Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay homage to all of our fallen heroes in arms that have defended our Nation from despotism, nazism, fascism, communism and terrorism.

The life we live has been shaped by those we honor today. Each answered Liberty's call to duty in defense of their country. Our Nation owes an immeasurable debt of gratitude for their service. Our humble words can never adequately put into perspective their overwhelming contribution to freedom.

We cannot forget the last full measure of devotion they gave us. Not for fame or fortune, but for a love of country, with determination, courage and honor, the men and women of our armed services have dedicated their lives to the defense of our democratic ideals.

We honor their memory. The freedoms we enjoy today because of their valor are their eternal legacy to us and our posterity.

I join a grateful nation in sending my thoughts and prayers to all the bereaved families who have lost loved ones who served to protect our sacred liberty.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the brave troops from El Salvador who are participating in the peacekeeping operations in Iraq. Their bravery, honor, competence and professionalism are playing a critical role in the creation of a free and democratic Iraq.

The Salvadoran peacekeepers have been doing remarkable work delivering humanitarian relief and reconstruction assistance in Iraq. These peacekeepers have provided supplies, electricity, books, and playground equipment to impoverished schools as well as delivering aid to local farmers. However, Iraq remains a dangerous place for those who are contributing to the liberation of Iraq. The hazards of this important task were apparent on April 4, 2004 when the Salvadoran soldiers encountered armed resistance around Najif.

On April 4, 17 Salvadoran troops bravely stood their ground in the face of overwhelming opposition from the armed followers of Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr. In the face of mounting injuries and certain defeat, at one point fighting when 12 of the 17 were wounded and one had died, the Salvadoran soldiers never stopped fighting. Fortunately, a relief unit arrived to join the fight and rescue the Salvadoran troops.

The brave deeds of these valiant few will be remembered by all. Mr. Phil Kosnett, who leads the Coalition Provisional Authority in Najiv, described the Salvadoran troops as ``the bravest and most professional troops I've ever worked with.''

Tragically, PVT Natividad Mendez perished on the field of battle. He will always be in our hearts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that we recognize the enormous efforts of every nation and every troop serving in Iraq. The world has arrived at a momentous turning point. If Iraq can become a stable democracy the world will have changed for the better. El Salvador and the Salvadoran troops in Iraq recognize the importance of this moment and are acting to ensure that Iraq is transformed from a terrorist state into a free and democratic nation. They will always have our profound gratitude.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute a dear friend who I love and who my entire community loves, Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, president of Miami's Barry University. It has been a privilege to be able to work with Sister Jeanne. It has been one of the truly wonderful things I have been able to do in Congress.

You see, Mr. Speaker, Sister Jeanne is so special, it is difficult to choose only a few words to describe her. Talent, imagination, compassion, faith, perseverance, sense of humor, devotion, integrity, charisma, success, all those realities about Sister Jeanne are evident. But the meaning of one word outweighs all others in regard to her, one word describes her best, ``love.''

Thank you, Jeanne O'Laughlin, for loving your family, your neighbors, your community, for loving us all. Thank you for having put your love into action in your life and with your entire life.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Jorge Olivera Castillo, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Olivera Castillo worked for 10 years as a national television editor. After being confronted on a daily basis with the blatantly false propaganda mandated by the tyrannical regime, he left his job to join other pro-democracy activists working for freedom and human rights for every Cuban citizen. Using his skills as a journalist, Mr. Olivera Castillo began to report on the brutal policies of the totalitarian regime. He later became the director of the Havana Press agency. Starting in 2001, Mr. Olivera Castillo's articles concerning the state of Cuba under totalitarian rule were published in Spain.

Because of Mr. Olivera Castillo's unrelenting commitment to writing the truth about the totalitarian regime, he has been constantly harassed by the dictator's thugs. According to Amnesty International, Mr. Olivera Castillo has been expelled from his house, arrested, and accused of ``counterrevolutionary'' activities by the tyrant Castro. During the brutal March 2003 crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy activists and independent journalists, Mr. Olivera Castillo was arrested. In a sham trial, Mr. Olivera Castillo was sentenced to 18 years in the totalitarian gulag because of his commitment to truth over propaganda.

