| December
30, 2001
SPECIAL
SESSION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PEOPLE’S POWER
Cuban prisoners
in Miami honored as Heroes of the Republic of Cuba,
acknowledgement of their mothers and wives
• 2002
is named ‘Year of the Heroes Imprisoned by the U.S.
Empire’
BESTOWING the
title of Heroes of the Republic of Cuba on Gerardo Hernández
Nordelo, Ramón Labañino Salazar, Fernando González Llort,
René González Sehwerert and Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez,
Cubans unjustly imprisoned in Miami, is the Cuban people’s
recognition of those who fulfilled, with exemplary dedication,
dignity and steadfastness, the mission of defending their
homeland and protecting it against terrorism.
This initiative
– like that of honoring the mothers and wives of the
arrested compatriots with the Mariana Grajales and Ana
Betancourt Orders, respectively – was proposed by Fidel
Castro, president of the Councils of State and of Ministers,
and was approved by the deputies at the 3rd Special Session,
5th Legislature of the National Assembly of People’s Power,
on Saturday, December 29, at the International Conference
Center in Havana.
These
"prophets of the present and the future" – as
Deputy Raúl Suárez called the five Cubans sentenced for the
"crime" of having loved their country –
infiltrated the depths of hatred and injustice, in order to
learn of a large number of the activities of the hardcore
terrorist groups that operate with total impunity in the
United States. They discovered their plans and alerted Cuba,
with the goal of preventing the death and damages that would
result from such actions.
These five men,
who have become symbols of universal dignity, also prevented
terrorist actions that would have seriously hurt the people of
the United States, and their recompense for such noble and
generous efforts was to be arrested and forced to live for the
last three years in subhuman prison conditions, and put
through an arbitrary and manipulated trial. Now, without any
legal or moral justification, they have been given
disproportionate and unjust sentences.
Students from
various educational levels and representatives of mass
organizations, invited to the special session, expressed how
proud they are of the heroism and the profound and irrefutable
statements made during the sentencing hearings by Gerardo, Ramón,
Fernando, René and Antonio. It was announced that those
statements would be distributed around the world in nine
languages, and would remain for history as insuperable
testimonies of personal bravery, intelligence and dignity.
Speaking at the
session to propose that the year 2002 be known as "Year
of the Heroes Imprisoned by the U.S. Empire," Fidel
described the sentences handed down against the five Cuban
patriots as vulgar, odious and extremely vengeful. He added
that the news of their decorations would make those valiant
men the happiest people in the world.
He noted that
the long sentences, including those of life imprisonment,
wrests the United States of prestige and moral authority in
the worldwide battle that must be fought against terrorism and
for peace, above all today, when the world is living through
moments of real danger.
He emphasized
that the political and moral battle for the release of these
Cuban heroes imprisoned in the United States has already
begun, and that the political price the United States will
have to pay grows with every day, every hour and every second
they remain in prison. He reiterated his certainty that one
day they will return to Cuba .
He explained
that among the Cuban people’s battles in the new year is the
fulfillment of the Baraguá Oath, which includes the fight
against the Cuban Adjustment Act, the Helms-Burton Act and the
Torricelli Act, and against the U.S. economic blockade of the
island.
He also
discussed the measures being taken to confront the
consequences of the serious economic crisis around the world,
and the gravity of the social and economic situation in Latin
America. Furthermore, he noted that Cuba’s battle to improve
education and cultural knowledge is advancing at an impressive
pace. |
--Fidel leads protest rally in
front of the U.S. Interests Section
June
29,
2001
PRESIDENT Fidel Castro led a militant rally
at the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribunal, across from the U.S. Interests Section in
Havana, in protest against the unjust accusations against the five Cubans held in the
dismal and dark prison labyrinth in Miami.
--René
Gonzalez’s father was separated from his son for 11 years
ON the telephone he would assure his father: "I’m fine,
old man, no problems." On the island they would doubt him and say: "he’s
having us on..."
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