MIAMI FIVE FREE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2015 :: RMTnews 23 R MT welcomed the release from prison of the final three members of the Miami Five last month. The release of Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero and Ramon Labañino from US prisons follows the release of Alan Gross by Cuba as part of a ‘prisoner swap’ on humanitarian grounds and marks a shift towards new relations between the United States and Cuba. RMT general secretary Mick Cash immediately invited the Miami Five to this summer’s annual RMT Cuba Garden Party and announced that RMT’s support and solidarity with the Cuban people would continue. “The decision by the US to release the remaining members of the imprisoned Miami Five is great news and follows years of relentless campaigning by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, work supported by RMT particularly Bob Crow himself,” he said. The came news just days after Aleida Guevara, daughter of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, visited RMT headquarters to speak to executive members and thank the union for the solidarity it has shown with her country over the years. Aleida, a doctor like her father, was visiting Britain to talk about Cuba’s role in fighting Ebola in West Africa, where the country has over 400 medical volunteers. Cuban doctors make up the largest contingent of foreign health workers working in Ebola affected countries despite having suffered under a cruel economic blockade imposed by the US government for more than 52 years. Despite this, Cuba offers international humanitarian assistance to developing countries wherever it is needed. It also provides free medical training to students from poor backgrounds, and has helped deliver more than 3.5 million free sight-saving operations in Latin America. “Cuba has a social conscience and we do not give our excess of what we have, we share what we have with all those in need,” says Aleida. The country also places health and education at the forefront of its domestic policies too, with the Cuban population benefiting from some of the best levels of health and education in the region. The release of the five, whose only ‘crime’ was to infiltrate fascist terrorist Cuban émigré groups in Miami, came as US President Barack Obama announced moves to normalise diplomatic and economic ties with Havana. Mr Obama said that Washington's aggression was "outdated" and the changes were the "most significant" in US policy towards Cuba in 50 years. The Cuba Solidarity Campaign offers several opportunities for trade union members to take part in study tours and brigades to Cuba where they can witness Cuban society and the effects of the blockade first hand, visit health and education projects and share experiences with Cuban workers in their workplaces and communities. If you would like to know more about tours in 2015 including visits and tours visit www.cuba- solidarity.org.uk/tours, email tours@cuba-solidarity.org.uk or call 0207 490 5715. You can also support the work of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign by making sure your branch is affiliated to CSC. Email campaigns@cuba- solidarity.org.uk to see if your branch is affiliated and what you can do to help. MIAMI FIVE FREE RELEASE THE FIVE: EC meets Che’s daughter (centre) before the news breaks that the Maimi five had been released