Friends of Cuba and people of good will around the world are raising their voices and carrying banners on the sidewalk in front of the White House to once again demand an end to the imprisonment of Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino and Antonio Guerrero.
These Cuban anti-terrorists were arrested September 12, 1998, along with René González and Fernando González (now free after serving their sentences in full.) The Five were in Miami to monitor terrorist anti-Cuban groups in that city, but were arrested and convicted of conspiracy in a rigged trial in 2001.
Activities marking the anniversary of their jailing 16 years ago took place in Washington, D.C. and included an event at Impact Hub headquarters and a cultural evening at Casa Rutilio Grande, in the Washington suburb of Takoma Park. Among the distinguished participants were Attorney José Pertierra, Canadian writer Stephen Kimber, and former president of Mexico’s Senate Yeidckol Polevnsky.
The Service Employees International Union hosted an exhibit of Antonio Guerrero paintings entitled "Absolved by Solidarity", composed of 16 images portraying the Five’s seven-month trial, during which journalists - paid by the U.S. government - mounted a rabid media campaign to create a hostile environment and deny the Five justice.
Supporters of the Five held a vigil outside the White House, carrying signs saying, "16 years is too long, Freedom for the Five now," and the offices of legislators were visited. Several new agencies including Telesur, Russia Today, Agence France-Presse and Hispantv, covered the activities.
The international solidarity movement reported multiple actions around the world, including mass mailing of letters to President Obama, and protests outside U.S. embassies and consulates.
In La Courneuve, near Paris, the French organization Cuba Sí participated in a traditional event sponsored by the newspaper L'Humanité, with René González in attendance; while in Colombia Elizabeth Palmeiro, married to Ramón Labañino, shared a message from her husband expressing his gratitude for all the efforts undertaken in that country on behalf of the Five.
On the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, Alexandr Lushévich described U.S. human rights policies as hypocritical, citing the case of the Five, who were attempting to stop terrorist attacks on Cuba, and in no way constituted a threat to U.S. national security.
Friends in Kazakhstan presented Cuban diplomats in Astana with a call for the release of the remaining three prisoners, during an event held in the headquarters of the organization Zhuldyz (Star). The academic Vajit Rustemov reiterated his support, as well.
Participants in a cultural event, held in Teheran’s Latin American House, sent a letter of solidarity to Havana, recalling that 16 years, 5,840 days - the time three of the Five have been imprisoned - is a long time, and an unjust punishment for trying to save human lives.
The Argentine Committee to Free the Five visited the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires, and delivered a message, in English and Spanish, to Business Attaché Kevin Sullivan, requesting that their demands for the immediate release of Gerardo, Ramón and Antonio be transmitted to President Obama.
In Chile, 11 deputies who are members of a Parliamentary friendship with Cuba commission, also sent a message to Washington, calling for the normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States, and demanding freedom for the unjustly imprisoned anti-terrorists.
Salvadoran President Sánchez Cerén conversed with Mirta Rodríguez, Antonio Guerrero’s mother, who attended a mass in the Divina Providencia Hospital Chapel where Monsignor Romero was assassinated, in addition to other activities organized in San Salvador as part of the international campaign to free the Five.
Nicaragua’s solidarity with Cuba coordinating committee met at the National Engineering University in Managua and described the five Cuban anti-terrorists as true heroes of world peace, and in Lima, Peru, supporters marched along the city’s central avenues carrying photos of the imprisoned Cubans, and posters calling for their immediate release.