Mr. Olivera Castillo is currently languishing in an infernal cell in the totalitarian gulag. Reporters Without Borders reports that Mr. Olivera Castillo is suffering from numerous medical problems, is confined with common prisoners, and is being forced to drink seriously polluted water. These depraved conditions are truly appalling. It is a crime of the highest order that people who work for freedom are imprisoned in these nightmarish conditions.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Olivera Castillo is suffering in a grotesque, inhumane, totalitarian gulag because he believes in freedom. My colleagues, we can no longer allow peaceful prodemocracy activists to languish in the depraved prisons of tyrants. We must demand immediate freedom for Jorge Olivera Castillo and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, Pat Tillman was assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and was based at Fort Lewis, Washington. On April 22, 2004, he was killed in the line of duty near the Pakistan border as he led his Army Ranger team to help comrades caught in an ambush. He was 27 years old.

Pat Tillman attended Leland High School in San Jose, California. As a linebacker on the Arizona State University football team, he was named the 1997 PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Finishing with a marketing degree in three and a half years, he graduated summa cum laude with a 3.84 GPA.

He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round in 1998, the 226th pick overall. He became the Cardinals' starting safety and in 2000, he set a new franchise record with 224 tackles.

Following the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001, Pat Tillman spoke of his admiration for his relatives who had taken up arms to defend the nation in previous conflicts. He went on: ``I really haven't done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that. And so I have a great deal of respect for those that have and what the flag stands for.'' In 2002, he turned down a $3.6 million contract from the Arizona Cardinals and enlisted in the Army instead.

Following his death, the military posthumously promoted Pat Tillman from specialist to corporal. He also was awarded a Purple Heart and the distinguished Silver Star award for gallantry on the battlefield.

In the world of professional sports, Pat Tillman's story is extraordinary; choosing duty over dollars. However, in the context of our military, his sacrifice is typical of our soldiers.

His death reminds us about the sacrifices that our veterans and fighting forces have made for us. Not for fame or fortune, but for a love of country, with determination, courage and honor, the men and women of our armed services have dedicated their lives to the defense of our democratic ideals. Pat Tillman will be remembered as one of the most admirable of America's heroes. His legacy will strengthen the United States of America forever.

The life we live today is shaped by men and women like Pat Tillman. Each has stood ready in defense of their country. Our nation owes an immeasurable debt of gratitude for their service. We enjoy our freedoms because of their valor.

I join a grateful nation in sending my thoughts and prayers to the Tillman family and all families who have lost loved ones serving to protect our sacred liberty.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 7 o'clock and 48 minutes a.m.), the House adjourned until today, Thursday, May 6, 2004, at 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, a pro-democracy activist ``sentenced'' by a sham court yesterday in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Gonzalez Leiva is a blind lawyer who has devoted his life to the cause of human rights and liberty for every Cuban. He is the president of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights. Though Mr. Gonzalez Leiva is unable to see, his vision of a free Cuba is an inspiration to freedom loving people throughout the world.

On March 4, 2002, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva was savagely beaten and locked in the totalitarian gulag for drawing attention to a journalist who had been admitted to a local hospital after being attacked by the tyrant's thugs. For over two years, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva languished in Castro's totalitarian gulag. His cane and Bible were confiscated; he was forced to sleep on the floor of his diabolical cell; the thugs who run the gulag threatened his life; and he was tortured with chemical substances. In a letter recorded by his wife, and that I brought to the attention of the House, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva describes the heinous conditions of the totalitarian gulag in this translated excerpt from that letter:

State security used inmate Joe Prado, as he calls himself,

to throw in my cell a substance that produced a burning

sensation on the skin and nasal congestion, a great deal of

phlegm and bronchial inflammation. The situation still

continues.

Since January, they have added another substance to the

sawdust they throw at me. This one gives me the sensation of

millions of bugs constantly running all over me. It causes a

great deal of itching and prevents me from sleeping. I do not

know if this is a biological substance or chemical agent, but

I know it is not insects because when I touch my skin there

are no actual bugs that I can feel, although this sensation

is palpable.

Normally the sawdust shower is a daily occurrence.

Yesterday it started around 6:00 p.m. when I was on my knees

praying. The sensation is that of a multitude of bugs

suddenly coming down on my face and my body. This torment

continues until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.

