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Forward from mart.
Please distribute
widely.
FREE THE MIAMI
5!!
NOW!!!
----- Original Message -----
From: benjamin ramos <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 3:45
PM
Subject: [Cuba SI] (unknown)
follwoing on the five Cuban Political prisoners!! Please show your
solidarity by participating in this call to action!!
The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.ProLibertad.org (THE SITE IS BACK UP)
BRONX 718-601-4751
MANHATTAN 212-927-9065
NEW JERSEY 201-435-3244
______________________________________________________
EMERGENCY RESPONSE NEEDED IN SUPPORT OF THE FIVE CUBAN
PATRIOTS BEING HELD IN MIAMI PRISON. SENTENCING TO
BEGIN TUESDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2001.
The case of the 5 Cuban companeros who are imprisoned
in federal prison in Miami - victims of U.S. hostility
against Cuba -- has reached a critical stage. Although
accused of espionage on the U.S. military, they showed
in their trial that they were infiltrating the
right-wing terrorist groups in Miami to be able to
warn Cuba of imminent attack on the island. This week,
starting with individual sessions, they will be
sentenced by federal judge Joan Lenard in Miami, and
it is likely that they will receive the maximum
sentences applicable to their convictions. Two, Ramon
Labañino and Antonio Guerrero, face life sentences.
Gerardo Hernández faces two life sentences.
Two, Rene Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez, face ten
years. Gerardo Hernandez faces two life sentences. As
you know, they were convicted on June 8, 2001, after a
long trial and 27 months imprisonment, 18 months in
solitary. They were convicted on spurious and
outrageous charges, including conspiracy to commit
murder (Gerardo Hernandez could receive life for this)
for the deaths of the 4 "Brothers to the Rescue"
pilots who were shot down by Cuba in 1996. All of them
were convicted of failure to register as foreign
agents, as well as other charges. There is a national
call-in on Tuesday, December 11, in which all Cuba
supporters are being asked to call or fax George Bush
and call for their immediate release.
Their names are Gerardo Hernandez (aka Manuel
Viramontes), Fernando Gonzalez (aka Ruben Campa),
Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero, and Rene Gonzalez.
By doing the call-ins, their supporters want to show
that there is awareness of their case nationally, and
nternationally, and that a campaign exists for their
freedom. The National Committee to Free the Five Cuban
Political Prisoners in U.S. Prison has been doing
considerable work. The member organizations of the
coalition, International Action Center, Pastors for
Peace, National Lawyers Guild, Partnership for Civil
Justice, National Network on Cuba, and many others in
the U.S. and internationally.
There have been a series of meetings in New York, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and elsewhere. The
committee has also done a considerable amount of
solidarity with them, including successful meetings in
L.A. and S.F. over the weekend. They have sent them
each a Spanish-English dictionary, the People's
History of the U.S. in Spanish, and "History Will
Absolve Me," Fidel's historic speech just before his
conviction and sentencing for the Moncada attack. They
made a special request for this book and they just
received it last week. It will serve as inspiration
for them in these difficult times.
They have written several times, expressing deep
gratitude for the solidarity they have extended. The
Committee is producing a video, based on interviews
that Gloria La Riva did with all their family members
in Cuba. There is a 10-minute piece that features
interviews with the mothers and wives of the Five
compañeros, it is subtitled, and is an excellent
accompaniment to any meeting. Please consider holding
a meeting. There is very little knowledge of their
struggle, and such meetings can help to raise
awareness of their case, and organize much-needed
support.
Also, in New York, there will be a picket on December
17, which is one of the scheduled dates of the
sentencing. At this moment, Bill Hackwell and Gloria
La Riva of the Committee are in Miami to attend the
first days of the sentencing. The atmosphere is
extremely hostile to the Cuban compañeros; they have
been portrayed as being Responsible for the deaths of
the four pilots of Brothers to the Rescue. Four
mothers of the Five Cuban heroes have received visas
and arrived Friday, December 7, and the 16-year-old
daughter of René González. But they were denied the
right to have any other Cuban accompany them to help
them navigate in Miami.
Cruelly, one of the wives, Elizabeth Pereiro, is being
granted a visa only two days after her husband, Ramon
Labañino, is sentenced. The mothers have been acting
so heroically. They are deeply appreciative of all the
support efforts in the United States, and were a
source of inspiration for all of us today in the
courtroom. Andrés Gomez of the Antonio Maceo Brigade
is heading up the week's work in Miami, and all are
working closely.
WE ASK ALL
SUPPORTERS FOR JUSTICE TO:
1. Please take the time to call the White House at:
202-456-2461, or fax: 202-456-1414. It should be a
quick and simple message: to free the Five Cubans,
Gerardo Hérnandez, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero,
René González, and Fernando González, who were acting
in defense of their people, to protect them from
terrorist acts.
2. Also, there is a petition being circulated. Hold a
street rally or picketline if you can, and/or
distribute the petition with the very informative
brochures (Spanish and English) to any political
activities that are occurring. The brochures have been
produced by the Free the Five Committee (see the
www.iacsf.org webpage to download the PDF). An initial
petition is available on the www.iacsf.org page, and a
very nice version with the Cubans'pictures may be up
on the IAC national webpage.
3. Please send out the Call-in and Petition requests
to your list-serves, so more people can respond.
4. STAY POSTED FOR THE LATEST UPDATE ON THE FIRST
SENTENCE THAT WILL BE HANDED DOWN TO GERARDO
HERNANDEZ, ON TUESDAY AND SUBSEQUENT DAYS OF
SENTENCING. Call 415-269-7917, cell phone in Miami
through Thursday.
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