    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [January 24, 2008]
    [Pages 109-110]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Elsa Morejon
    January 24, 2008

        The President. A while ago I had the honor of presenting the
    National Medal of Freedom to a patriot of Cuba and a lover of liberty,
    Oscar Biscet. He was not able to
    receive the award because he's in a Cuban prison for speaking out on
    behalf of human rights and human dignity. Today his wife Elsa Morejon is
    here. She has taken some time from Cuba to come to the United States to
    visit her son. She came up to the Oval
    Office to see me, and I'm most honored and most grateful.
        We have a comfortable life here in America by and large, and it's
    hard for us to imagine what it would be like for--to live in a society
    as repressive as the society of Fidel and
    Raul Castro. This good woman has had to
    suffer through days and weeks of deprivation and worry because the love
    of her life is in a Cuban prison simply because of his beliefs. It's my
    honor to welcome you here.
        My call is for the world to help women such as Elsa. My call is for
    those who believe that the Cuba of today is a hopeful place to recognize
    the realities. This is a country that has got political prisoners who
    are languishing in the jails, who are mistreated in the jails. Our
    message is, is that political prisoners ought to be free and so should
    the Cuban people, free to express themselves and free to realize their
    God-given talents. So I want to welcome you. Que Dios le bendiga.

    [[Page 110]]

        Ms. Morejon. My name is Elsa Morejon. I'm a Cuban woman. I've come
    here to the United States to visit my son. My husband has spent most of
    his youth and is now sentenced to 25 more years in jail for defending
    human rights and for defending civil liberties. He has devoted his life
    to the cause of defending human rights in Cuba and throughout the world.
    We do not live in a free country, and I must now return to Cuba.
        I want to thank President Bush for inviting me to this meeting
    today. And I would like to speak to the international community and
    exhort them to work for the release of all political prisoners, along
    with my husband, to obtain their immediate and unconditional release
    from Cuban prisons.
        The President. Thank you.
        Ms. Morejon. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 3 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Yan Valdes Morejon, son of Elsa
    Morejon; and President Fidel Castro Ruz and Vice President Raul Castro
    Ruz of Cuba. Ms. Morejon spoke in Spanish, and her remarks were
    translated by an interpreter.