Mr. Gonzalez Leiva was trapped in these brutal conditions for over two years before he was ever tried. I want to repeat that, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva was locked in the totalitarian gulag for over two years before he was even brought before a sham court.

According to an AP story that appeared in the April 28 edition of The Miami Herald, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva ``was released on parole shortly after being sentenced to four years in prison.'' Let us be very clear about parole in totalitarian Cuba. Parole is not freedom; it is a temporary release, conditioned on constant observation, before being locked in the gulag again.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva has been imprisoned for over two years without trial and ``convicted'' by a sham court because he believes in basic human rights for every Cuban. My Colleagues, we must demand true freedom for Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, every prisoner of conscience languishing in the totalitarian gulag, and every Cuban suffering under the nightmare called the Castro regime.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the upcoming elections on the Annan Plan in Cyprus to be held on Saturday April 24, 2004.

I wish to make it clear that there should be no pressure on the outcome of these elections. If the Greek or Turkish Cypriots reject the Annan Plan, then negotiations will ultimately continue. This vote will not be the last chance to have a reunited Cyprus.

The goal of the process must be to attain a just and lasting solution, not a rushed solution. I know the people of Cyprus are being made to feel that this is the only way to achieve a solution, but that is not true. This is the way to achieve a pressured solution. In the end, it may be too much to ask that concerns that have been unresolved for 30 years be effectively settled in a process that lasted less than 3 months.

I encourage each and every eligible Cypriot voter to cast a free ballot on Saturday. Please vote for your beliefs, not the beliefs of others. The great privilege of free and fair elections is that they are just that, free and fair. Vote freely and for what you think is fair. If that is `no', do not believe that this is the end of negotiations. They will continue, because a lasting and equitable solution for the people of Cyprus, and the goal of a united Cyprus, is too important to abandon, now or ever.

Mr. Speaker, I myself have very serious reservations about the Annan Plan that I have expressed in writing to both General Secretary Annan and Secretary Colin Powell. I ask unanimous consent that these letters be introduced into the Record immediately following my remarks.

Regardless of my personal reservations, it is the people of Cyprus who will vote on Saturday. I hope every Cypriot realizes that they need to vote for what they believe. They must understand that, while we are interested in the outcome, there can be no pressure on them. We will accept any outcome so long as the elections are free and fair.

Have no fear, people of Cyprus, your friends will never abandon you.

U.S. Congress,

Washington, DC, March 23, 2004.

Hon. Colin L. Powell,

Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC.

Dear Secretary Powell: We want to thank you for your active

engagement in the issues and negotiations that concern the

reunification of the Republic of Cyprus. As you know,

negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots are

currently being conducted under the framework outlined by UN

Secretary General Kofi Annan on February 13, 2004.

While we applaud both Greek and Turkish Cypriots for

agreeing to negotiate the important issues affecting the

future of a reunited Cyprus, we believe the timeframe

outlined by the Annan Plan is too compressed. Under the Annan

Plan, there is a deadline for the people of Cyprus to vote on

a referendum concerning the future of Cyprus on April 20,

2004.

As you know, the people of Cyprus have been struggling with

issues related to the division and reunification of Cyprus

for 30 years. It is difficult for us to believe that concerns

that have been unresolved for 30 years can be effectively and

permanently settled in negotiations that are scheduled to be

completed in less than three months.

It is our belief that a solution should come through

comprehensive negotiations that do not force the citizens of

Cyprus to vote on a referendum that may be perceived as an

ultimatum. It is also our firm belief that the people of

Cyprus will not approve any plan they are pressured to

accept.

It is in the best interest of a permanent, peaceful

solution for Cyprus that the important negotiations between

Greek and Turkish Cypriots be given an adequate amount of

time to decide these issues. Mr. Secretary, we respectfully

request that you use your influence to ensure that the people

of Cyprus are given a longer, more appropriate, schedule in

order to ensure that all issues affecting the reunification

of Cyprus are settled to the satisfaction of all concerned.

The reunification of Cyprus should be settled through

comprehensive negotiations that do not impose an arbitrary

time constraint on the affected parties.

