[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5698]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     FREEDOM FOR RICARDO SILVA GUAL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 5, 2005

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about Ricardo Silva Gual, a political prisoner in totalitarian 
Cuba.
  Dr. Silva Gual is a Medical Doctor and member of the Christian 
Liberation Movement. He believes that the men and women of Cuba deserve 
freedom, democracy, and basic human rights. Dr. Silva Gaul is dedicated 
to bringing liberty to Cuba and ending the nightmare that is the Castro 
regime.
  Because of his belief in the non-negotiable rights of all people to 
freedom, democracy and human rights, Dr. Silva Gaul was arrested by the 
dictatorship on March 18, 2003. This heinous arrest was a part of the 
regime's March 2003, deplorable, island-wide crackdown on peaceful pro-
democracy activists. In a sham trial, Dr. Silva Gaul was sentenced to 
10 years in the totalitarian gulag.
  According to cubapp.info, while imprisoned in a repugnant dungeon Dr. 
Silva Gual declared a hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment of 
political prisoners in Castro's gulag. It has also been reported that 
Dr. Silva Gual has been transferred to a maximum security section where 
the conditions are even harsher.
  Dr. Silva Gual, despite being imprisoned, despite facing even more 
severe maltreatment in the inhuman gulag, continues to advocate for 
liberty. Dr. Silva Gual is a brilliant example of the heroism of the 
Cuban people. No matter how intense the repression, no matter how 
horrifically brutal the consequences of a dignified struggle for 
liberty, the totalitarian gulags are full of men and women of all 
backgrounds and ages who represent the best of the Cuban nation.
  Mr. Speaker, we must speak out and act against this abominable 
disregard for human rights, human dignity, and human freedom just 90 
miles from our shore. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate and 
unconditional release of Ricardo Silva Gual and every political 
prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

                          ____________________