Cuban Five send a message of
protest to the HRC 

GENEVA, March 23—The five Cuban heroes imprisoned in the United States for preventing and combating terrorism sent a message to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) today, urging it to break the wall of silence surrounding their demands for justice.

From the US prisons where they are serving long sentences, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González reminded the Commission that last year, it already had knowledge of their case.

The message was read out by Olga Salanueva, René’s wife, accompanied by Adriana Pérez, Gerardo’s wife, who occupied seats belonging to the Federation of Cuban Women, a non-governmental organization with consultative status at the HRC.

The two women spoke during subject No. 9, which addresses violations of human rights around the world.

They stated that they have been denied visas 12 times by US authorities and thus have been prevented from visiting their husbands during the seven years that they have been incarcerated.

Olga Salanueva said that her daughter Ivette, a US citizen, is likewise prevented from seeing her father.

In their letter to the HRC, Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando and René once again denounced the “cruelty unleashed against our families and ourselves by a government that has not forgiven us for protecting our people from terrorism.”

They state that they are not surprised by the silence surrounding their case, or by the fact that the US government is trying to hide its torture in Iraq behind a wall of censorship.

Neither do they find strange – they maintain – the policy of deaf ears on the part of those who fueled the idea of “the danger that little Cuba poses to the United States,” with the aim of “justifying the handing down of four life sentences and nearly 100 years to five human beings.”
The Five wished the Commission success in its work, but urged it to find a response to situations like the war in Iraq, where – they affirm – “the human cost is meticulously calculated solely in terms of the aggressor’s casualties.”

They also referred to the violations against the Palestinian people, which – among other issues that concern humanity – must be faced so that “tomorrow there will still be humans with rights to defend.”

Taken from Cubadebate 

RETURN