We appreciate the support that you have provided to the

efforts of the UN Secretary General in resuming the Cyprus

talks and your personal commitment and involvement in the

process. We urge you to continue to

use your diplomatic abilities for reaching a just, functional

and viable settlement in Cyprus.

Sincerely,

Lincoln Diaz-Balart.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Mario Diaz-Balart.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the deterioration of democratic institutions in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez and the need for immediate international action.

Under Hugo Chavez, Venezuela is becoming a cancer in the Americas. As Chavez seeks closer ties with the tyrant Castro, and other totalitarian regimes, the rule of law in Venezuela is eroding, human rights abuses are on the rise, and ties with terrorists are continuing.

The community of nations can no longer remain impassive as freedom loving Venezuelans are trampled on by the Chavez regime. At this moment in time, the countries of the Western Hemisphere must take a stand for freedom, and support the immediate approval of the recall referendum on the tenure of Chavez.

Why is immediate international action needed? Under the OAS agreement of May 2003, the recall referendum must occur before August 19, 2004 if the Chavez regime is to be removed from office before January 2007. If the referendum is held after August 19, 2004, and Chavez is removed from office by the Venezuelan people, then his appointed Vice-President would serve the remainder of his term. The Chavez regime will then have been removed from office but allowed to retain power. This would be a tragedy for the Venezuelan people.

If the referendum is held before August 19, 2004, and Chavez is ousted by the Venezuelan people, then there will be a special election 30 days later to elect a new President. Under the OAS agreement of May 2003, after the recall is certified and approved, the recall referendum must be held within the next 97 days. If Chavez is to be held accountable to the democratic will of Venezuela, then the recall must be approved by the second week of May.

The community of democracies must not allow Venezuela to become the next totalitarian state in the Western Hemisphere. Though Venezuela has been moving steadily towards a dictatorship, we must not allow the slow pace of repression to shield us from the reality of a Chavez regime with tyrannical intent.

Today and everyday we must extend our solidarity to the freedom loving people in Venezuela. We must bring an international spotlight and coordinated pressure on the recall process and Chavez' delaying tactics. It is my belief that the longer the international community passively observes the erosion of rights in Venezuela, the more probable dictatorship becomes. We cannot practice the politics of appeasement in Venezuela. We must practice the politics of solidarity and put pressure on the regime to ratify the recall signatures before the regime runs out the clock and retains two more years to wrap the rope of dictatorship around the necks of all Venezuelans.

Mr. Speaker I rise today to speak about Pedro Arguelles Moran, a prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Arguelles Moran is a member of the Cooperative of Independent Journalists and the

Cuban Committee for Human Rights. He is an independent journalist who has contributed to CubaPress, Cuba Free Press and Nueva Prensa, all publications who seek to expose the nightmarish reality imposed by the totalitarian regime.

Because Mr. Arguelles Moran fought to expose the truth about the ruthless dictator's politics of fear and repression, he has been constantly harassed by Castro's thugs since 1997. According to Amnesty International, the harassment Mr. Arguelles Moran has endured includes threats, warnings, and detentions in the totalitarian gulag. On January 15, 1999 he was summoned to appear before a chief of the so-called Revolutionary National Police where Mr. Arguelles Moran was found to be a ``danger'' because he didn't work for a state enterprise. On January 27, 1999 he was locked up for two days to prevent him from covering the birthday celebrations of Jose Marti on January 28.

On March 20, 2003, as part of the totalitarian regime's ruthless crackdown on prodemocracy activists, Mr. Arguelles Moran was arrested and, after a sham trial, sentenced to 20 years in the totalitarian gulag. According to CubaNet, Mr. Arguelles Moran has been confined in a security cell with inmates held for common crimes who are mistreating him. He also reportedly has kidney problems. Let there be no doubt, Mr. Arguelles Moran has been ``sentenced'' to 20 years in Castro's violent, inhumane totalitarian gulag because he believes in, and wrote about, freedom, democracy, and human rights for the people of Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Arguelles Moran is languishing in the deplorable, inhuman conditions of Castro's totalitarian gulag, simply because he wrote the truth about the tyrant's repressive regime. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Pedro Arguelles Moran and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Mario Enrique Mayo Hernandez, a prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Mayo Hernandez is a lawyer by profession who was fired by the Castro dictatorship from his job as a lawyer because he believes in freedom and democracy. After being terminated for his democratic opinions, Mr. Mayo Hernandez began working as an independent journalist so the world could understand the reality of Castro's hideous oppression. Using the limited tools of independent journalism in a totalitarian state, Mr. Mayo Hernandez courageously wrote about the bleak, broken, society that is the result of the tyrannical policies of the Cuban totalitarian dictatorship. In order to better disseminate the truth about totalitarian Cuba, Mr. Mayo Hernandez eventually became the director of the press agency ``Felix Varela.''

