Tom Lantos

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in remembering the horrible events that took place in Halabja, Iraq, on March 16, 1988. Today is the 17th anniversary of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons attack on his own people during a battle waged between a Kurdish force resisting Saddam's oppression and Saddam's Iraqi army. This attack was part of Saddam's systematic genocidal attack on the Kurds known as the Anfal campaign. In seeking to subdue Kurdish resistance, Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons indiscriminately against Kurdish fighters and civilians alike. The attack on Halabja was one of some forty chemical assaults staged by Hussein against the Kurdish people. In fact, the Kurds of Halabja and neighboring towns constitute the largest civilian population ever exposed to chemical weapons, including sarin, VX, tabun, and mustard gas. As a result of the extensive and devastatingly cruel Anfal campaign, hundreds of Kurdish villages were totally destroyed and as many as 200,000 Kurds were killed. The tragedy of Halabja should yield lessons for those concerned about responding to future chemical and biological emergencies. The world stood by as innocent men, women, and children suffered and died at the hands of a barbarous regime, and, for 14 long years, the Saddam Hussein dictatorship went unpunished for the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis, the use of banned chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds, and innumerable other human rights violations. During those 14 years, the number of his victims, Kurdish and non-Kurdish, increased dramatically, as the discovery of mass graves testifies. Mr. Speaker, now history has avenged Saddam's victims, however belatedly and inadequately, and soon Saddam Hussein will face the consequences of his war crimes. I ask that my colleagues join me in speaking out against oppression and against the use of chemical and biological weapons. That is now the best way to commemorate the suffering of the people of Halabja and all the victims of Saddam's inhuman Anfal campaign and of his subsequent depredations.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, this month marks the two-year anniversary of the brutal crackdown on political opposition by the Cuban regime. In partial commemoration of this ignoble milestone, my dear friend and colleague Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and I have launched an ``adopt a political prisoner'' initiative to help focus the spotlight of international attention on those suffering in Cuban jails because of their inextinguishable faith in the power of democratic liberty. I rise today to inform my colleagues that I stand shoulder-to- shoulder with the Cuban political prisoner Regis Iglesias Ramirez. Mr. Speaker, as an outspoken advocate of human rights in Cuba, Mr. Iglesias is a member of the Coordinating Board for the Christian Liberation Movement. He is also a principal organizer of the Varela Project, a grassroots, civic movement that petitions the Cuban government to allow its citizens to exercise their fundamental human rights. To date, this project has collected and presented over 25,000 signatures to the proper Cuban authorities. Because of his admirable efforts and political activism, Mr. Iglesias was arrested on March 20, 2003, during a wave of repression which was directed against the peaceful Cuban opposition. After weeks of interrogations and psychological torture, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the alleged crime of ``acts against the independence or territorial integrity of the state''--a common charge that dictatorial states have levied against democracy and human rights advocates for far too long. Mr. Iglesias was born in Havana on September 18, 1969. He loves to read classical literature and admires leaders of peaceful yet forceful advocacy such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. He is an educated, hard-working man who lives with passion--a passion to live in a democracy where basic civil and political liberties are respected. It is because of his uncompromising commitment to fight for these democratic freedoms that Castro's regime stripped him of his liberty. Mr. Speaker, the abuses against Regis Iglesias Ramirez are horrendous. He has been repeatedly imprisoned for promoting the very ideals that we hold self-evident, and for calling out to his neighbors and fellow citizens to join him in a cry for freedom from a cruel, totalitarian regime. As Members of Congress, we must take the lead to ensure that these atrocities are stopped. I call upon the Cuban government to release Mr. Iglesias and to end human rights abuse. Let freedom's influence be felt not only in the halls of Capitol Hill, but also in the prison cells of Havana.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the resolution. Let me first pay tribute to my good friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for her work on this resolution, and for her outstanding leadership on our Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia. Mr. Speaker, the resolution before the House expresses the grave concern of the Congress regarding the ongoing occupation of Lebanon by Syria. Mr. Speaker, I first visited Lebanon and Syria in 1956, almost half a century ago. Lebanon was a prosperous, free, open and democratic society. I remember going to the Bekaa Valley, to the City of Ba'albak, where among the ancient Roman ruins Shakespeare was performed on alternate nights in English and French. Since 1976, Syria has occupied Lebanon with brutal force. Our resolution appropriately demands that the occupation end now. Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, the people of Lebanon tore down gigantic billboards in Lebanon that portrayed the former and current Syrian dictators, Mr. Assad and his father. Just imagine having in the United States huge billboards of Joe Stalin or the ayatollahs of Tehran, how we would feel about this? Well, that is how the Lebanese people felt about having these gigantic billboards pay tribute to a country which occupies their land. As we speak, there is no Syrian embassy in Lebanon. What could speak more eloquently of the colonial outlook that the Syrian regime has towards Lebanon? In colonial times, the colonial power did not have an embassy in its colony because it did not recognize it as an independent, sovereign nation. That is precisely the attitude of Syria towards Lebanon today. All of us have been inspired by what the Lebanese call their ``independence'' uprising. By passing our resolution, the Congress will express its solidarity with the brave anti-Syrian occupation, freedom- loving demonstrators in Martyrs Square in Beirut. Mr. Speaker, Bashar Assad, Syria's ruler, continues to play games with the international community. As his speech earlier this month showed, he still believes he can ignore the international community's demand that Syria withdraw immediately and totally from Lebanon. Let us not be fooled by his promises of gradual withdrawal delinked from time tables. If you can tell a man by his friends, all you need to know about Assad is that his only friend in Lebanon is the terrorist gang Hezbollah. Mr. Speaker, Syria has not only persecuted the Lebanese people, arresting, abducting, torturing and killing opponents, most recently the Prime Minister of Lebanon, it has also destroyed Lebanon's lively institutions, rendering them little more than outposts of Syrian control. These crimes have taken place on the soil of what was once the Arab world's lone democracy. That is why it is vital that the Lebanese people succeed in throwing off Syrian rule and that the Lebanese be allowed to conduct free and fair parliamentary elections this spring, unimpeded by the fist of Syria's military or the brutal machinations of its intelligence agents. Mr. Speaker, we stand shoulder to shoulder with those who seek full restoration of sovereign, democratic rule in Lebanon. I strongly support this resolution, and urge all of my colleagues to join me in sending a message of hope to the Lebanese people. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of this resolution. I want to commend my friend from New Jersey for his leadership on this issue. The resolution before the House supports the people of Syria who live under a violent and repressive regime. The last Congress, this body passed the Syria Accountability Act with 297 cosponsors. That bill primarily addressed Syria's behavior in the Middle East, including its sponsorship of terrorist groups and its continuing occupation of Lebanon. This resolution, Mr. Speaker, focuses on Syria's domestic misbehavior for which Damascus must also be held fully accountable. After all, nobody has suffered more from the brutality of the Syrian government than the Syrian people. According to the State Department's annual human rights report released recently, Syria continues to commit egregious human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary detentions of political prisoners without trial, censorship and harassment of journalists, protections for spouse-rapists, and light sentences for so-called honor killings. According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Syria is engaged in an unceasing campaign to harass and intimidate human rights organizations. In recent days, the world has focused on Syria's outrages against the Lebanese people and, indeed, another resolution we are considering today deals directly with that issue. But, Mr. Speaker, we cannot credibly say we favor political reform in the Middle East if we ignore Syria's depredations against its own citizens. Syria is certainly, and I quote, one of the world's most repressive regimes, as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has indicated. Accordingly, it is important that this Congress be on record not merely in condemning the Syrian government for its actions against its neighbors but, more importantly, to express our support for the Syrian people in their struggle to achieve the kind of government they deserve. When I met with Syrian President Assad in Damascus, I urged him to change his government's behavior at home and abroad so that Syria could rejoin the ranks of the civilized world. This resolution is one result of his failure to heed that advice. Mr. Speaker, a Syria that is accountable to world standards and norms, a Syria that respects its own citizens and no longer occupies Lebanon or supports terrorism against Israel must be a central goal of our project of reforming the Middle East. In the long run, a Middle East in which people are stakeholders in public life offers the greatest hope for peace and safety in the region and beyond. I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 18. