"The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: ‘You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together’. THIS IS THE LIBERATION WHICH WE ARE PROCLAIMING."
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas (2002)
Thank you for the opportunity to address you on behalf of the suffering people of Cuba.
This committee of the house directed by Congressman Christopher Smith has been an unshakable bastion of the promotion and defense of the freedom values of the American nation.
These values that ennoble the human dignity for those whose rights are violated flagrantly and systematically in my nation.
In my country Cuba, a small group of individuals using criminal conduct have taken over the administrative power and through state terror have kidnapped the sovereignty and the freedom of the people and have set up a society of fear. For more than 57 years basic human rights: the freedom to talk, freedom of the press, to gather, of association and religious freedom have been undermined against the dignity of my people.
The socialist regime that rules my country, run first by Fidel Castro, and now, by his Brother Raul, was imposed by force with the use of weapons of war and overrode the 1940 Constitution. This constitution was suspended de facto and never abolished de jure; that is why even in theory it is still in force and it declares the Castro - communist regime as illegitimate.
The 1940 Constitution guarantees the freedom and the human rights of the Cuban People through its Letter of Rights in Chapter IV. This Letter was inspired in the American Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States of 1788, that strengthens modern Democracy in the world, starting with its Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Actually, the Obama Administration has established diplomatic relations with the Dictatorship in Communist Cuba, violating The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity or the Helms–Burton Law. But worst of all was the undermining of the American values of freedom enshrined in the Bill of Rights of its Constitution.
Admirable Mr. Smith, Congresspersons, excellencies: I’m here today to highlight the honorable lesson of George Mason and Patrick Henry in the Congress of the State of Virginia, where they firmly opposed to ratify the Constitution of the United States until the Bill of Rights was introduced.
Congresspersons don’t allow that the creed of the United States, the Bill of Rights, continue to be violated flagrantly, don’t be tolerant maintaining the American and Cuban people separated in two nations, yours Free, and mine, Cuba, Slave.
With your solidarity you not only enhance human dignity, but you accelerate the process through which democracy and freedom come to the Cuban people.
The past two years have been turbulent ones for Congressman Joe Garcia
and his staff. An absentee ballot scandal in 2012 led his chief of
staff, long time friend and confidante Jeff Garcia to a ninety day
prison sentence as part of a plea agreement.
Other staffers were being
investigated by authorities and in order to avoid possible legal
entanglements have agreed through their attorneys to extend their statute of limitations. At the same time officials are reported to be looking into the role the 2010 Joe Garcia congressional campaign played in the placing of a tea party ringer candidate
into the race in order to divide up the Republican vote. Despite all of
this and Congressman Garcia hiring of a criminal defense attorney, David Markus, he claims to no longer be under investigation but news accounts say different. This is not the Florida 26th Congressional District's first rodeo, but when candidates get desperate in a heated campaign they do things sometimes that harm others and later come back to haunt them.
Joe Garcia did something on October 27, 2014 that no Cuban-American congressperson has ever done by placing a Cuban dissident in a paid political advertisement as an endorsement to advance his own candidacy. The campaign's press release was clear: "Today, the Joe Garcia for Congress campaign announced that ... Guillermo “El Coco” Fariñas, ... had declared his support for Representative Joe Garcia. Unfortunately, it also turns out to not to be true or as one blogger declared "bogus." Fariñas in a statement issued today stated:
"I,at notime of the advertisementin questionappearaskingfor a vote foreither of the twocandidatesinparticular, therefore, it is clear that I am notmeddlinginsaidelections."
"The statements emitted about Joe Garcíaarea personalcriteria and not a Political Campaign. The sameopinionI would have said abouthis opponent."
At the same time another dissident, while supporting Fariñas's right to his opinion expressed grave concerns about Joe Garcia as:
"a person who is promoting what the people do not need to be free ... the policy promoted by Joe Garcia lamentably seeks closeness with the regime and not the opposition ... and that is what a great part of the Cuban people and opposition think."
Unlike other members of the Cuban-American congressional delegation Joe Garcia is the only one who has accepted campaign donations from avowed supporters of the Castro dictatorship. The FEC reports show [Francisco Aruca of Marazul] donated $5,000 to Garcia in 2012 and attorney Ira Kurzban, who legally represents Fidel Castro and his interests in the United States gave $3,700 to Garcia. There are others who on camera declare their support and sympathy for Fidel Castro and give thousands to Joe Garcia's campaign such as John Cabañas whose video appears at the top of the page.
Until October 27, 2014 no member of congress had engaged in using a dissident to advance their political campaigns in a paid political advertisement. This sets a terrible precedent that I hope is never repeated. If in the future candidates are dividing dissidents in Cuba over partisan races in the United States and relegating the cause of Cuban freedom to a talking point then historians will look back to the Joe Garcia for Congress and their actions on October 27, 2014 and say this is where it started, and it will be a great shame.
I will be voting for Carlos Curbelo in this election and recommend all fair minded people who are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, etc. to do the same and demonstrate that this course of action is a vote loser and hopefully stop this becoming a trend.
