Diane Watson

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself as much time as I may consume. On November 16, 1989, in the midst of El Salvador's 12-year-long civil war, six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her teenage daughter were murdered in San Salvador by members of the Salvadoran Army. On the 20th anniversary of this heinous crime, the resolution we consider today calls upon us to remember and honor their lives and their work. The six priests were well known internationally for their work in support of human rights, social justice, peace and caring for refugees and the internally displaced. They worked tirelessly to end the conflict that had torn apart their country for over a decade. As scholars, researchers and advocates, they identified and addressed the many economic and social problems that affected the majority poor of El Salvador. Upon learning of their murders, Speaker of the House Tom Foley appointed a special task force on El Salvador consisting of 19 Members of the House and chaired by Congressman Joe Moakley of Boston, Massachusetts. The special task force was charged with monitoring the Salvadoran Government's investigation into the eight murders. Six of our colleagues who served on the Speaker's special task force still serve today in the 111th Congress. They are Congressmen Steny Hoyer, Jim McDermott, George Miller, Jack Murtha, David Obey and John Spratt. We honor them for their service then and today and for their dedication to the cause of peace, justice and human rights. The Moakley Commission, as the Speaker's special task force came to be known, issued a series of reports that identified members of the Salvadoran military's high command as those responsible for murdering and obstructing the subsequent investigation into the crime. The international outcry in response to the murders and the subsequent investigations served as a catalyst for negotiations that resulted in the signing of peace accords in January 1992, bringing El Salvador's long nightmare to an end. So even in death, these brave men and women contributed to achieving the very peace to which they had dedicated their lives. Since that terrible November day in 1989, these eight individuals have been remembered in El Salvador and around the world. Annual observances have been held by the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States which have taken up many projects in support of human rights and social justice in honor of the fallen Jesuits. By passing this resolution today, the House adds its voice to that remembrance and extends our sympathy to the family members, friends, colleagues and religious communities who knew them, worked with them, loved them and miss them. We also remember our former colleague, Congressman Joe Moakley, and the seminal reports issued by the Speaker's special task force that played such an important role in bringing to trial those responsible for the murders and advancing negotiations to end the war. I want to thank my good friend and gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for introducing this important resolution, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5\1/2\ minutes to Mr. James McGovern from the Third District of Massachusetts.

Ms. WATSON. I continue to reserve my time, Mr. Speaker.

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

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 672) calling on the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to release imprisoned bloggers and respect Internet freedom.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself as much time as I may consume. I would like to thank my good friend, Representative Loretta Sanchez of California, for her leadership in introducing this important resolution. This resolution calls on the government of Vietnam to release imprisoned bloggers and respect individuals' rights to freedom of speech and expression. Over the past decade, Vietnam has seen an explosion in Internet use due to the country's increasing economic integration and a decline in the cost of access to the Internet. Today, an estimated 24 million of Vietnam's 88 million people are online. A major leap forward for freedom of expression in Vietnam has been the rise of the blogs. Blogs have taken an important space in Vietnam society, providing a rare platform for Vietnamese citizens to exchange ideas and debate issues outside of the State-controlled media. Rather than embracing this new form of communication, authorities in Hanoi have chosen to join the likes of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt in employing a mix of detentions, regulations, and intimidation in order to monitor users and censor views. On October, 2008, the government passed a new edict that gave the police broad authority to move against online critics, including those who oppose the ``State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.'' Since 2002, about 30 ``cyber-dissidents'' have been jailed in Vietnam. Seven of those 30 remain behind bars, and these people were expressing their views peacefully and posed no threat to Vietnam's national security. According to the 2008 press freedom index by Reporters Without Borders, Vietnam was ranked 168 out of 173 countries. Vietnam must stop criminalizing free speech and begin upholding the international covenant on civil and political rights to which Vietnam is a signatory. Censoring private blogs and forcing technology companies to cooperate with authorities to restrain critical speech threatens not just the Vietnamese people but Internet users everywhere. I strongly support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlelady from California, Loretta Sanchez.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 175) condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights, as amended.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Ms. WATSON. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I would like to thank my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois, Congressman Mark Kirk, for his leadership in introducing this important resolution. H. Res. 175 condemns the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and of its continued violation of the international covenants on human rights. Mr. Speaker, resolutions in support of the much persecuted Baha'i communities in the Middle East have a long and proud tradition in the House of Representatives and in the other body. While past resolutions have chronicled the abuse and harassment Baha'is have experienced in several Middle Eastern countries, nowhere is the situation as dire or does it require more urgent action than in Iran, where Baha'is are routinely arrested and face the death penalty. Iran's Baha'i community forms that country's largest religious minority. It is difficult to know the exact number because Iran has banned communal Baha'i institutions since 1983, but it is estimated that they number over 300,000. Since 1979, some 200 Baha'is have been executed, and thousands have been imprisoned. They have been systematically denied jobs, pensions, access to higher education, and the right to inherit property. All Baha'i cemeteries, holy places and other community properties were seized soon after the 1979 revolution. Many sites of the greatest historical significance to the Baha'is have been destroyed, and the graves of Baha'is have been desecrated throughout the country. In the spring of 2008, seven individuals who had been serving as leaders of the Baha'i community on an ad hoc basis were arrested and were put in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Their trial date has been repeatedly postponed, and it is still unclear if and when they will face trial. Official Iranian news agencies have reported that they are charged with espionage for Israel, insulting Islam and with propaganda against the Islamic republic. Family members have been informed of a fourth charge, that of spreading corruption on Earth. Some of these charges could carry the death penalty. The circumstances of this possible trial are particularly worrying because the Government of Iran has arrested and executed the Baha'i leadership on three previous occasions. In addition to the seven Baha'i leaders, some 25 other Baha'is also remain in prison, including three young people in Shiraz who were arrested in 2006 for indirectly teaching the Baha'i faith and for engaging in antigovernment propaganda while merely carrying out a literacy program for underprivileged youth. These young people are currently serving 4-year sentences under very harsh conditions. As the United States and the international community seek to engage Iran on the crucial issues of nonproliferation, we must not forget about the basic human rights of the Iranian people. International attention to the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran has been critical to preventing an even worse deterioration of their situation. As large sections of the Iranian population are now being increasingly repressed and denied the opportunity to have a voice in their own country, it is crucial that others in the international community speak out on their behalf and support them. I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Ms. WATSON

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 823) expressing deep condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those killed and injured in the attack on the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 5, 2009, and support for the WFP's mission to bring emergency food aid to the most vulnerable people of Pakistan and around the world.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, on October 5, 2009, five dedicated humanitarians were killed and four others injured by a suicide bombing inside the World Food Program's office in Islamabad, Pakistan. The victims of this senseless attack were impartial civilian aid workers devoted to feeding the hungry and providing a lifeline to millions of the most vulnerable people in Pakistan. The United Nations World Food Program has been on the front lines of fighting hunger worldwide since its inception in 1962. I want to recognize, and I want to thank the sponsor of this resolution, my distinguished colleague and good friend from Connecticut, Ms. Rosa DeLauro, for taking the lead in introducing this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlelady from Connecticut, Representative Rosa DeLauro.

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts, James McGovern.

Ms. WATSON. I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Dennis Kucinich.

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