Declaration of the participants in the 5th International Colloquium

Declaration of the participants in the 5^th International Colloquium

“For the Release of the Cuban Five heroes and against Terrorism”

To all women and men in the world, justice lovers,

To the people of the United States,

Five courageous Cubans: Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando and René have been unjustly imprisoned in US jails for more than eleven years; their only crime has been to fight against terrorism and to defend their people’s right to live in peace.

While fighting against terrorism, and defending the fairest causes of humane dignity and liberty, these Five Heroes harbor their entire people’s decorum, as well as that of the progressive mankind.

As a result of the delayed and politicized process, the most outrageous physical and mental tortures have been committed against them and their relatives. This is a flagrant violation of the most basic principles of international law, of the established procedures with regards to due process, and of the regulations on the treatment to detainees.

The United States government maintains a double standard in its policy to fight against terrorism; harbors, protects and supports US-based terrorist organizations that operate with impunity, causing victims not only among the Cuban people, but also in other countries.

Bearing in mind the above-mentioned statement:

The participants in the 5^th International Colloquium “For the Release of the Cuban Five heroes and against Terrorism”, social fighters, trade unionists, parliament members, pacifists, party leaders, intellectuals and religious leaders, students, have agreed to issue the following Declaration:

1)    We demand the United States government:

§  To respect its own laws and act abiding to the rules of International Law.

§  To IMMEDIATELY cease the systematic and repeated violations of human rights against the Cuban Five and their relatives, particularly the violation of the right to be visited by the wives Olga Salanueva and Adriana Pérez; as well as to grant the reclaimed visas to both of them.

§  To put an end to the logistic and financial support provided to terrorist organizations based in that country, and to bring the notorious terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to justice for the blowing up of a Cuban airliner in which 73 civilians were killed.

2)    We demand President Barack Obama and the Government of the United States of America to free RIGHT AWAY the Cuban Five because they are innocent.

3)    We call upon all honest people in our planet, and especially the noble US people, to work intensely to disseminate the fair cause for which the Cuban Five are fighting and to demand their liberation as a way of paying tribute to decency and truth.

4)    We ratify to the Cuban Five and to everyone fighting for their freedom that we will not relent in our efforts denouncing this injustice, and that we will continue to fight until they return to their homeland.

 

Action Plan approved by delegates at the 5^th International Colloquium

“For the Release of the Cuban Five and against Terrorism”

Holguin, November 21^st, 2009

The 5th Colloquium held in Holguin is especially relevant after the rejection by the US Supreme Court to review the case of the Cuban Five in June, 2009; the resentencing process of Antonio on October 13^th resulting in the unjust condemnation to 21 years and 10 months, the next resentencing of Fernando and Ramon scheduled for December 8^th; and the unaltered sentences of Rene and Gerardo, the latter being the most difficult case, and the permanent rejection to grant visas to Adriana and Olga.

This has always been a political case, but now more than ever we are in the need of making feel the worldwide denunciation and solidarity before the Obama Administration which has the legal and constitutional power to bring to a completion this injustice.

All our efforts being made in the struggle for the release of the Five are intended to influence the United States, where the big media continues to snub the case of the Five. The work of more than 300 committees in over 100 countries has begun to bear some fruit. This is a fact acknowledged by the prosecution itself in Miami on the eve of the resentencing of Tony: "The case of the Cuban Five has caused quite a noise worldwide, and it is necessary to better up the image of the US system of justice."

On this matter, we need to clear up our aims and strengthen our endeavours so we can work harder.

Main proposals made by participants to attain the release of the Five

1)    Widen our working scopes

§  Continue spreading the case and demand solidarity among all social movements and broaden the political spectrum of sectors to which we convey our message, mainly governments, parliaments, religious organizations, celebrities, legal organizations, human rights organizations, labour unions.

§  Promoting the participation of activists for the freedom of the Cuban Five in the 2010 US Social Forum.

