Tuesday, June 8, 1999; 4:32 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department said Tuesday it was not surprised that some Cubans have decided to go on a hunger strike to call attention to the absence of freedom on the island.

About 25 Cuban dissidents went on a hunger strike Monday to demand freedom of expression and the release of scores of people they described as political prisoners.

It should come as no surprise that some Cubans are calling attention to ``the increased repression and to the ongoing abuses of human rights in Cuba,'' State Department spokesman James Foley said.

He noted that the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva supported a resolution in April that criticized Cuba's rights record.