Knocking Down Walls of Silence

By Lázaro David Najarro Pujol/ Radio Cadena Agramonte.
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Wafy Ibrahim is a Lebanese-born woman who lived 11 years in Cuba. She feels a loving devotion for the Cuban Revolution. For her, the country that has always supported the cause of the Arab people is a school where she has learnt politics and ethical values, and even became a better person.

This woman, who put down roots in Cuba, is the coordinator of the Lebanese Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five, which has a Coordinating Board whose members are of diverse political tendencies, religious beliefs and social strata, but all friends of Cuba; and it is led by Anwar Yassine, who spent 17 years in Zionist prisons, and is considered a hero of the Lebanese National Resistance against the Israeli Occupation.

Among the actions this organization has done in favor of Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, René González, and Gerardo Hernández, we can mention the holding of fora, law seminars, marches and sit-ins opposite the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement headquarter and the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. In addition, they have carried out mass dispatches of messages and emails to President Barack Obama, demanding him the immediate release of The Five.

As Wafy Ibrahim informed recently, names were collected for the “One Million Signatures Campaign to Free the Cuban Five”, consisting on a letter to Barack Obama, which is an initiative that friends of this Socialist nation are promoting in Europe.

Since the early days of its foundation, the Lebanese Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five has made its best in presenting the truth of this case, “that's why we have been adding sympathizers, embracing all those people with loftiest human sentiments who oppose injustice in all of its forms.

What do you think about the attitude of U.S. President Barack Obama who ignores worldwide voices claiming for the release of the Cuban Five?

Obama should be brave enough so as to show that he is the President who wanted and performed a real change in the stance of the US Government regarding justice, by freeing Rene, Antonio, Ramon, Fernando and Gerardo, righteous men who honor humankind.

The court case of these Cuban heroes has been the lengthiest in US history ever, which undoubtedly shows the hostile policy of that North American nation against Cuba.

This case is an example that justice in the United States is kidnapped by politicians who hate our nation and discriminate against our people. The Cuban Five’s trial, for instance, was held in the den of the anti-Cuban mafia based in Miami.   

This court case is not only questionable because it has been long-standing, but also for the lack of transparency and because it has been manipulated, above all the case of Gerardo Hernández, who is awaiting now the court’s pronouncement on his Habeas Corpus request.

We, the friends of the Cuban Five in Lebanon and Palestine, are very worried about the alleged freedom on parole of Rene Gonzalez in the city of Miami, which is the home of the Cuban Revolution foes.

We have spread a communiqué on this regard, and I take the opportunity to repeat our demand for Rene Gonzalez' return to his homeland in October, on humanitarian and safety grounds.

The United States proclaims itself a staunch opponent of terrorism; however this nation is against indicting confessed murderer Luis Posada Carriles as a terrorist. What’s your opinion regarding this double standard policy? What do you think is hidden behind this crusade against terrorism?

This has always been the foundation of the US policy around the world: double standard is what characterizes their foreign affairs. The United States has used this slogan to carry out its evil plans to seize the wealth of Third World countries and safeguard its economic and military hegemony, which is now threatened by the world’s financial crisis.

It is like saving the political system at the expense of the blood of our children, young and elderly people... This is happening in Palestine, in Libya… what they wanted to do in Lebanon during the 2006 war and what they want to do in Syria.

But Syria is the fortress where our people find shelter to face a Zionist aggression. So, in spite of the domestic problems that only the people and Government of Syria should solve, we will defend it with the blood of the Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian people. The future of our region is at stake there, and the enemy will crash into such stronghold.

The world has witnessed the steadfastness of The Five. Where do you think such strength comes from?

I think that a genuine Cuban is someone who believes in Jose Marti, Che Guevara, Celia Sanchez, Vilma Espin, Raul and Fidel Castro. It is someone who cares for the good of humankind, for justice, sovereignty, dignity and peace. It is someone steadfast and faithful to the martyrs of our homeland who offered their lives without hesitation. This is the way the Cuban Five are. 

Wafy Ibrahim, you are a down-to-earth person, but you are also a dreamer: When would you see your dream come true?

To fulfil our dreams you have to work very hard. That’s why I never rest in the struggle for the release of The Five, which is my greatest wish.  When this happens, then I’ll know that there is justice and noble sentiments in the hearts of those who make decisions in the United States, and that peace and a better world are possible.

If this happens, the plans conceived by the US empire towards our region would vanish and over 11,000 Arab and Palestinian political prisoners locked in Zionist jails would be released. (Translated by Gualveris Rosales).

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