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25,000
U.S. citizens say No to Bush’s war and demand
justice for the Five
LOS
ANGELES, California.— Last weekend, in a
broad-based display of opposition to the Bush
administration’s war, some 25,000 people
demonstrated here against that war and attacks by
the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on
Arab immigrants.
 The
strong protest moved down Broadway Street, passing
through a neighborhood with many immigrant stores.
This demonstration went ahead one week before the
mass mobilizations organized by A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act
Now to Stop War and End Racism) in San Francisco and
Washington tomorrow. After the march speakers at a
rally talked of the deterioration of health care and
education and high unemployment as a result of
inflated military budgets.
Speeches
came from Congresswoman Maxine Waters; actor Martin
Sheen; Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the Union of
Farm Workers (UFW); Ron Kovic, a veteran of the war
on Viet Nam; and Richard Becker, A.N.S.W.E.R.’
west coast coordinator.
One of
the speakers was Alicia Jrapko from the National
Committee to Free the Five, who spoke on the case of
the five Cuban patriots serving sentences in U.S.
prisons. Asking people if they thought that Bush was
really combating terrorism, Jrapko received a strong
response in the negative. And she added: "If
that was so, how can it be that the United States
has waged a war against Cuba via its support for
terrorist groups in Miami for more than 40 years?
Five Cubans are currently in U.S. jails for keeping
a watch on those groups."
Jrapko
concluded: "The five Cubans are the real
fighters against terrorism, they are heroes."
The
people’s positive reaction demonstrated that many
of them are aware of the case. While the anti-war
movement continues to grow, the struggle to free the
Five is also extending, here in the United States
and throughout the world.
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--Workshop
on the Five at the World Social Forum
A
special workshop on the five Cuban patriots currently imprisoned
in the United States, has been organized for the World Social
Forum scheduled for January 23-28 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
--Letter
to U.S. Attorney General questions Five’s trial
A
letter has been sent to U.S. Attorney General John
Ashcroft questioning the impartiality of the trial
of the five Cubans imprisoned in the United States.
--
Committee
for The Five in Bolivia
The
group comprises 12 organizations, among them the
Movements for Socialism (MAS), the second strongest
political force in Bolivia; the Pachacuti Indians
(MIP); and the Committee of Health Professionals
graduated in Cuba.
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