group to leave 
     the island to accept the award;
       Whereas Laura Ines Pollan Toledo, the founder of Las Damas 
     de Blanco, left a legacy of a peaceful protest against human 
     and civil rights abuses in Cuba;
       Whereas Laura Ines Pollan Toledo died on October 14, 2011, 
     and while her death garnered widespread international 
     attention, the Cuban regime remained silent;
       Whereas, according to Freedom House, in December 2013, Las 
     Damas de Blanco ``took to the streets to demonstrate against 
     human rights abuses on International Human Rights Day, but 
     were detained before the protest could begin'';
       Whereas, in February 2015, 30 members of Las Damas de 
     Blanco were arrested in an attempt by Cuban officials to bar 
     the women from participating in the #TodosMarchamos march, 
     which sought to advocate for the freedom of political 
     prisoners in Cuba;
       Whereas, on March 20, 2016, a few hours before President 
     Barack Obama landed in Cuba for his first visit to the 
     communist country, Cuban authorities arrested more than 50 
     dissidents protesting the deteriorating state of human rights 
     in Cuba and directly targeted Las Damas de Blanco;
       Whereas, while Raul Castro is no longer the head of state 
     of Cuba, grave human rights abuses continue under the newly 
     selected President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel;
       Whereas Las Damas de Blanco has appealed to the United 
     States and other foreign governments in order to bring 
     international attention to the repression of dissent by the 
     Cuban regime and the plight of political prisoners, who are 
     routinely jailed unjustly and without due process;
       Whereas, on May 17, 2018, Las Damas de Blanco will receive 
     the prestigious 2018 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing 
     Liberty for the bravery of the group and the continuing 
     efforts of the group to fight for individual freedom in Cuba;
       Whereas the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty 
     acknowledges those who have advocated and contributed to 
     advancing human liberty; and
       Whereas Berta de los Angeles Soler Fernandez and Leticia 
     Ramos Herreria, members of Las Damas de Blanco, have been 
     prohibited by the government of Diaz-Canel from leaving Cuba 
     to accept the 2018 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing 
     Liberty in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates Las Damas de Blanco on receiving the 
     prestigious 2018 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty;
       (2) honors the members of Las Damas de Blanco for their 
     courageous efforts to stand up to the Cuban regime and defend 
     human rights and fundamental freedoms, as expressed in the 
     Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
       (3) recognizes all of the valiant leaders of Las Damas de 
     Blanco, including those members who died before being able to 
     see a free Cuba;
       (4) expresses solidarity and commitment to the democratic 
     aspirations of the Cuban people; and
       (5) calls on the Cuban regime to allow members of Las Damas 
     de Blanco to travel freely both domestically and 
     internationally.

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