[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16537]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 FREEDOM FOR ALEXANDER SANTOS HERNANDEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2006

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about Alexander Santos Hernandez, a political prisoner in 
totalitarian Cuba.
  Mr. Santos Hernandez is a member of the pro-democracy opposition that 
seeks to return sovereignty, democracy and human rights to the Cuban 
people. According to reports, he is a member of the Cuban Liberal 
Movement, the director of an independent library and the national 
coordinator for the Eastern Democratic Alliance. Independent librarians 
in Cuba, such as Mr. Santos Hernandez, provide the indispensable 
service of circulating truth. These vital librarians loan out the 
classics of anti-totalitarian literature, including authors such as 
Vaclav Havel and Martin Luther King, Jr.
  As an outspoken opponent of tyranny who believes that liberty is an 
inalienable right, Mr. Santos Hernandez has been constantly targeted by 
the regime's machinery of repression. According to reports, in Nov. 
2004, Mr. Santos Hernandez spent six months in the totalitarian gulag 
because he was ``convicted'' for ``disobedience.'' Despite the regime's 
constant gangster style repression, Mr. Santos Hernandez continued his 
efforts to bring freedom to Cuba.
  According to a report published on June 5, 2006, on Directorio.org, 
Mr. Santos Hernandez was recently ``convicted'' in another sham trial 
for the ``crime'' of ``social dangerousness.'' He was sentenced to 4 
years in the abhorrent, subhuman, totalitarian gulag. The U.S. State 
Department reports that police and prison officials beat, neglect, 
isolate, and deny medical treatment to detainees and prisoners, 
including those convicted of political crimes. It is a crime of the 
highest order that people who work for freedom are imprisoned in these 
grotesque conditions.
  Freedom and democracy are on the march to inevitable victory in Cuba. 
Courageous leaders like Mr. Santos Hernandez defy the dictator's 
machinery of repression and, despite every threat and obstacle, demand 
liberty for the people of Cuba. Because of their unwavering commitment, 
and the works of thousands of other Cuban patriots, Cuba will be free 
again.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a profound embarrassment for mankind that the 
world stands by in silence and acquiescence while political prisoners 
are systematically tortured because of their belief in freedom, 
democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We can never forget those 
who are locked in gulags because of their desire to be free. My 
colleagues, we must demand the immediate and unconditional release of 
Alexander Santos Hernandez and every political prisoner in totalitarian 
Cuba.

                          ____________________