THE Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five Heroes, in collaboration with the Guyana-Cuba Friendship Society, Monday staged a march through the streets of Kingston, Georgetown, demonstrating solidarity with and support for the ‘Cuban Five Heroes’ imprisoned in the United States for the last 13 years. Around 17:30hrs, the group of supporters took to the streets in a peaceful protest, marching under solidarity banners and carrying national flags of Cuba and Guyana, as well as placards with slogans calling for the release of the five men. According to the organisers, the five Cubans were incarcerated, “…after being wrongly convicted in a U.S. federal court in Miami in June 2001.”

The march, which attracted a modest gathering, assembled outside the Cuban Embassy on High Street, Kingston. Those assembled included Cuban Ambassador, Raul Gortazar Marrero, Venezuelan Ambassador, Dario Morandy, Vice President of the Five Heroes Committee, Halim Khan, President of the Guyana-Cuba Friendship Society, Samuel Abdool, and President of the Guyana Agricultural Workers’ Union, Komal Chand.
Wending its way east along High Street and into Young Street, the group, on passing the United States Embassy, chanted “Free the Five! Free the Five!”
The march turned north into Camp Road, and north to the Sea Wall bandstand where a rally was held.

“The Cuban Five,” Khan explained, “are five Cuban men who are in a U.S. prison, four serving life sentences and the fifth 75 years, after being wrongly convicted in the U.S. Federal Court in Miami, on June 8, 2001.”

They are Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Anotonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez.

Khan, reading from a statement, continued:  “The five were falsely accused by the U.S. Government of committing espionage conspiracy against the United States, and other related charges.

“The five pointed out vigorously in their defence, that they were involved in monitoring the actions of Miami-based terrorist groups, in order to prevent terrorist acts in their country, Cuba.”

He said that, “The actions of the Five were never directed at the U.S. government. They never harmed anyone, nor ever possessed nor used any weapons while in the United States.

According to the statement, the  mission of the Cuban Five, was to ‘stop terrorism’ levelled against Cuba by anti-Cuban terrorist organisations, noting that over 40 years, more than 3,000 Cubans have died as a result of terrorist attacks and  Cuba has suffered heavy losses as a result of the trade embargo imposed by the U.S. against that country.

The Cuban Five were arrested on September 12, 1998, and initially held in solitary confinement for 17 months in a Miami jail. The seven-month trial began in November, 2000 and they were convicted and sentenced to four life terms and 75 years in December, 2001.

After seven years of imprisonment, the Cuban Five, on August 9, 2005, won what they termed an ‘unprecedented victory’ in an appeal; but this was subsequently overturned and to date the five are still in prison in Miami.

Going into the details of the trial and ramifications of their imprisonment, Khan called on the gathering assembled at the rally yesterday, “We need your support dear fellow Guyanese,” and implored them to pledge solidarity with the people of Cuba, urging that they direct letters or telephone calls to President Barak Obama, appealing to him to have the men released.

Meanwhile, President of GAWU, Komal Chand observed that the five were incarcerated for no criminal reason, but were simply defending the rights of the people to choose their own political destiny. “They were doing a duty for their people” he stressed, assuring that Guyanese are in support of and giving solidarity to the Five imprisoned Cubans.

And Ambassador Gortazar expressed his sincere gratitude to the Guyana-Cuba Friendship and Solidarity Society, to the Committee for the Freedom of the Five Heroes, the Guyana Government, and the political, religious and social organisations of Guyana for their steadfast support in the fight.
Ambassador Marrero also expressed gratitude to the organisation of Cuban residents and the thousands of Guyanese for having always supported the people of Cuba in this humanitarian cause.

The Cuban Ambassador who referred to the time served so far by the Cuban Five as  ’13 years of unjust incarceration’, conceded that, for persons who enjoy freedom, time flies rapidly, but for the five ‘brave Cubans’, the time must be long, because they are in prison,  ‘fulfilling sentences without fault’, which he deemed an act of vengeance.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who was scheduled to address the rally, was unable to attend, because of pressing priorities of state.