correspondent
 |
| Len McCluskey and Esther Cardenas |
Friends
of Cuba were out in force to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Cuban revolution
at the Simon Bolivar Hall in central
London last Monday.
Cuban ambassador Esther Armenteros
Cardenas welcomed guests that included NCP leader Andy Brooks and Central
Committee member Daphne Liddle as well business people, academics and diplomats
and representatives covering the whole spectrum of solidarity with the
socialist island in Britain. And Len McCluskey, general secretary of the giant
union Unite and Prof Sue Michie of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign urged all those
present to support an International Commission of Inquiry that will meet in
March in London.
Internationally renowned commissioners
will hear first-hand evidence from witnesses about their experiences of
terrorism against Cuba and the arrest, trial, legal appeals and treatment and
sentencing of the Cuban, or Miami, Five.
Former Miami Five prisoner René González
will attend the event and give evidence to the Commission. He is the first and
only member of the Miami Five to have been released after completing his 15
year sentence in the United States.
He will be joined by family members,
victims of terrorism against Cuba, lawyers, politicians and campaigners from
Cuba and across the world including Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker.
The Commission will be presided over by
distinguished international jurors from India, South Africa and France. It will hear testimony from around 20 key
witnesses including US defence attorney Martin Garbus, representatives from
Amnesty International, and Miami Five
family members. There will also be testimony from specialists on the range of
measures taken to defend Cuba against the threat of terrorist attacks, as well
as testimony from Cuban and international victims of US based terrorism.
In his New Year message René González
urged support for the International Commission of Inquiry and said: “When we
were imprisoned 15 years ago, our captors never imagined that from all corners
of the world people like you would take up our cause.
“Instead
of suffering defeat we have become stronger. During this time we have suffered
hardships and lost people close to us. But our spirits never broke because we
knew we could count on people from all over the world like you. Your solidarity
and sense of justice has kept us and our families strong.”
The International Commission is the
major event of the Voices for the Five campaign which has brought together hundreds
of international celebrities including John Le Carré, Emma Thompson, Danny
Glover, Lord Rowan Williams, Martin Sheen, Noam Chomsky, Günter Grass, Peter
Capaldi and Dame Vivienne Westwood.
They have been joined by thousands who
have posted messages of support to the web based campaigning site.
A number of associated events will take
place including a major international concert at the Barbican Hall in London
featuring acclaimed Cuban musician and star of the Buena Vista Social Club
Eliades Ochoa and his group Cuarteto Patria, alongside other international
performers and guests, as well as associated screenings and exhibitions.
The two day International Commission of
Inquiry into the Case of the Miami Five will take place on 7th and 8th March
2014, at the Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL.
Tickets for the Commission are £10 per
day and available at:
www.voicesforthefive.com/commission/tickets/. Demand is
expected to be high so please book as soon as possible.
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