Published on February 24, 2010

CUS Public Opinion Key to Free the Five

By Ana Valdes Portela

The US people must learn about the serious injustice surrounding the five Cuban anti terrorists, awareness that is important to achieve justice and free them, stated Gayle Mclaughlin, mayor of Richmond, California.

She said that important political issues in her country "have only been solved when there is massive support of public opinion as it happened with Angela Davis."

The first time she heard about the case was through an International Organization of Free the Five (Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez) and decided to contact other California mayors.

She told them of the humanitarian issue of family visits and, specially, the violations against two wives, Adriana Perez and Olga Salanueva.

This led to an initiative with 12 mayors to write the Attorney General requesting his intervention to grant visas to members of their family, she added.

She also mentioned that last year a resolution requesting to free the Five, in jail since 1998, was submitted to the Council of Richmond and and it was "approved unanimously".

Particularly, she explained, the 10 years of sisterhood between Richmond and Regla in Havana is reason enough to demonstrate our solidarity with our Cuban sisters and brothers.

Referring to President Barack Obama she regretted that he is continuing the same position of George W. Bush on terrorism but said she was not surprised. For 50 years US Democrat and Republican presidents have maintained a hostile and aggressive policy against Cuba. The same occurs with the war on terror, she pointed out.

But it is hypocritical that US leaders maintain Five cubans arbitrarily in prison while they protect real terrorists like Luis Posada Carriles who walks freely in this country, she said.

The war on terror is not really -Richmond mayor concluded- aimed at protecting the people, but at keeping control and the hegemonical power of the US. /Prensa Latina