[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 25312]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   SUPPORT MARTA BEATRIZ ROQUE AND THE CUBAN PEOPLE, NOT THE CASTRO 
                              DICTATORSHIP

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to once again underscore the 
subjugation of the Cuban people and the widespread persecution of human 
rights dissidents and opposition leaders. This weekend the Castro 
regime sought to further torture Marta Beatriz Roque, one of Cuba's 
four leading dissidents, by moving her to a secret jail, blocking all 
but one relative from visiting her, and controlling even that access by 
having state security agents transport and monitor this relative.
  Driven by the strength of her convictions and the commitment to give 
life and limb if necessary, if it furthers the cause of freedom and 
liberty for Cuba, Marta Beatriz Roque has gone on hunger strikes in 
defiance of the regime's threats to highlight the flagrant miscarriage 
of justice and the frequent violations of the rights of the Cuban 
people. Her uncompromising will stands as a thorn at the side of a 
regime seeking to hide Marta Beatriz and its brutality from the world.
  My colleagues, I ask you to support Marta Beatriz Roque and the Cuban 
people and not the Castro dictatorship.

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