[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16359]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRESSIONAL CUBAN POLITICAL PRISONERS INITIATIVE: MAYDA BARBARA 
                            JORDAN CONTRERAS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to a 
courageous struggle that is taking place on the island of Cuba. While 
Fidel Castro maintains his stranglehold on freedom of expression, 
association, and assembly, a growing number of nonviolent dissidents 
are speaking out to demand civil liberties and basic human rights for 
Cuba's 11 million citizens.
  However, being brave enough to stand up to the regime can come at 
great personal cost. Opponents of the state are subject to punishments 
ranging from harassment and loss of employment to beatings and 
imprisonment. According to the best estimates of human rights groups, 
Cuban democracy groups, government and nongovernment organizations, 
there are over 400 political dissidents now languishing in Cuban jails. 
No other country of Cuba's size has held so many political prisoners 
for so long and under such cruel circumstances.
  I am proud, Mr. Speaker, to be a member of Cuba Libertad's 
Congressional Cuban Prisoners Initiative. The initiative is a 
bipartisan effort to promote respect for human rights and democratic 
change in Cuba. Twelve prisoners have been selected to serve as symbols 
for the more than 400 men and women who are suffering in Cuban prisons 
for the expression of their political beliefs.
  I would like to take this opportunity to highlight one such prisoner, 
Mayda Barbara Jordan. Mayda was one of hundreds of Cubans who sought 
freedom during the 1994 dissident uprising known as the Maleconazo, 
where hundreds of Cubans took to the streets to demand liberty. Mayda 
was arrested along with her sister for participating in this mass 
protest and trying to provide a better life for her family.
  Her crime? The Cuban government calls it piracy. Her charge reflects 
the Cuban government's policy of sentencing dissidents for serious 
criminal acts in an effort to deny the existence of political 
prisoners.

                              {time}  1930

  Mayda is a mother of two young children and is suffering from the 8th 
year of a 15-year prison sentence. Mayda has served time in solitary 
confinement and has been denied family visits for continuing to voice 
dissent against the regime and refusing to undergo reeducation.
  Her sentence is meant to dissuade others from protesting or leaving 
Cuba. I urge my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to join with me and demand the 
release of Mayda and all of Cuba's estimated 400 political prisoners. 
Through our efforts and those of such groups as Cuba Libertad, we can 
draw attention to the continuing atrocities against political prisoners 
in Cuba and let Castro know that we will not remain silent while these 
individuals are beaten, tortured and denied access to medical care.
  Mayda Jordan and all those advocating for freedom and democracy in 
Cuba need international recognition for their courageous struggle. 
Their lives and the birth of a new democratic Cuba depend on it, Mr. 
Speaker.

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