On March 18, 2003, as part of Castro's brutal March 2003 crackdown on peaceful prodemocracy activists, Mr. Mayo Hernandez was arrested by the tyrant's police thugs. According to Amnesty International, he was accused of ``creating conditions'' that would allow the UN Commission on Human Rights to condemn the totalitarian regime for its gross human rights violations. In the sham trial that sentenced him to 20 years in the totalitarian gulag, Mr. Mayo Hernandez was convicted because of ``counterrevolutionary'' articles on the abhorrent prison conditions and the situation of families of political prisoners.

Mr. Mayo Hernandez is currently languishing in the oppressive conditions of the totalitarian gulag. According to Reporters Without Borders, Mr. Mayo Hernandez has been held in conditions of ``maximum harshness'' that include being locked in solitary confinement, having to wait four months between family visits, and being transferred to a cell with common law criminals. Let there be no doubt, Mr. Mayo Hernandez is being tortured in the totalitarian gulag. Because of his belief in freedom and democracy, because of his truthful depictions of the decrepit reality of the Castro regime, Mr. Mayo Hernandez has been ``sentenced'' to 20 years in Castro's violent, corrupt, inhumane, totalitarian gulag.

Mr. Speaker, it is categorically unacceptable that peaceful pro- democracy activists languish in the gulags of tyrannical regimes. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Mario Enrique Mayo Hernandez and every prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Pablo Pacheco Avila, a prisoner of conscience in totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Pacheco Avila works as an independent journalist with the agency Avilena Cooperative of Independent Journalists, because he believes it is his obligation to expose the factual realities of totalitarian Cuba.

Due to Mr. Pacheco Avila's desire to communicate the truth about the nightmarish reality of Castro's repressive regime, he has been constantly harassed by the dictator's thugs. According to Amnesty International, in November 2002, Mr. Pacheco Avila was detained by Castro's agents of repression for six hours after attempting to video two totalitarian police officers mistreating two women. In March 2002, he was detained for providing news coverage on a peacefeul pro- democracy meeting.

Unfortunately, under the tyrannical dictatorship, freedom is banned and repression is law. Mr. Pacheco Avila was arrested in Castro's brutal March 2003 crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy activists. After a summary, sham trial he was sentenced to 20 years in the totalitarian gulag.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Pacheco Avila is a great example how the dictator torments and commits aggression against those who advocate for truth and democracy. Today marks the one year anniversary of Castro's infamous March 2003 crackdown on Cuba's prodemocracy activists. Amnesty International recognizes 75 prisoners of conscience from this condemnable March 2003 crackdown. Currently thousands of freedom-loving Cubans languish in Castro's totalitarian gulags because they refuse to accept the nightmarish oppression in Cuba. Today, I extend my solidarity to Mr. Pacheco Avila and the thousands of Cuban men and women who are shackled and suffering because they desire to see freedom reign in Cuba.

Mr. Pacheco Avila suffers today in an inhumane dungeon because he believes in writing and reporting the truth. My colleagues, on the one year anniversary of the brutal, March 2003 crackdown on pro-democracy activists in totalitarian Cuba, we must demand the immediate release of Pablo Pacheco Avila and every prisoner of conscience suffering in the gulags of totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, exactly 1 year ago, taking advantage of the attention of the world on the liberation of Iraq where U.S. Armed Forces and coalition forces eliminated a dangerous madman from power, that formerly oppressed country, the Cuban dictator 90 miles from the United States utilizing that cover of attention on Iraq, commenced a campaign to throw dozens of peaceful pro-democracy activists, librarians and economists and journalists and students and workers and others into the totalitarian gulag where they joined the thousands of others who languish as political prisoners in that enslaved island.

