[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 24424-24425]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     STATEMENT OF SYLVIA G. IRIONDO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 8, 2003

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
direct the attention of Congress to a statement made by a great Cuban 
pro-democracy leader, Sylvia G. Iriondo, at the September 24th meeting 
``Americans for a Democratic Cuba'' in the Rayburn House Office 
Building here in the U.S. Capitol.
  Mrs. Iriondo is an inspiration to all freedom loving people because 
of her work as the President of Mothers and Women Against Repression 
(MAR). Originally founded in 1994, MAR gives a voice to the thousands 
of oppressed pro-democracy activists who live under Castro's 
totalitarian regime.
  Mrs. Iriondo was also one of the brave souls in the sky on the 
fateful day of February 24, 1996 when the Castro dictatorship's fighter 
jets shot down two civilian aircraft, murdering three U.S. citizens and 
a resident of the United States, members of the Brothers to the Rescue 
organization.
  Through her charity, experience and steadfast commitment to 
democratic ideals, Mrs. Iriondo has earned the right to be heard by the 
United States Congress and I hope my colleagues take the time to read 
her testimony.
  Mr. Speaker, I would personally like to thank Mrs. Iriondo and the 
extraordinary women that are part of MAR for the great work they do to 
draw attention to the plight of the prisoners of conscience who suffer 
in Castro's gulag and for the exemplary leadership Mrs. Iriondo 
provides as the President of Mothers and Women Against Repression. I 
thank her for her efforts and I trust that one day very soon she and I 
will witness a free Cuba. I ask that her remarks be included in the 
Congressional Record at this time.

 Statement Made by Sylvia G. Iriondo, Americans for a Democratic Cuba--
    Rayburn House Office Bldg., Washington, D.C., September 24, 2003

       Good afternoon. I am most grateful for this opportunity to 
     highlight the most recent wave of repression unleashed by 
     Castro's regime that culminated in the arbitrary arrests, 
     summary trials and long prison sentences of up to 28 years 
     for more than 75 prodemocracy leaders, independent 
     journalists and human rights' activists, as well as in the 
     summary executions of three young Cuban men who attempted to 
     flee the island in search of freedom.
       This brutality did not go unnoticed. For the first time in 
     more than four decades of systematic human rights violations 
     in Cuba, other voices from around the world--aside from our 
     voices--were vigorously raised in condemnation of these 
     deplorable actions.
       The international community could not believe that these 
     peaceful activists were incarcerated and sentenced to more 
     than 1,400 collective years in prison for speaking their 
     minds; using faxes, cameras and typewriters; distributing the 
     Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the Cuban people and 
     for openly meeting with foreign dignitaries and other 
     activists.
       The horrendous conditions under which these political 
     prisoners serve their sentences in Castro's jails are well-
     documented: isolated cells infested by rats, contaminated 
     water, rancid food, poor hygiene, no adequate sanitary 
     facilities, absence of ventilation, and minimal medical 
     assistance to many political prisoners.
       This is nothing new. It has been happening 90 miles from 
     U.S. shores for the last 44 years. The list of crimes and 
     abuses is extensive and a continuation of a policy 
     established since 1959 by a regime intent on remaining in 
     power--at all costs--through repression.
       Among those arrested and sentenced in the most recent wave 
     of repression, there is a Cuban woman: Martha Beatriz Roque 
     Cabello.
       This 58-year old woman is an independent economist who 
     helped establish the Independent Cuban Economists' Institute 
     and who heads the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, 
     a coalition of more than 350 organizations representing a 
     wide political spectrum that calls for the fundamental 
     freedoms and rights of the Cuban people. Martha Beatriz was 
     again arrested on March 20, 2003--(she had previously served 
     a three and one half years' sentence for being the co-author 
     of a document entitled ``The Homeland Belongs to Us All'').
       At the time of her most recent arrest, Martha Beatriz was 
     participating in a peaceful hunger strike calling for the 
     liberation of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet and all Cuban political 
     prisoners. Martha Beatriz was sentenced to 20 years in prison 
     after a ``mock'' trial and confined to the ``Manto Negro'' 
     prison in the province of Havana.
       In July, she was transferred to the Carlos J. Finlay 
     Military Hospital in the capital of Cuba, with chest pains, 
     high-blood pressure, numbness and disorientation, among other 
     things. As of this date, she remains confined to this 
     hospital/prison, where she does not receive the necessary 
     independent medical attention that she urgently requires. We 
     fear for her life, as we fear for the lives of many other 
     Cuban political prisoners who are being denied medical 
     attention. (It is a common practice for the Castro regime to 
     withhold medical attention to political prisoners as a form 
     of torture).
       We have initiated an international campaign for the 
     immediate liberation of Martha Beatriz and all Cuban 
     political prisoners, 
     and created a website under www.marthabeatriz.info.
       In one of the last statements made by Martha Beatriz Roque 
     Cabello prior to her recent incarceration she stated, ``we 
     exhort all governments of the civilized world not to prolong 
     the agony of the Cuban people; not to finance the tyranny; 
     not to support them; that they condemn the tourist apartheid; 
     that they condemn the exploitation of the laborers, the 
     prostitution of our youth, the traffic of stolen properties, 
     the plundering of the Cuban nation. The solidarity that is 
     required today with those in Cuba and in exile who advocate 
     for freedom is very important to all''.
       Lifting the sanctions and restrictions now will provide a 
     much-needed lifeline to finance Castro's regime that would 
     help prolong its stay in power at the expense of the Cuban 
     people.
       On behalf of Martha Beatriz and the organization I 
     represent, Mothers and Women Against Repression, I would like 
     to thank those members of Congress who recently voted in 
     solidarity with the democratic aspirations of the Cuban 
     people by voting

[[Page 24425]]

     against the Flake amendment in the Treasury Postal 
     Appropriations bill.
       We call on the Senate to defeat this amendment and we are 
     grateful to President Bush for his commitment to veto the 
     bill should the amendment prevail after conference.
       Lastly, I want to share with you a short documentary that 
     our organization produced after Castro's latest crackdown on 
     Cuba's peaceful democratic opposition movement, entitled 
     ``Repression''.
       It is but just one more reason on why sanctions and 
     restrictions on Castro's regime should not be lifted--until 
     all political prisoners are freed; there is freedom of the 
     press and assembly, and internationally supervised free 
     elections are scheduled.
       The Cuban people deserve no less.

                          ____________________