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he may consume to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a distinguished member of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and first I would like to express my appreciation to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for introducing this important and timely resolution and for moving it so expeditiously to the floor. I also want to express my gratitude for his support to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). I am proud to be the lead Democratic sponsor of this important measure. Mr. Speaker, I just returned from visiting both China and Taiwan a few weeks ago. I cautioned in both places prudence, moderation, stability, no precipitous action, no turmoil. The lives of the people of Taiwan and the People's Republic of China are increasingly intertwined. More than half a million Taiwanese now live on the mainland. Nonstop charter flights between Taiwan and the mainland were launched during the Lunar New Year, and both sides are actively exploring new options for a variety of exchanges across the Taiwan Strait. This is the main reason why the Chinese Government's decision to move forward with the so-called anti-secession law is so profoundly unfortunate. By codifying the potential use of force against Taiwan, Beijing has thrown a bucket of ice water on the warming relations that had been developing between the people of China and Taiwan. The Chinese Government should be using their best and brightest young leaders to build new bridges between the people of China and Taiwan. Instead, the government has bowed to pressure from hard-line elements in the Chinese military to ratchet up the pressure on Taipei. Passage of this law, Mr. Speaker, is a wasted opportunity. The anti- secession law mandates military action against Taiwan when ``the possibilities for a peaceful reunification would be completely exhausted.'' In other words, whenever Beijing decides there is no longer any point in talking to Taipei, the new anti-secession law requires the Chinese military to take action against Taiwan. Mr. Speaker, the passage of the anti-secession law is a threatening move by Beijing which will undoubtedly heighten tensions across the Taiwan Strait. It will decrease the chance that either side will be willing to resolve differences peacefully. The law is reprehensible, and it should be reconsidered by the National People's Congress in Beijing. Mr. Speaker, both Taipei and Beijing have a paramount responsibility to maintain restraint and to avoid any action which could increase tensions across the Taiwan straits. With passage of this law, Beijing has failed this critically important duty, and it is my profound hope that China's top leaders will find a way to repair the damage that the law's adoption has caused. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the gentlewoman's amendment. It is long overdue that action be taken on this criminal and mass murderer, and I hope all of my colleagues will vote for this amendment.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, when our country is at war, and every single Member of this body is in agreement that we are at war, the first rule should be to aim for equality of sacrifice. Now we know we cannot achieve that because the people who are making the sacrifice are our men and women in the field, and particularly the ones who are wounded or lose their lives. But there is no earthly reason why we should impose on our fighting men and women in Iraq the additional burden of financial hardship for their families. Some 72,000 members of our National Guard and our Reserves are suffering huge reductions in their income as a result of having been activated for military duty. My amendment would rectify this outrageous inequity. The 72,000 families which find themselves with a member of the family in the war zone are losing an average of $36,000 a year, the difference between their civilian pay and their military pay. My amendment, by providing tax benefits to their employers, would rectify this singularly inequitable and unjust state of affairs. It would ensure financial security to the families of our fighting men and women. This issue was brought to my attention by individuals in my congressional district, firemen, policemen, teachers and others who have to undergo this financial sacrifice on top of exposing themselves to physical danger 24 hours a day. It is unconscionable that we make these brave citizens choose between their duty to our country and the welfare of their families. I urge all of my colleagues to support this modest amendment which at least in a financial sense relieves some of the hardship on our military families. It also would deal with the problem of recruitment and retention in the National Guard and Reserves. Under present circumstances, we are losing large numbers of individuals who if they did not have this extra financial burden would enlist or re-enlist. I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf).

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).

