[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 22]
[House]
[Pages 30169-30170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           INHUMANE TREATMENT OF DR. OSCAR E. BISCET GONZALEZ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to speak on an 
issue dear to my heart. At the same moment that our fellow colleagues 
deliberated on a decision to weaken the vital and necessary sanctions 
against the ruthless Castro regime, at that same moment human rights 
and liberty were hurriedly moved to what is now one of the worst 
prisons on the island; that is what happened to Dr. Oscar E. Biscet 
Gonzalez.
  At the same time we were going to lift sanctions on Castro, Castro 
was putting Dr. Biscet in a dungeon. Even as we meet here today, 
courageous advocates suffer in jail for speaking their minds and 
advocating for liberty and freedom, and it is a crime to do that in 
Fidel Castro's Cuba. People such as Dr. Oscar E. Biscet Gonzalez are 
serving horrific prison sentences for promoting democratic values.
  Dr. Biscet is a leader, as Members have heard from the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Smith), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), and we will hear 
from the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart) in a moment, is 
a leader in the Cuban opposition movement. He is a follower of Ghandi 
and Martin Luther King, and he was arrested earlier this year and has 
been arbitrarily detained over 26 times in the past 18 months. His body 
may be weak, rapidly deteriorating; but his courage, his spirit, his 
commitment to see a free Cuba from its enslavement, they are stronger 
than ever. Dr. Biscet sits in a jail where prisoners are tortured so 
intensely that their skulls are cracked, their faces are disfigured, 
and their bodies are dragged down rugged stairs feet first. But we are 
going to lift the sanctions against his jailer.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Biscet, together with an incalculable number of 
victims of a bloody and terrorist regime illustrates the reason why our 
government, the great United States of America, must remain vigilant 
against tyrannical regimes. Dr. Biscet's torture and cowardly 
imprisonment is an attempt to break the spirit of liberty from the 
minds of Cubans who long for a free Cuba, and there are 11 million of 
those Cubans on the island.
  Dr. Biscet previously served 3 years in prison. He was released 
October 31 of last year only to be rearrested on December 6 as he was 
to meet with human rights activists. That is a crime in Cuba. On April 
7 of this year, he was summarily tried during a Cuban regime crackdown, 
along with 75 other activists and independent journalists, and was 
sentenced to 25 years for serving as a mercenary to a foreign state.
  Mr. Speaker, our esteemed halls of democracy have welcomed many 
distinguished speakers. We have received countless heroes and people of 
the highest honor, and these are the same caliber and fiber such as Dr. 
Biscet, who is one of Cuba's many unsung heroes. I would like to quote 
his most recent note to his wife and have his words ring loudly in 
these Halls so we may all understand the true brutal nature of the 
Cuban regime and the reasons why we must bring an end to the misery of 
the Cuban people.
  Dr. Biscet writes, ``I don't know why I am in this dismal place. I 
will not grieve nor be afraid for being punished in this dungeon. I 
will face life's difficulties in order to enjoy the germination of 
love. I know I will succeed, for the darker the place, the brighter and 
more intense the light.''
  Every day more and more opposition leaders such as Dr. Biscet are 
sentenced to languish in squalid jail cells subjected to the most 
inhumane and degrading treatment. We must not be silent. We cannot and 
we must not be indifferent to the anguish and misery endured by the 
Cuban people, just 90 miles from our shores, at the hands of this 
depraved dictator and his agents of terror.
  Mr. Speaker, indifference breeds evil. Indifference is the enemy of 
freedom. Indifference helps cloak the deplorable actions of tyrants.

[[Page 30170]]

  Mr. Speaker, I would say to Dr. Biscet, inside your jail cell I know 
you cannot hear our words, but we want to express our profound 
admiration for you and the just cause that you are fighting for. We 
support you and we support all of Cuba's independent internal 
opposition in your struggle to be free. Let us not become indifferent 
to the plight of our fellow Cuban brothers and sisters. Dr. Biscet, 
vamos a continuar luchando hasta que usted y el pueblo de Cuba sea 
libre.

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