Public meeting:

Listen to Cuban Educator Ezequiel Morales.

Saturday 9 April, 4-7 pm @ the MUA, North Fremantle

Entry by gold coin donation

The Australia Cuba Friendship Society is pleased to be hosting Ezequiel Morales from ICAP Cuba. We would like to invite you to a public meeting to welcome him and get first hand information about education and life in Cuba.

Please join us on the 9th April at the Maritime Union of Australia, MUA rooms in North Fremantle, 2-4 Kwong Alley cnr Queen Victoria Avenue from 4:00pm. (See Flyer attached for details and to distribute to your networks).

Ezequiel was born to a peasant family and spent his early years before the Revolution cleaning shoes and selling cakes in order to help support his family and to pay a ‘teacher’ to tutor in reading and writing. He was eight years old when the revolution triumphed and from then on he was able to attend a School Centre.

His vocation as a teacher began in 1961 when he joined the Cuban Literacy Campaign and at only ten years old taught illiterate peasants how to read and write. Since that time he has dedicated most of his career to the education sector as a teacher and later as a union leader. Ezequiel has participated in the continuous improvement of the National System of Education as a member of the Team of Authors.

Since 1996 Ezequiel has worked with the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and has become well known to Australian brigadistas joining the Southern Cross Brigade each year as the official translator.

His mastery of the English language has been very useful to carry out his work as a political official at ICAP, being able not only to lecture on many subjects, but also to serve as interpreter for a great number of outstanding personalities. In November 2007, he joined the 59th Global Edition Voyage of the Peace Boat. On this occasion, he was invited by the Japanese Organisation Peace Boat, to travel on the Japanese Cruise from Spain to Cuba, to deliver lectures on board to regular audiences of more than 400 people.

In Friendship,

Elizabeth Hulm

Branch Secretary

ACFS Perth

0421113343

acfsperth@gmail.com

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Please find December 2010 Newsletter for Perth ACFS


ACFS-Newsletter1-12-10 -

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[The information below is from Tim Anderson, 8 December 2010.]

Cuban news agencies Granma and Prensa Latina says that Julian Assange's 'rape' accuser, Anna Ardin, is a Cuban CIA collaborator who has been working with Miami-based, US Government paid agencies.  They say Ardin is linked to the anti-Cuban terrorist Carlos Aberto Montaner.

After leaving Cuba, Ardin worked with web sites financed by USAID and controlled by the CIA. One of these sites was 'Miscelánea de Cuba', run by the Cuban Alexis Gainza. Through Gainza she became linked to Swediish agencies, including Dagens Nyheter and SVT, and entered the Swedish social democrat party.

Gainza is linked to the German Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte (International Human Rights Society), a group linked to German and US intelligence and has some former nazis (such as Ludwig Martin) and ex military figures (Dieter von Glahn) in its ranks.

The current president of the IGFM, Martin Lessenthin, works closely with the Venezuelan oppsoition party Primero Justicia, led by the anti-Chavez terrorist Alejandro Peña.

Primero Justicia, in turn is the main partner of the International republican Institute, and extreme right wing group funded by the US Government's National Endowment for Democracy.

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Dear ACFSers,

I am forwarding this very important message received from the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuabn 5about a decision made by the International gathering in solidarity with the Five, VI International Colloquium for the Freedomof the 5 Heroes and Against Terrorism, in Holguin. Sorry for any cross postings but I didn't want to miss anyone, we need to activate faxes, calls and emails from all members and societies and support this important 5 day action.   
   
Please read below for the message received and then get ready to hit the phones, emails and faxes from the 10th to the 15th Dec.

 

In Friendship

 

Elizabeth

Branch Secretary

ACFS WA  

 

On December 10

International Day of Human Rights  
Lets raise our voices for the heroes

5 DAYS FOR THE 5

Delegates from Latin America and Europe who were present at the VI International Colloquium for the Freedom of the 5 Heroesand Against Terrorism, in Holguin, proposed to put in place an immediate plan of action for December 10, International Day of Human Rights.

On that day, from 9AM to 5PM (Eastern Time), and for 5 consecutive days LETS CALL, OR SEND FAXES, OR SEND E-MAILS,to the WHITE HOUSE to demand President Obama  Free the 5 Cuban Patriots imprisoned in the United States for defending their homeland.

The significance of this day is that on December 10, 1948, the UN General Assembly approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsand established that day as the International Day on Human Rights.

In a report issued on October 13, 2010, Amnesty International asked the US government to review the case of the Cuban 5 and to mitigateany injustice through the process of clemency or any other appropriate means, in case that new legal appeals do not provide a timely remedy.

President Obama has more than enough proof of the innocence of the Cuban 5, he knows that they never were a threat to US National Security,that they carried no guns and that their only objective was to monitor terrorist organizations based in Miami to avoid the death of more innocent people. 