Mr. LANTOS. I thank my friend from Connecticut. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate my good friend's comments. He is a great leader of the Congress and a great leader in California. This issue will not go away. I understand that there are technical objections at this moment to my amendment. But the justice and fairness of this amendment speaks for itself. It is an outrage to have men and women called up for active duty and have their families lose their homes and not be able to put food on the table because of the differential between their previous civilian pay and their current military pay. There is no Member in this body who can approve of such a circumstance. It is my intention to revisit and have this body revisit my legislation; but at the present time, I respectfully request unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my friend from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve our time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, the resolution before the House condemns the ongoing terrorism perpetrated by Hezbollah and urges the European Union to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Last session, after the introduction of House Resolution 285 urging the European Union to classify Hamas as a terrorist organization and thus prohibiting the channeling of funds from the territory from the European Union to Hamas, the Union agreed by consensus to add Hamas to its terrorist list. It is our hope that this resolution about Hezbollah will have similar results. The inclusion of Hezbollah on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations is long overdue. As we all know, Mr. Speaker, Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based extremist organization with terrorist cells throughout the globe. Its primary sources of political, financial, and organizational support come from Iran and Syria. Not surprisingly, Hezbollah is the only significant Lebanese organization that supports the continued occupation of Lebanon by Syria. As the master of possibly the most widespread network of terror in the world, Hezbollah has led a 23-year global campaign of terror targeting American, European, and Israeli civilians. In fact, Hezbollah perpetrated its terror on nearly every continent on this planet, including the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut. Parenthetically, Mr. Speaker, several of us visited with these wonderful Marines just weeks before Hezbollah terrorist activity destroyed their lives. Among the most notorious examples of Hezbollah crimes outside the Middle East are its attacks on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in March 1992 and the Jewish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires in 1994. Most recently, both Israeli and Palestinian officials have complained about an alarming increase in Hezbollah support for terrorism in the Palestinian territories. Israeli officials say that about one-fifth of Israeli causalities from terrorism last year were caused by Hezbollah- backed terrorist cells. Hezbollah even terrorizes the Lebanese Government itself, perpetuating its occupation of southern Lebanon in defiance of the international community's demands that it be disarmed. Mr. Speaker, given Hezbollah's bloody record, the charges against Hezbollah made by both Israelis and Palestinians and the European Union's frequent protestations of its commitment to Middle East peace, it is very odd, indeed, that the European Union continues to omit Hezbollah from its list of terrorist organizations. But it is completely stupefying that this omission continues while Hezbollah trains and equips many of the very groups already on the European Union's terrorism list, such as Islamic Jihad, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and Hamas. The logic of the European Union's decision-making on this matter is at best baffling. Europeans sometimes point out in their defense that Hezbollah holds seats in the Lebanese Parliament. Let me point out, Mr. Speaker, that Hitler's Nazi Party held seats in a democratically elected German Parliament before the onset of World War II. Furthermore, Hezbollah's limited electoral success does nothing to revive the victims of terrorism. Europeans, of all people, should know that when terrorists succeed at the polls, they do not become moderate. They merely exploit their elected parliamentary positions to serve their terrorist aims. Other Hezbollah apologists cite the group's domestic social programs within Lebanon as reason that it should not be considered strictly terrorist. But the credibility of those programs in Lebanon is mocked by Hezbollah's merciless disregard for human life in all of its other operations. The Bolshevik Party of the Soviet Union similarly provided social programs. Yet it had a devastating impact on generations of Soviet citizens. By simply declaring the transparently obvious, that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, Europe could deprive Hezbollah of access to millions of dollars in European banks and other financial institutions, while making an enormous contribution to Middle Eastern stability and saving hundreds of lives that will otherwise be Hezbollah's future victims. That is why I strongly support this resolution and urge all of my colleagues to join me in that support. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In closing, let me just say that the European Union calls into question its own appropriateness in serving on the quartet, attempting to bring some stability and peace to the Middle East. This is such a clearcut case. We are dealing with a global terrorist organization which has cold-bloodedly massacred large numbers of civilians of many nationalities. There is no earthly reason to continue the defiance of common sense by the European Union in failing to put Hezbollah on the terrorist list. The European Parliament itself a few days ago called on the union to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, and at long last it is our hope that they will do so. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), the Democratic author of this resolution (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)