International days of solidarity with the Cuban Five have begun

Yesterday (11/09/06) a great number of people marched along the streets of La Paz with banners and flags, demanding the release by the US government of Ramon Labanino Salasar, Antonio Gerrero Rodriguez, Fernando Gonzalez Lorta, Rene Gonzalez Sehverteta and Gerardo Ernandez Nordelo and an end to the diplomatic, economic and terrorist war against the independent Cuban people, which the White House has been waging together with the Florida mafia of former Cuban bourgeoisie that emigrated to the US after the revolution.

Also yesterday in Turkey in the towns of Dacha, Kuchavash and Dekili the association of Jose Marti and the central committee for the release of the Cuban Five held seminars about the Cuban Five and the struggle against US state supported terrorism. A film was shown about the terrorist organisations located in the US that are opposed to the Cuban people, and about the anti-terrorist work of the Cuban Five, which resulted in the severe and false trial against them.

Today, 12 September, in more than 100 countries in the world, people marked the eighth anniversary of the conviction of the Cuban Five with acts of protest. In Vienna and in Buenos Aires there were particularly lively and well-attended marches. In Kiev the youth organisation "Che Guevara," the all-Ukrainian committee for the freedom of the Cuban Five, the association for Ukrainian-Cuban friendship, the league of the international fighters from the USSR who defended Cuba and the organisation of mothers of children who were treated and recovered in Cuba following the Chernobyl disaster organised a picket outside the American embassy in Ukraine. Representatives of the Austrian communist organisation "The Spark" [Der Funke] were also present. The flag of Cuba and the flag of the "Che Guevara" organisation were raised outside the walls of the embassy from 9-10am. There were speeches in Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, German and English, which clearly expressed the boiling indignation at the actions of the North American Femida, and confidence in the struggle for the release of the Cuban five being victorious.

In this way the international days of solidarity with the five Cuban heroes - the fighters against terrorism whom the US authorities are trying to leave to rot in prison. As is well known, the only crime of these people was that they prevented a large number of people, especially tourists, from being blown up in hotels, nightclubs and on board airplanes, as well as other terrorist acts on the territory of Cuba. They therefore saved the lives of tens, and possibly hundreds, of thousands of people, and played a vital role in the development of the nationalised economy, in the first instance in its tourist sector. Their actions are one of the factors which enabled the Cuban people to overcome the severe economic crisis which was fuelled by the blockade imposed by the imperialist monster.

I hope that the case of the Cuban Five is well known to readers of www.communist.ru. In our archive you can read numerous articles on this subject. Here I only want to underline the fact that the Cuban Five were accused as spies of conspiracy with the purpose of spying, in the monitoring of MacDill airbase not far from Tampa, and of actions aimed at penetrating the naval and air bases at Bok Chika and Key West and South Command in Miama, in the use of false documents, in the absence of registration. They were convicted to very long terms of imprisonment by the court in Miami, where the local government is controlled by the very mafia who back the terrorist acts the Cuban Five were foiling. Later this ruling was overturned and now the authorities are going to conduct a new trial. In the meantime the Cuban Five have already been in prison for eight years in terrible conditions of psychological pressure.

In this period a wide campaign of solidarity has been organised internationally in their defence. There are more than 250 committees in more than 100 countries. Now, in the international days of solidarity, the struggle is being conducted particularly actively. New committees are being formed, as the formation of the tenth committee in the Ukraine (in Sevastopol) only two days ago illustrates. In Russia and in other countries similar committees are also being set up all the time. More active informational-political work is being stepped up.

Within the framework of the current international solidarity campaign the youth organisation "Che Guevara", the association for Ukrainian-Cuban friendship (solidarity) and the All-Ukrainian committee for the release of the Cuban Five, which is coordinating the work of regional committees, are conducting informational seminars in five universities in Kiev, including Kiev international university, the university of international relations, the inter-regional academy of management and Kiev linguistic university. In the film club of the Kiev-Mogilyan academy and on television the film "Mission against terror" will be shown. Interventions by activists of the "Che Guevara" organisation are being planned for television and radio with information about this campaign.

On September 23 in Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) at 14:00 a meeting ending with a concert will take place. Ukrainian musical collectives will perform that also include members of the All-Ukrainian committee as well as Cuban musicians. On the same day a mass meeting will take place in the USA under the slogan, which is also our central demand: "Free the Five!"

In Kiev on September 26 at 14:00 a colloquium dedicated to the judicial and sociological aspects of the case of the Cuban Five will take place. Respected academics and practising lawyers will take part.

The All-Ukrainian committee and the "Che Guevara" youth organisation in the near future will also build an agitational tent camp on the square of the October revolution in Kiev.

All this is just a small part of the large-scale information campaign which is developing around the whole world

We are able to look at the world with the eyes of Antonio Gerrero Rodriguez, having read his poetry, whose verse everyday people are discovering for themselves thanks to its translation from Spanish into Russian, German, English and many other languages. Recently on September 8 in Moscow a presentation of a collection of his works was held under the title of "Confidential poems." Soon the publication of his historical poetry about the national liberation hero Antonio Maseo will come out in Ukrainian, while as part of the current solidarity campaign his best works are being published. Elsewhere works of non-fiction of Rodriguez are being made available. In Mexico the book "The Completed Hurricane" is being sold which includes documents regarding the trial of the Cuban Five. In Kiev the "Che Guevara" group is issuing a collection of articles in Russian about the five heroes.

We are trying to use the most diverse means in order to attract the attention of the youth to the problems of international terrorism and imperialism through our campaign in defence of the Cuban Five. In Kiev we are planning to hold a graffiti festival as well as social events. With each passing day the campaign for the release of the Cuban Five is conquering new ground. It is a struggle that unites millions of people angry with the imperialist policies of the US directed against the people of Cuba and against the people throughout the world, people who are angry that those who fight against terrorism sit in prison while the terrorists are free to carry on at liberty, people who are ready for a profound struggle and will not give up until the Five have been released and return home to their families. But the struggle will not end here either, since everyone who fights for the Cuban Five understands that as long as capitalism exists people in all corners of the planet will suffer, and within this agony, like yeast in dough, capital will accumulate further and continue to back terrorism.

September 12, 2006