>> if you can ask him to go slowly and to stop at certain intervals so we can get his translation. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: i was saying that our biggest challenge is to face the repression by the castro government and our group is trying to make massive mobilization of non-violent struggles all over the country,

non-violent fights. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: all this to counteract the violent repression by the regime. we need to send our message out. we need our activist to have access to the media so that we can try to get the message out about the importance of this

democratic process that is just now starting. we want help from the free world to get out of the oppression, have access to the internet and some other media out there. >> the gentlemen also mentioned -- [ speaking spanish ] >> i understood that he said that radio martee was very important to was in -- >> translator: i may have missed that. the the record reflect he spoke about radio marty an important tool for flow of information for the cuban people. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: there is an old saying that people, especially older people like to say, and that is that when you're cold, you get warm by walking and i would like to say that when you are in fear, you get away with your fear by acting and we need to find creative ways to send our message out, like have audio visual images that can be

disseminated to the population to show them we can fight for the freedom and liberties that have been taken away from us for over half a century. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: we need material support, we need information media, more specifically dvd. we can see the change day by day by using them. for example in areas where there was no activity, no thirst for changes or anything, when they see that other areas are changing, are doing this evenings, they start getting motivated and organizing more activities and more protests and

that's why again i'm saying we need help from the free world to break this informational monopoly. we need our information to get everywhere, more specifically dvds because there's a lot of interference of the actual media, so if we can burn dvds with our video, our information, our clips weeshs can disseminate it to the population and their fear will go away and the cube a -- cuban people just want change, can you see it on the street. >> i want to ask mr. garcia to summarize so we can turn to his colleagues. i don't want to lose our video feed from havana. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: basically the cube a cuban people is not happy anymore. their fear is going away. we want help from the people in exile in democratic countries and we need democratic countries as well to join our efforts because cuba will be a free country before you know it. thank you very much. let me turn to sarah martin

fonseca quevedo. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: good afternoon, everybody. thanks again for being in contact with us. we really appreciate it. i'm from the human rights group in cuba. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: the interpreter would request repetition, the names of the groups she belongs with. would you ask her to repeat and go as slowly as possible since we have transmission

challenges here. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: i was saying i am a member of of the national front for civilian disobedience group orlando zapata, the ladies in white and the feminist movement for civil rights, rosa. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: because of the activist activities that we carry out on our street, we have been victims of several repressions, mostly by the political police who has even committed acts of state terrorism in our own homes. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: all of this just because we voiced our wish to have our human rights respected. we want democracy and we want the freedom of the cuban people. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: we have been repressed but we have also

received the acceptance of the human people. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: that satisfaction motivates us to continue our fight to get a truly democratic cuba. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: it's very good when we see people from other towns and cities come to us to support us. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: it makes us feel that our fight is finally reaching its objective that change is near and that very soon our cuba will be a

democratic and free country. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: for us it's very important to have support, mostly in terms of disseminating information both domestically and internationally. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: several members of the cuban communist party have turned in their i.d. cards

when they have seen house of representatives we have been oppressed just by expressing a different opinion. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: our objective is drawing near. we are no longer the people that remain silent and we have more people joining us and supporting us. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: i'm sorry i didn't have anything scripted. we're not ready. as a precaution we were not told over the phone what we would be

talking about. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: my colleague here had to walk kilometers to get here just so that political police wouldn't catch him. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: and i am getting better. i was sick for a few days but i'm always up to speed on what everybody else is doing. >> we appreciate your testimony. we'll go through it a little by more when we ask questions.

let me turn to mr. antunz. >> translator: good afternoon, everybody. good afternoon assistant secretary of state, senator menendez and everybody else present there. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: very special greetings to my friend normandeau gonzalez who is there with you.

[ speaking spanish ] >> translator: it makes me very proud to see normando gonzalez there, because we suffered political prison. we both suffered beatings, oppression and hunger. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: he is like the best example of our homeland because he is a self-taught journalist that used to disseminate information in the prison.

[ speaking spanish ] >> translator: and i'm very proud to see him there today because he sfrd a lot of oppression with a lot of dignity and decorum. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: something very important that might colleague just said is that we found out about this event with very short notice and i think that shows the degree of poppression that e are under. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: and that speaks volume of the repression that we feel. i had to, like she said, walk kilometers, hide behind trees and bushes as if i was some sort of criminal to attend an event that in any other free and democratic country in the world would be an every day thing. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: but thank god and thank to the intrasection for all the support given to us, we're here. it's been hard but we're here and we are involved.

[ speaking spanish ] >> translator: i want you to know that a few days ago as a result of brutal repression to an act of repudiation -- [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: i witnessed the death of antonio ruiz in the city of santa clara. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: where a group of pro democratic peaceful activists, myself included, were

gathered. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: to talk about liberty, freedom, justice and human rights. >> translator: but that's not all. mr. senator, at this very moment there's a black cuban woman who has been on a hunger strike for several days in santa clara. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: and hear me out here, mrs. amari mora is on a

hunger strike because the political police threatened to rape and abuse her 6-year-old daughter. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: we're not talking about the cuba from before 1959, of any other country latin america or any other remote area in africa. we're talking about the cuba of the 21st century. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: when horrible killings happen such as the one of mr. zapata mendoza and grandmother antonio. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: and we need to bear in mind no increase in permitens and no increase in the cultural exchanges. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: that speed up the democratic process in our country. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: what this dictatorship regime does is to strengthen the repression and

grant immunity to those who commit the acts of repression. >> let's let the record reflect that what he said is those policies, the policies that she just described before of remistanss, of travel, of acceptance only creates an impunity for the regime. and allows them to continue their oppressive actions. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: it has been proven that -- and for this i have my witnesses here, this cuban that recently left the island mr. gonzalez and my colleague here. that these increase in trips both from north america to cubans themselves have not helped at all with the democratic process in our country. because they come to our country on matters that have nothing to do with what we're doing. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: i would like to clarify that i fully respect president barack obama's administration and i know that everything that they're doing is with their best intentions. and both the democratic and the republican parties are allied to our cause. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: but mr. senators, when the opposition is increasing both in qualitative and quantitative terms -- [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: -- when there's an increase in the number of protests all over the country --

[ speaking spanish ] >> translator: -- this is the time and these are the opportunities to support the resistance forces. [ speaking spanish ] >> translator: this is because cuban resistance forces are embarked on a head-on battle with the state. we suffer beatings, we suffer undo treatment, harassment even in our own homes, torture and

all kinds of violation of our human rights. [ speaking spanish ]

>> translator: to conclude because i have already said a lot and those who spoke before me have done so very eloquently maybe even so more than me, the truth is to be said not to be hidden. and in this regard and in terms of the visas, i find that the visit to the united states being