House Proceeding 03-23-10 on Mar 23rd, 2010 :: 1:55:00 to 2:00:00
Total video length: 3 hours 1 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Views:375 Duration: 0:05:00 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

1:54:58 to 1:55:18( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: with him as they are with all of those who at this moment are suffering in the gulag of the tyranny. mr. diaz-balart: thank you for relat conversation. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: the long suffering people of cuba are really in a double unfortunate position. they are subject -- subjected to one of the cruelest dictatorships on the face of the

1:55:00 to 2:00:00( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Christopher H. Smith

1:55:19 to 1:55:42( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: earth. freedom use recently ranked cuba as one of the least free countries in the world, the only country that ranked lower on the freedom scale than cuba was the nightmare gulag of north korea. yet in an insane paradox the cuban tyrants remain romantic heroes, people have pictures of

1:55:43 to 1:56:05( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: these tyrants on t-shirts, wear them on college campus and for many in the united states and including some members of congress, especially those who visited cuba last year, they gush with admiration for these dictators who have so repressed people. you know, last year the u.n. human rights council did what

1:56:06 to 1:56:27( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: they called the universal periodic review at which time they looked at their record of human rights abuse in cuba. it was scathing. many members of that council raised serious questions at the council meeting and also said, here are a number of recommendations, virtually every

1:56:28 to 1:56:50( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: recommendation was rejected out of hand and that was the end of the story. i would call upon the obama administration to call, as a member of the human rights council, for a specific meeting of the human rights council, the u.n. human rights council, it only takes 1/3 of the membership

1:56:51 to 1:57:11( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: to do so, to refocus on cuba and its horric human rights abuses and the fact that they have taken every recommendation, i mean, even the international committees of the red cross has been denied access to those prisoners. the icrc, the sterling record of investigations and interventions

1:57:12 to 1:57:32( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: on behalf of political prisoners around the world, they can't even get in to the cuban prisons. so i call on the obama administration task for a spific meeting just on cuba and the rejected recommendations. let me also point out that chronically -- chronicling the abuse isn't all that hard. the state department in its

1:57:33 to 1:57:54( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: human rights report released just two weeks ago couldn't be more clear in laying out the catalog of abuses routinely visited upon the people, especially the almost 200 known and there are others political prisoners in cuba's gulags. let me finally say, during the

1:57:55 to 1:58:15( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: 1980's many of us were very active fighting against the abuses of the soviet union. in the mid 1980's congress frank wolf and i actually got into the infamous gulag where great heroes and all these other great

1:58:16 to 1:58:36( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: leaders spent time in solitary confinement and suffering at the hands of the k.g.b. we actually got in, visited with, videotaped and agitated for the release of almost two dozen political prisoners and one by one they got out. i visited a man when he was a political prisoner in indonesia, in a prison in indonesia.

1:58:37 to 1:58:57( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: he went on to become president of east timor. frank wolf and i got into beijing prison number one where at least 40 tiananmen square activists, 40 tiananmen square activists with shavinged heads were thrown into that gulag known as the lao gai in china and suffered horrifically but at

1:58:58 to 1:59:18( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: least the chinese government allowed us in. a lot of people want to get out of coup cuba. all people want to get out of their political prisons. mr. wolf and i are asking to let us in and i renew that request of the cuban government as well as again to ask that this administration help to make that

1:59:19 to 1:59:39( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: happen. finally, my friends will know, because i work so closely with mr. diaz-balart, mario wasn't here yet, on the issue of linking a series of human rights with the lifting of a travel ban. most important of which was the full release of the political prisoners. that legislation passed here.

1:59:40 to 2:00:01( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher H. Smith: it didn't pass in the senate, unfortunately. and i will offer that again if given the opportunity although the rus will probably for bid it. but that's what we need to do -- forbid it. but that's what we need to do. you need to say to a dictatorship, if you want a benefit, you have to cease prosecuting your own people and, you know, there's a great group, we all know it, brothers to the rescue.