Final Declaration of the 6th International Colloquium for the Release of the Five and against Terrorism
News from Cuba | Saturday, 20 November 2010
The colloquiums held in Holguin in the last six years have underscored the importance attached to this colossal injustice against the Five and the growing solidarity displayed by thousands of supportive friends with their case.
Altogether, the convictions handed down against our Five Brothers amount to two life sentences and 99 years of imprisonment. The legal recourses are running out. Multiple visas have not been issued to their family members and humanitarian visas have not been given to Olga and Adriana.
While the Five are being held in unfair incarceration, a notorious international terrorist, Orlando Bosch Avila, is being recognized by universities in Miami, and Luis Posada Carriles will be prosecuted only because he lied to the US immigration authorities, and not for his terrorist actions and his responsibility for the death of thousands of innocent people.
The recent statements made by international terrorist Francisco Chavez Abarca, who was the right hand of Luis Posada Carriles and was arrested in Venezuela last July 1st and subsequently extradited to Cuba, reveal the plans plotted with absolute impunity from the US against Cuba, Venezuela and other countries in the region.
The absence of response to a request made by the Venezuelan Government five years ago for extradition of criminal Luis Posada Carriles and the refusal to extradite Roberto Guillermo Bravo to Argentina as the perpetrator of the killing of 16 political prisoners show the real face of the US government and its lack of morality to champion human rights and to claim a fight against terror.
The US government has kept the Five in unjust incarceration for over twelve years, while the terrorists are freely walking the streets of Miami.
The case of the Five is absolutely political and only the international solidarity will secure their return home to their families. We are aware of the urgency of this moment. Therefore, it is critical that our efforts are intensified in the last two years of the first term of office of the Obama administration.
We must work more united than ever and our actions must be multiplied among the thousands of hands that are being raised as a single fist composed of the more than 300 solidarity committees for the release of the Five, which operate in 111 countries.
The more than 300 delegates from 50 countries attending the 6th International Colloquium for the Release of the Five and against Terrorism have made the following calls:
1. The lobby actions with parliamentarians, unionists, religious groups, personalities and social movements must be expanded to include their peers in the US. Requests must be made for statements by the European, Central American and Latin American parliaments. The motions, resolutions and other documents adopted by parliaments must be utilized.
2. The report on the Five that was recently issued by Amnesty International must be used as reference at every desirable opportunity; in particular, copies of this report must be circulated to members of the US administration. The same applies to the decision made by the UN Group on Arbitrary Detentions.
3. International days of solidarity with the Five must continue to be organized for the period between September 12 (day of their arrest) and October 8th, with special regard paid to October 6th that was declared by Cuba as the Day of the Victims of Terrorism and June 8th as date when the Five were unjustly convicted as guilty.
4. New forms of communications must be designed to make sure that the truth reaches everyone and the case of the Five must be reported to the wide spectrum of the social sectors.
5. An international conference must be organized in Washington DC attended by American personalities, as well as representatives of other countries, to require President Obama the following:
? Exercise his executive prerogatives and release the Five;
? End the genocidal blockade against Cuba; and
? Respect the will of the peoples around the world
6. Multiple visas must be demanded in favor of the family members; in particular, Olga Salanueva and Adriana Perez. Appeals must be lodged with the International Commission on the Right of Family Visitation and with Ms. Michelle Obama as a woman and as a mother. The initiatives and actions of the solidarity committees must be further encouraged.
7. Artists, personalities and opinion leaders must be encouraged to demand the release of the Five and their comments must be disseminated through the printed press, radio, television and the alternative media. Posters, postcards, telephone calls, printed materials, video presentations must be generated locally, nationally and internationally. A renowned songwriter must be identified for his readiness to write a song about the Five and singers from different parts of the world must be invited to play that song jointly.
8. Conferences with focus on the case of the Five must be organized in US and other universities with the attendance of recognized legal scholars.
9. Cubainformacion news service must be kept informed of the initiatives being implemented for mutual support in campaign operations.
10. The use of social networks; including but not limited to twitter, facebook, blogs, emails, community radio stations, TV stations and the Internet, must be intensified.
11. Demonstrations, concerts, theater plays, exhibitions and contests in denunciation of the case and solidarity with the Five must be organized in every possible cultural space. Sport events, such as marathons, as well as baseball and soccer matches, must be encouraged.
12. The US government must be denounced for its impunity and the double standard of its claim of fight against terror, while it harbors and protects international terrorists, such as Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch Avila. An end to impunity, the dismantle of Miami-based terror organizations, and the prosecution and punishment of the murderers of our people must be demanded.
13. The documentary film, “Cuba’s Reasons,” which features statements by international terrorist Francisco Chavez Abarca, must be made available as denunciation of the forms of terrorism against Cuba and our peoples.
14. The artworks on the Five, now available in electronic format, must be relied upon for their widespread circulation in different countries.
15. A call must be made on the forthcoming World Festival of Youth and Students, scheduled to be held in South Africa, to support the universal request to President Obama to release the Five Cuban Heroes immediately and unconditionally.
End the injustice! Free the Five now!
Holguin, Cuba
November 20, 2010
Year 52nd of the Revolution
