Speech by U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida at July-19 Washington DC Rally

(Hostess: Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen is a leading member in the fight to preserve basic human rights worldwide. Born in Havana, Cuba, where her family was forced to flee due to persecustion by the Cuban government, she is now the chairwoman of the International Operations and Human Rights subcommittee of Congress where she has passed significant legislation pertaining to human rights in Cuba and Latin America and has just introduced a resolution condemning the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China. I am very pleased to introduce to you Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.)

Well thank you so very much. What a deep honor and pleasure it is for me to be here today and I congratulate each and every one of you. Those of you who have come from near and far to be here at such an important day in history, this important rally, this show of solidarity. For I applaud the courage of the Falun Gong practitioners who are present here today and those who are suffering under the iron grip of China's communist regime.

I am especially honored to have some of you as my constituates joining the tapestry of diversity in my home state of Florida. Welcome to each and every one of you.

In the last two years, as all of us know, there has been a systemic escalation of horrific attacks launched by Chinese authorities against Falun Gong practitioners. Recently, the deplorable actions by the Chinese authorities have included the brutal torture of Falun Gong women at labor camps resulting in the death of fifteen innocent victims. When the family of one of these victims saw her body the area around the eyes were black and blue. There were still finger marks on her face from being slapped. There were strangulation and rope marks on her neck. The shoulder blades in her back were heavily bruised and her arms fractured. On June 20^th of this year we received the horrific news that the local police had burned a Falun Gong practitioner to death and had dragged two others through the streets at such a high speed that their bodies were virtuly mutilated. Thus as a human being and as you heard in my introduction, as a refugee of another communist regime which oppresses its people using horrible methods to implement its policy of intolerance and hatred I was compelled to act. As chair of the subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, I had to find the means to challenge such horrific action by Chinese officials; actions which defy all moral standards. I had to use the tools available to the congress to help insure an end to the two-year rain of terror launched against the Falun Gong. A group whose only crime is the desire to practice their beliefs free of coercion, free of intimidation. For this purpose, I filed legislation last night; House Congressional Resolution 188 with more than thirty of my House colleagues, calling on the Chinese leadership to stop its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. But we must do more. It is up to you, starting today to work on a campaign to get a majority of the members of the House of Representative as co-sponsors of House Resolution 188.

It is up to you. It is up to me. It is our homework on behalf of those who cannot speak. This resolution further directs the agencies of our United States government to use every appropriate public and private form to press the Chinese authorities to release all Falun Gong religious prisoners and to immediately end the use of torture and other cruel and inhuman and degrading treatment against the Falun Gong and other prisoners of conscious. I have scheduled a hearing for September in my subcommittee of International Human Rights to address the violations of Chinese authorities of religious liberties and related freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and I ask for your help to spread the word about this hearing in September. Because we will have Falun Gong practitioners testifying about the brutal crackdown and they will be joined by representatives of other oppressed religious minority groups. It has been said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men and women to do nothing. Therefore, I call upon my colleagues in the House and in the Senate to render their support to you and to other victims of Chinese oppression. To send a strong message to the Chinese authorities that the United States stands firm in its defense of human rights and that the United States Congress will not tolerate such blatant disregard for human life and for human freedom.

I thank you for your courage. I thank you for your participation and I thank you for all of the hard work that is in front of us as you work to get a majority of the House of Representatives as co-sponsors of House Congressional Resolution 188 and to get a fair hearing in September so that the world will know that we will be silenced no more. Thank you so much. Thank you.

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