Ira
Kurzban, who legally represents the abuser himself, Fidel Castro, and
his interests in the United States and gave $3,700 in donations. - See
more at:
http://www.politicalcortadito.com/2014/07/29/what-hypocrite-joe-garcia-didnt-tell-cuban-dissident-he-met/#sthash.Ne7aUiKI.dpuf
Ira
Kurzban, who legally represents the abuser himself, Fidel Castro, and
his interests in the United States and gave $3,700 in donations. - See
more at:
http://www.politicalcortadito.com/2014/07/29/what-hypocrite-joe-garcia-didnt-tell-cuban-dissident-he-met/#sthash.Ne7aUiKI.dpufattorney Ira Kurzban, who legally represents the abuser himself, Fidel Castro, and his interests in the United States and gave $3,700 in donations.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been detained for 15 years by Burma's ruling military junta, testified before a Congressional committee via videotape Wednesday on the recent sham elections and current conditions in the Southeast Asia nation. U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL), who chaired the hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, arranged for Ms. Suu Kyi's first-ever Congressional testimony and posted it on his YouTube site for all to see.
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Hearing on Burma: “Piercing Burma’s Veil of Secrecy: The Truth Behind the Sham Election and the Difficult Road Ahead” June 22, 2011 12:30 PM, Rayburn House Office Building Room 2172 Transcript of Video Message from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi General Secretary, National League for Democracy, Rangoon, Burma
Any statement made before a committee of the United States Congress must start with a few words, however brief; of appreciation for all that you and your colleagues have done for the cause of democracy in Burma over the last two decades. We are very appreciative and we believe that you will continue to do whatever you can to help us in the future as well.
I understand that the purpose of this committee is to find out what has really been happening in Burma since the elections of November 2010. To, as I understand it, pierce the veil of secrecy and to find out the truth of the situation in Burma. I’m sure you will be receiving a lot of information from very many different sources that will enable you to assess the situation correctly.
What I would like to urge is that you look at what is happening in Burma in the light of the UN Human Rights Council Resolution—the recent one, which came out in March. This resolution covers all the needs of Burma today, all the political needs, let me say, of Burma today.
The requests, the urgings, the demands of this resolution are very much in line with what we in Burma think is needed to start Burma along the genuine process of democratization. So, if you were to consider the resolution very very closely, and then if you were to look at the present situation in Burma, you would have a very good idea of how far we are along the path to democracy, if we have started on that path at all.
The resolution includes such very important issues as political prisoners, freedom of association and information, independence of the judiciary, and the right of Professor Quintana, the United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur, to visit Burma whenever he thinks it is necessary. It also includes the need for an inclusive political process in Burma, that we may have the kind of situation where there can be a negotiated settlement leading to national reconciliation.
All these that the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution has called for are essential if Burma is to enjoy constitutional liberalism and democratic institutions.
It is going to be a long road; it already has been a long road and a difficult one, and no doubt the road ahead will have its difficulties as well. But, we are confident that with the help and support of those who share our values, those like you who are true friends because true friends are those who share your values and understand why you hold on to these values in spite of all the difficulties that you have to face. With the help and support of true friends, I’m sure we will be able to tread the path of democracy, not easily and perhaps not as quickly as we would like, but surely and steadily. This is why I would like to request you to do whatever you can to ensure that the requests and demands of the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution are met as broadly, as sincerely, and as quickly as possible by the present government of Burma.
The resolution among other things calls for the independence of the judiciary, I mentioned this earlier. This is one of the most important needs in our country today, because without an independent judiciary we cannot have the rule of law, and without the rule of law none of our people can be secure and there can be no true progress towards democracy.
Then, the case of political prisoners - why are they still in prison if this government is really intent on making good progress towards democracy? If it is sincere in its claims that it wishes to bring democracy into Burma, there is no need for any prisoners of conscious to exist in this country.
Surely, democracy means that we all have the right to our own beliefs, that we all have the right to try to live in accordance with our conscience. Because of that, the case of prisoners of consciences is crucial in deciding whether or not the present government is sincere about its democratic aspirations.
Professor Quintana has spoken of the need for a commission of inquiry into human rights violations in Burma. I support his call for such a commission, making it quite clear that a commission of inquiry is not a tribunal. It is simply a commission of inquiry to find out what human rights violations have taken place and what we can do to ensure that such violations do not take place in the future. I would appreciate everything that is done to help Professor Quintana in his work. Because, unless we respect the work of the Human Rights Rapporteur, I do not think we will be able to make much progress towards the implementation of the resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
I’ve never made a statement before a committee of the United States Congress, so I’m not quite sure how to go about it. I would simply like to use this occasion to request that you do whatever you can to help us implement the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution, because that will open up the real road to democracy for all of us.
And I would also like to take the opportunity to repeat once again how much we appreciate all that you have done, and that what you have done for us has meant a great deal. And I know that you will continue to study the situation and to review what has been done in the past and to inquire into what should be done in the future. Sometimes we all have to guess at what is necessary because Burma is not an open society.
But, I think because we truly believe in democratic values and we are all sincere in our respect for human rights and constitutional liberalism, our guesses will not be far wrong. So, I would like to ask you to continue with your work with confidence in what you are doing, and with confidence and the fact that your work is much appreciated.
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