    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [March 15, 1999]
    [Page 381]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Cuban Government's Sentencing of Human Rights Activists
    March 15, 1999

        I am deeply disappointed that the Cuban Government has sentenced
    four courageous human rights activists--Vladimiro Roca, Felix Bonne, Rene Gomez
    Manzano, and Marta Beatriz Roque--to prison terms. They did nothing
    more than assert their right to speak freely about their country's
    future, call on their Government to respect basic human rights, and seek
    a peaceful transition to democracy for the long-suffering Cuban people.
    They were tried without a fair process, behind closed doors. I call on
    the Cuban Government to release them immediately.