Maria Voukelatos
Five innocent Cuban men are in prison, while the terrorists they tried to stop are free.
An article on the Canadian Network on Cuba website <http://www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca> explained: "The five Cubans are Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labanino, Rene Gonzalez, and Fernando Gonzalez. They were convicted in U.S. federal court on June 8, 2001 in a politically-charged trial: the U.S. government claimed they were engaged in espionage on U.S. military bases and threatened 'national security'. The espionage charge — and related charges — are a complete fabrication. In 14,000 pages of transcript, no espionage evidence was ever introduced."
The Cuban Five were monitoring the actions of right-wing terrorist groups in Miami and informing the Cuban government of possible attacks. "For more than 40 years", the article states, "anti-Cuban right-wing groups in Miami have engaged in countless terrorist activities against Cuba, against Cuban-Americans and anyone who calls for a normalization of relations between Cuba and the U.S. Those organizations were established with the financing, training and backing of the C.I.A., in the early 1960s. Their sole aim was to sow terror and violence against the people of Cuba."
The Cuban Five were given between 15-year and double life sentences. Last August, an Atlanta appeals court overturned the sentences. In a unanimous decision, the judges acknowledged that the Cuban Five clearly did not and could not receive a fair trial in Miami.
The international coordinating committee for the Cuban Five has called on people worldwide to launch a solidarity campaign to coincide with pending court appeals. The committee wants help to win in the "court of public opinion". A similar campaign was run in 2001, at the time of the first round of trials in Miami, and out of it arose a large international network of committees, organisations and individuals who organised and sponsored forums, films, concerts, newspaper advertisements and rallies to win public support and help free the Cuban Five.
Cuba is a small island sitting just off the coast of the US empire. Its 1959 socialist revolution has survived despite all manner of sabotage, including an economic blockade and attempted assassinations of Cuban President Fidel Castro. One of the main reasons for the survival of the Cuban Revolution is Cuba's "battle of ideas", forged for more than four decades, to win the hearts and minds of people internationally. Cuba has become a powerful example to the world of a nation that will stand up to the US regardless of the provocation and intimidation it receives from the empire.
According to an August 14 National News Agency Cuba report, when the Atlanta court sent down its verdict, "Castro said that President Castro said the best thing the Bush administration could do is immediately release the innocent Cubans. He said a new trial would be the worse alternative for the White House, since unlike the last trial, the entire world will be watching.
"The lies will be exposed said Fidel Castro, as well as the cynicism and brutal way the five Cubans basic human rights have been violated by Washington . He said the decision by the Atlanta judges was an expression of the best traditions of the US people."
[For more information on the Cuban Five, the campaign and how you can help, visit <http://www.freethefive.org>.]
From Green Left Weekly, February 1, 2006.
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