U.S. SFRC Approves Resolutions Condemning Attacks on Artistic Freedoms, Free Speech in Cuba
Two major social movements in Cuba receive the solidarity of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the United States.
Ladies in White San Isidro Movement
A bi-partisan Senate resolution introduced on February 9, 2021 by U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and joined by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) expresses the U.S. Senate’s solidarity with Cuba’s San Isidro Movement, a collective of independent artists and activists recently targeted by the Cuban regime for protesting in support of their right to freedom of expression.
A second bi-partisan Senate resolution was introduced on March 5, 2021 by U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ben Cardin (D-Md), and Rick Scott (R-Fla), ahead of the commemoration of International Women’s Day, honors Las Damas de Blanco, a women-led nonviolent movement in support of freedom and human rights in Cuba, and calls for the release of all political prisoners in Cuba. These courageous women gather and march in the streets of Havana carrying pictures of their loved ones, who are political prisoners, in one hand and a white gladiolus in the other. They have been targets of frequent harassment, beatings, and jailings. Laura Inés Pollán Toledo, the founder of the movement, died under suspicious circumstances while in the custody of state security after a brief illness on October 14, 2011.
Both resolutions passed the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations today, March 24, 2021.
“The Center for a Free Cuba welcomes these two resolutions by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the United States for the demonstrations of solidarity with the San Isidro Movement and the Ladies in White that they represent. We hope that other Senates, and parliaments will emulate the example set by the world’s oldest deliberative body today,” said John Suarez executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, March 24, 2021
SFRC Approves Resolutions Condemning Attacks on Artistic Freedoms, Free Speech in Cuba
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, in celebrating the Committee’s approval of two of their resolutions condemning violations of fundamental freedoms and human rights in Cuba. At today’s business meeting, the Senators’ resolution to express solidarity with the San Isidro Movement, a collective of independent artists and activists who were targeted by the Cuban regime for protesting in support of their right to freedom of expression, and their resolution honoring Las Damas de Blanco, a women-led nonviolent movement that supports freedom and human rights, were approved with bipartisan support and now move to the Floor of the Senate for full consideration and final approval.
“The passage of these two resolutions demonstrates the United States’ unflinching commitment to stand in solidarity with the courageous Cuban people calling for greater respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights in the face of relentless persecution, wrongful imprisonment, and state-sanctioned violence,” Menendez said. “As the regime’s morally reprehensible efforts to repress and imprison its people continue unfettered, the United States must choose to honor its legacy as a champion for marginalized people everywhere. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues across the aisle to shine a light on these terrible injustices and reaffirm the Cuban people’s aspirations for change as the focal point of our policy toward Havana.”
“As the Cuban regime continues to censure and repress opposition leaders such as Las Damas de Blanco and the members of the San Isidro Movement, I’m proud to see my bipartisan resolutions honoring these two courageous groups who actively advocate for freedom in Cuba pass in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,” Rubio said. “The U.S. must remain firm in its commitment of prioritizing human rights and democratic values in the island, where the Cuban people have endured decades of tyranny.”
Find a copy of the resolution expressing solidarity with the San Isidro Movement HERE.
Find a copy of the resolution honoring Las Damas de Blanco HERE.