On the International Day of Human Rights, and making use of the rights conferred by the US Constitution, we are asking President Obama as a lawyer,as a father, as a son, as a husband, as a decent justice loving person, and as a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to END THIS COLOSSAL INJUSTICE AND TO FREE THE 5 NOW!!!

DIFFERENT WAYS TO REACH THE WHITE HOUSE

By phone: 202-456-1111If calling from outside the United States, dial first the International Area Code + 1 (US country code) followed by 202-456-1111

By Fax: 202-456-2461If fax is sent from outside the United States, dial first the International Area Code + 1 (US country code) followed by 202-456-2461

To send an electronic message write to: HTTP://WWW.WHITEHOUSE.GOV/CONTACT <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=yre9a4cab&et=1103981281059&s=0&e=0016256HTdUsnqYvmWD4bpJgdLCAzdCAzYKswb7sgE29y2vblcJxp790t2EJUePhBCE4gETzBpTBsjy_QCRk_25zQxSnlMqXp6S3JfKfb_VxZ2GsH_iS6P7OQ==&id=preview>

 President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500
EE.UU.

THIS COLLECTIVE ACTION WILL ONLY BE EFFECTIVE IF PEOPLE FROM THE US, AND ALL OVER THE WORLD, CALL, OR SEND FAX, or E-MAILS , FROM DECEMBER 10 TO DECEMBER 14.

IF YOU CAN NOT REACH ANYBODY BY PHONE, PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE.

TOGETHER WE CAN DO IT!!!

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Unbelievable we are almost at the end of another year and it is time to farewell the brigadistas again. It's a good opportunity as well to take time out to have an informal get together to finish up another busy year. This year the branch has decided to have a breakfast on the foreshore at the end of the South Perth Esplanade at 9:30am on Sunday 28th November. Look at the attached link - east of the Mends Street Jetty where there are BBQ's and a playground. Look for the Cuban flag.

ACFS will provide eggs, bacon, chorizo, buns and more. You are welcome to bring a drink or something to share and bring your families. We look forward to seeing you all there. Please RSVP to this email to help with catering.

In Friendship

Elizabeth

Map reference:

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&q=mends+street+jetty+south+perth+esplanade&safe=off&ie=UTF8&ll=-31.972661,115.855905&spn=0.003968,0.009602&z=17

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Dear ACFS supporters,

I would like to share this news with you. It is the first time AI backs up the case of the Cuban Five. An opportunity to lobby AI Australia to follow suit.

In solidarity,

Vinnie Molina

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20101013001&lang=e

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR51/093/2010/en/9911673a-a171-49db-b757-581f2fbdfe11/amr510932010en.pdf

Amnesty International Seeks Review of Case of the ‘Cuban Five’

Human rights organization calls on US government to review case and mitigate any injustice

Contact: AIUSA media relations office, 202-509-8194

(Washington, D.C.) In a report released today, Amnesty International outlines its concerns with the fairness of the trial of five men convicted in 2001 of acting as intelligence agents for Cuba, among other charges. The five men are serving terms ranging from 15 years to life in US federal prisons.

In a letter sent to United States Attorney General Eric Holder on October 4, Amnesty International noted doubts about the fairness and impartiality of the trial which have not been resolved on appeal. The human rights organization has not taken a position on whether the five men are guilty or innocent of the charges against them.

The five -- Cuban nationals Fernando González, Gerardo Hernández and Ramón Labañino, and US nationals Antonio Guerrero and René González -- were tried in Miami and convicted on various counts, including acting and conspiring to act as unregistered agents of the Republic of Cuba, fraud and misuse of identity documents and, in the case of three of the accused, conspiracy to transmit national defense information. Gerardo Hernández was further convicted of conspiracy to murder, based on his alleged role in the 1996 shoot-down by Cuba of two planes operated by a US anti-Castro organization, Brothers to the Rescue, in which four people died.

Amnesty International’s report said holding the trial in Miami, given the pervasive hostility to the Cuban government in that area, along with media and other events before and during the trial were factors that made it impossible to ensure a wholly impartial jury.

Other concerns included questions about the strength of the evidence to support the conspiracy to murder conviction in the case of Gerardo Hernández, and whether the circumstances of the pre-trial detention of the five men, in which they had limited access to their attorneys and to documents, may have undermined their right to defense.

Amnesty International has called on the government to review the case and mitigate any injustice through the clemency process or other appropriate means, should further legal appeals prove ineffective.

Amnesty International has also reiterated its concern about the repeated denials by the US government of temporary visas to allow the Cuban wives of two of the prisoners, René González and Gerardo Hernández, to visit their husbands. The organization is concerned that such a blanket or permanent bar on visits with their wives constitutes additional punishment and is contrary to international standards for the humane treatment of prisoners and states’ obligation to protect family life. Amnesty International continues to urge the government to grant the wives temporary visas on humanitarian grounds.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.8 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

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Video by Zeb Parkes

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