[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 22]
[House]
[Page 30168]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            DR. OSCAR BISCET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues today 
in support of one of the most courageous men of peace on the planet 
today, an advocate for freedom, Dr. Oscar Biscet. A long-time human 
rights activist and pro-life doctor in Cuba, Dr. Biscet had already 
spent some 3 years, unjustly, 3 years in Castro's gulag for speaking 
out against the death penalty in Cuba and for calling for the release 
of all political prisoners.
  After his release, Mr. Speaker, in the fall of 2002, he remained 
undaunted by his oppressors, Castro and the brutal thugs who run his 
regime, and continued to attempt to peacefully organize human rights' 
supporters. Dr. Biscet was redetained with 16 other dissidents after 
they attempted to simply meet in a home in Havana to discuss human 
rights last September. Just think about that, my colleagues, just 
simply meeting, gathering together, and in come the thugs to take you 
away.
  When police prevented him from entering that home, Dr. Biscet and 
others, just like Dr. Martin Luther King, sat down in the street and 
protested, uttering slogans like ``long live human rights,'' and 
``freedom for political prisoners.'' For that, he received a draconian 
25-year prison sentence in April. That was during the same time when 
there was a massive crackdown that Amnesty International pointed out, 
reminiscent of what happened during the early years of Castro's brutal 
regime when massive numbers of people were arrested and given long 
prison sentences, many of those, 75 of them, some of the bravest and 
brightest in Cuba today: Independent journalists and democracy 
activists, who now themselves languishing in prison.
  Mr. Speaker, while reports of Dr. Biscet's actions in prison continue 
to be heroic, and the word does get out, this is a man of conscience, a 
man of courage, the reports of his mistreatment, however, have been 
equally horrific. He is heroic; the mistreatment is horrific. For 
months, we know that he has endured solitary confinement for refusing 
to wear the prisoner's uniform. He has lived with insufficient light, 
and now no light at all, no running water and no bed. His benign and 
peaceful protest on November 11 on behalf of the cruel treatment of 
another prisoner, even though he is suffering so much, Mr. Speaker, he 
speaks out and tries to lend a hand to other prisoners who are being 
mistreated, for that he was moved to a punishment cell, as my 
colleagues have pointed out, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln 
Diaz-Balart), who spoke so eloquently a moment ago, to a cell known as 
the dungeon.
  This man, this peaceful man, this Martin Luther King of Cuba is now 
languishing in a dungeon, a small confined area with no light. He has 
been put into a prison cell, this dungeon, with a man who on 12 
different occasions has committed assault.
  I remember during the years of Nicolae Ceausescu, the brutal thug in 
Romania, what he used to do. He would put people who committed crimes 
in with peaceful activists, political prisoners, and political 
prisoners of conscience with the hope and the thought that these men of 
violence would commit violence against these peaceful activists, and 
God forbid that that happens. We will continue to speak out, and, 
hopefully, nothing will happen as a result of this emplacement of this 
thug in with Dr. Biscet.
  Let me just point out to my colleagues that in the spring Dr. Biscet, 
and this just shows the heart of this great man, stated ``I am innocent 
of the charges for which I was condemned, which is why I will maintain 
my ideological position. A true man cannot betray himself, so I can 
only appeal to the living God and pray to our Lord. And he is not 
neutral and never abandons his flock.'' What a faith. Here is a man 
crying out from prison, praying to God above, asking that he not be 
forgotten in a way that is reminiscent of our Lord when he said, why 
have I been abandoned? Well, in this case he is saying despite his 
ordeal that God will not abandon him.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot abandon him, and that is why we are speaking 
out and speaking out so strongly tonight. We cannot allow this prisoner 
of conscience, and there are hundreds, as the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart) said so ably earlier, hundreds who live 
likewise in Castro's gulag. His wife, Elsa Morejon, has said his crimes 
are honoring the universal declaration of human rights: Opposing 
abortion and the death penalty and organizing civil rights movements 
through nonviolent civil disobedience to reclaim the rights of fellow 
Cubans that he believes are being violated. For that, 25 years being 
mistreated and being treated in a way that we would not even treat our 
animals.
  Let me just conclude, Mr. Speaker. After months of brutal treatment, 
his health is very poor. We have to speak out. There are Members who 
take to the floor here and say we need to have an expansion of travel 
and trade and the like. Well, not until these individuals, starting 
with Dr. Biscet, are released. Otherwise, the blame and the crime of 
complicity rests at your doorstep.

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