[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.