The Malta Cuba Society has joined the International Solidarity with Cuba Campaign in demanding the unconditional release of the four Cubans (Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando González) wrongly imprisoned in the United States since 1998 for participating in an anti-terrorist operation to prevent acts against their country planned from southern Florida.

After the release – and conditions of parole – of René González, the first of the ‘Cuban Five’ to be released from jail after serving his full term, the Malta Cuba Society continues to support the cause for the freedom of the other Cuban heroes so that justice is served and all five men are free and returned to their families and homes.

The Malta Cuba Society is also promoting the Voices for the Five website (www.voicesforthefive.com), the hub of an international coalition of campaigners, solidarity groups, legal professionals, human rights organisations, politicians, trade unions and international personalities, fighting for freedom and justice for the Cuban Five.

The handshake between US President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro, at a memorial service for Nelson Mandela in South Africa, has recently brought new hopes for the restoration of full diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries. Since 1961, two years after the Cuban Revolution, these relations have deteriorated substantially and have been marked by tension and confrontation, including a trade embargo by the US against Cuba.

The Malta Cuba Society, which has worked locally for more than 30 years for the promotion of cooperation and friendship between the peoples of Malta and Cuba, is now working for the development of economic relations with Cuba and has launched the Malta Cuba Cooperative. This initiative has been taken to start working on a number of projects involving Maltese investment in the Caribbean island, as well as cooperation between the two countries in the health sector.

Mario Mifsud

Secretary, Malta Cuba Society