§  Continue to denounce firmly the double standards of the US government that keeps five innocent people in jail and shelters, protects and releases self-confessed terrorist like Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch.

2)    Working with Parliamentarians

§  Link the parliamentarians’ plea from every country to US Congressmen.

§  Bolster the visit of activists for the freedom of the Five to US Congressmen and Nancy Pelosi herself, Chairwoman of the US House of Representatives.

§  Bring about the visit of foreign parliamentarians to the Cuban Five in the penitentiaries where they remain imprisoned.

3)    Working with Labour Unions

§  Ensure that the activities being planned or associated with the labour unions have an impact on US trade union counterparts.

§  Target the upcoming May 1^st as a day of action for the Five, specially by holding banners and portraits with the images of the Five, during the demonstrations to take place in each country.

4)    Expand the use of new ICT’s (Information and Communication Technologies)

§  Use Internet opportunities like YouTube to upload small videos of personalities who can make an impact in the US.

§  Improve our websites, newsletters and messages; take benefit from spaces such as Blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

§  Achieve a greater presence in the mass media, including the publication of a page on a US national newspaper.

§  Promote the use of www.cubadebate.cu and www.antiterroristas.cu websites as reference centres on the case of the Five.

5)    Cultural Resources

§  Make people aware worldwide of the intellectual production and artistic sensibility of the Five.

§  Exploit every sort of cultural event, from concerts to exhibitions; involve renowned personalities in such events; and continue to strive for bigger media coverage of the Cuban Five case.

§  Call on new filmmakers and other audiovisual media producers to continue to depict and recreate materials on the case of the Five.

6)    Solidarity

§  Thousands of people in the world are involved in the campaign to halt the genocide blockade against Cuba. Not all of them are also part of the struggle to free the Cuban Five. We have to engage them all in this struggle, since working for the release of the Cuban Five is also working for the right of Cuba to sovereignty and live in peace.

7)    Nobel Peace Prize for the Cuban Five

8)    Insist that the US government should grant humanitarian visas to Adriana Pérez and Olga Salanueva

§  Take account of any support coming from the International Commission for the Right of Family Visits, whose members in 27 countries have world renown.

§  Carry out actions for the demand of visas in every country with members of this Commission; and persuade other personalities of the countries who are not integrated yet. Pleas should aim at Barack Obama and other US high-ranking government officials.

§  Use important dates for families and women: Christmas and New Year, February 14^th, March 8^th.

9)    Maintain support to the legal struggle on the Case

§  Report regularly on the case developments.

§  Publish fully in every means the content of Amicus addressed to the Court and other public legal documents.

§  Summon new persons of the legal sector to engage in the struggle for the release of the Five.

10) Working with governments

§  Engage heads of state and high-ranking government officials in giving a public statement on the Cuban Five case.

§  Engage heads of state in asking Obama to commute the sentences of the Cuban Five.

11) Working with the youth

§  Encourage teachers to promote the cause of the Five.

§  Use the literary work of the Cuban Five in the learning process at early ages and in the strengthening of ethical and human values.

§  Produce literature and other teaching-learning means with appropriate language for children as potential audiences.

§  Implement the subject of the Cuban Five as part of community projects.

Important dates to consider in the upcoming six months:

§  December 8^th: Fernando and Ramon’s resentencing

§  December 10^th: International Day for Human Rights

§  December 24^th and 25^th: Christmas Eve and Christmas

§  December 31^st and Jan 1^st: New Year and 51^st Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution

§  February 14^th: Saint Valentine’s Day (of Love and Friendship)

§  March 8^th: International Women's Day

§  May 1^st: International Workers’ Day

§  2^nd Sunday in May: Mother's Day

§  June 17^th: Anniversary of the Open Letter to the US people

Participants in the 5^th International Colloquium

“For the Release of the Cuban Five and against Terrorism”

Holguín, November 21^st, 2009