Mr. Speaker, each day we must remind the world of the existence of the totalitarian gulag 90 miles from the United States. We must demand the release of each and every political prisoner on that island. We must not rest until they are all free.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. I think it is appropriate on the 1-year anniversary of the liberation of Iraq

that we focus on that monumental and extraordinary event on the floor of this House today. The resolution before us congratulates the valiant men and women of the United States Armed Forces and the Coalition for having liberated the people of Iraq, and it states that because of that heroic effort by the Armed Forces of the Coalition and principally the United States, the world is safer today. The world is safer, Mr. Speaker.

Each time a dangerous madman is removed from power anywhere in the world, the entire world is safer because there is one less madman kidnapping power in a country and holding the entire people of that country hostage and linking with terrorist groups throughout the world. Saddam Hussein was not the only dangerous enemy of freedom and peace in the world; but he was a dangerous enemy of freedom and peace in the world, and the entire world is safer because Saddam Hussein is gone from power and facing justice. I would ask the people of Iraq if they feel safer after having seen the regime deposed or if they do not feel safer.

The entire world is safer and especially, I believe, Mr. Speaker, the people of Iraq are safer. Just like we can ask the people of Albania if they feel safer because Hoxha is no longer in power or in Romania because Ceausescu is no longer in power or in Russia because Stalin is no longer in power. I think that we should ask all those peoples if they believe that they are safer or not safer because their former totalitarian despots are no longer in power. Or ask the people in Cambodia if they feel safer because Pol Pot is no longer in power.

Each time a madman is removed from power, not only the people that that madman had kidnapped and was torturing and oppressing are safer, the entire world is safer. Or is it that when we talk about Iraq, Iraq is not on planet Earth? The entire world is safer, but especially the people of Iraq are safer and the American Armed Forces are the primary liberators of that people. They deserve the commendation and the admiration of the entire world and most especially of this House. That is why I thank the authors for having brought it forward at this important occasion, the 1-year anniversary of the liberation of Iraq.

Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Luis Milan Fernandez, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

Dr. Milan Fernandez is a medical doctor by profession. He chose to dedicate his life to healing people; but, Dr. Milan Fernandez realized that the people of Cuba are in need of freedom as well as medicine. In June, 2001 he signed the Manifesto 2001, a document that protested the lack of basic freedoms in Cuba.

Dr. Milan Fernandez continued to advocate for freedom for every Cuban when he joined the Independent Medical Association of Santiago. According to Amnesty International, he also joined fellow health professionals in a one-day hunger strike to call attention to the medical situation and other issues pertaining to the lack of freedom in totalitarian Cuba.

Because of his commitment to freedom for Cuba, Dr. Milan Fernandez was a victim of the dictator's brutal March 2003 crackdown on pro- democracy activists. In a sham trial, Dr. Milan Fernandez was sentenced to 13 years in the totalitarian gulag.

The U.S. State Department's 2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices describes conditions in the totalitarian gulag as

. . . harsh and life threatening. . . . police and prison

officials often . . . beat, neglected, isolated, and denied

medical treatment to detainees and prisoners, including those

convicted of political crimes or those who persisted in

expressing their views . . . Detainees and prisoners, both

common and political, often were subjected to repeated,

vigorous interrogations designed to coerce them into signing

incriminating statements, to force collaboration with

authorities, or to intimidate victims. Some endured physical

and sexual abuse, typically by other inmates with the

acquiescence of guards, or long periods in punitive isolation

cells.

Dr. Milan Fernandez is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban people. No matter how fierce the repression, no matter how brutal the consequences of a dignified struggle for freedom, the prisons of Cuba are full of men and women of all backgrounds and ages who represent the best of the Cuban nation. Thousands languish in the gulag because they refuse to accept the current reality of nightmarish oppression in Cuba today.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Milan Fernandez is languishing in the horror of the totalitarian gulag because he believes in freedom for the people of Cuba. My Colleagues, we must demand the immediate release of Luis Milan Fernandez and every prisoner of conscience suffering in the indescribable gulags of the nightmare called the Castro regime.