Vol. 77/No. 35      October 7, 2013

“When I heard about the Five, I just had to show my face,” Ben Heyes, 27, a construction worker, told the Militant during the rally. Heyes said he was familiar with how the police in the U.K. had framed up soccer fans in 1989 in Liverpool, where he’s from, charging them with involuntary manslaughter after police had caused a stampede at a soccer game. “This is another miscarriage of justice.”

Heyes said he’s been reading My Life, an interview with Fidel Castro. “I’ve been particularly moved by what I’ve learned about the Cuban Revolution,” he said.

Called by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, the protest attracted trade unionists, young people and others, including five workers from the McVities biscuit factory. It was part of activities around the world — including large actions in Cuba — to mark the 15th anniversary of the arrest of the Five.

Celebrating the release of René González, who sent greetings to the protest, Paul Nowak, assistant general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, called for “the immediate and unconditional release” of the four still in prison. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, the public sector workers union, and Bob Crow of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, also spoke.

Tony Woodley, former general secretary of the Unite union, spoke of the importance of reaching out to unions in the United States.

“A grave injustice has been done,” Steelworkers International Affairs Director Ben Davis told the rally. “We will continue to work through Workers Uniting in solidarity with the Five,” he said. Workers Uniting was established by Unite and United Steelworkers in North America for international union collaboration.

Among the other speakers were Tessa Murphy of Amnesty International; actor Andy de la Tour; Miriam Palacios, representing Cuban residents in the U.K.; and two representatives of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), Yudith Camps and Yamil Martínez, who are currently on tour in the U.K.

Retired Catholic priest Geoff Bottoms from the Cuba Solidarity Campaign spoke about the International Commission of Inquiry into the Case of the Cuban Five that will be held in London March 7-8, 2014. Bottoms said the commission is intended to be “a springboard for coordinated global action involving people of influence against a monstrous miscarriage of justice.”

Cuba Solidarity Campaign Director Rob Miller announced that Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, had recently added his endorsement of the Commission. Other endorsers include Jean Ziegler, former member of the U.N. committee on human rights; Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate; writers Gunter Grass, John Le Carré, Alice Walker, and Fernando Morais; and hundreds more.

Support for the commission is growing, Miller said, “and the prestigious Law Society in London will welcome high profile guests from Cuba and representatives of the struggle to free the Five from across the globe.”
 
 
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Who are the Cuban Five?
 
 
 
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