Vol. 73/No. 4 February 2, 2009
The Cuban Five, as they are known—Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, René González, and Antonio Guerrero—have been imprisoned in U.S. jails for 10 years on frame-up charges including “conspiracy to commit espionage” and in one case, “conspiracy to commit murder.” When arrested, they were monitoring the activities of Florida-based Cuban exile organizations that have carried out terrorist actions against Cuba with Washington’s complicity.
The brutal Israeli military assault on Gaza was at the center of all the speeches and discussions.
The keynote speaker was Dario de Urra, Cuban ambassador to Lebanon. De Urra said, “The Vietnamese people defeated U.S. imperialism. Likewise, the Iraqi, the Lebanese, and the heroic people of Gaza who are today under siege and war by Israel, can defeat imperialism.”
The youthful crowd included hundreds of Palestinians from the several refugee camps in Lebanon and from Palestinian groups, including Fateh, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Leaders of Lebanese organizations including the Popular Nasserist Movement, Communist Party of Lebanon, and Hezbollah addressed the event. Samir Qantar, the honorary chair of the committee, also spoke. Qantar was held in Israeli jails for 30 years.
The speakers referred to the honorable and unflinching support of Cuba since the first days of the Cuban Revolution to the Arab people’s struggle against Israel. Aazmi Bshara, a Palestinian and former member of the Israeli Knesset, sent greetings.
Related articles:
Longshore workers union local joins fight to free Cuban Five
‘Declarations of Havana’ sell at Lebanon meeting on Cuba
Havana book panel to discuss U.S. class struggle
Restructuring an industry: when workers decide
Former sugar workers in study-as-work program in Cuba
are ‘more confident in what we can accomplish’
Women’s combat platoon in Cuba’s revolutionary war
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