London, March 8 (RHC) The British daily The Guardian published on Saturday a letter signed by members of parliament and unionists protesting the decision of London to deny an entry visa to Cuban anti-terrorist fighter Rene Gonzalez. The list of signatures supporting the letter is headed by those of lawmaker Diane Abbot, of the Labor Party and the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Christine Blower.
The letter urges British authorities to reconsider their decision and notes that Gonzalez is the main witness to an international commission on the case of the five Cubans, who were imprisoned in the US and given unfair sentences in 2001 after they monitored Florida based terrorist organizations. Next up we bring you the full text of the letter published on The Guardian:
“We strongly criticise the government's decision to refuse a visa to René González. René was to be the principal witness for the International Commission of Inquiry into the case of the Miami Five, taking place at the Law Society this weekend. René served 15 years' imprisonment in the US before being released last year. Along with four others, known as the Miami Five, the fairness of the trial which convicted them has been strongly criticised, including by Amnesty International and eight Nobel prize winners. One of the aims of the commission is to investigate this, with 20 international witnesses and commissioners. The decision to deny René the chance to participate can only be interpreted as a political one. Surely it is in the public interest to lay bare the circumstances surrounding the arrest and imprisonment of the Miami Five. For the sake of openness and transparency we urge the government to think again and allow René González to attend the commission.”
Diane Abbott MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Billy Hayes General secretary, Communication Workers Union
Len McCluskey General secretary, Unite
Christine Blower General secretary, National Union of Teachers
Angus MacNeil MP
Kelvin Hopkins MP
Ian Lavery MP
Conor Murphy MP
Jeremy Hardy Broadcaster
Aaron Kiely NUS black students officer
Diana Holland Chair, Cuba Solidarity Campaign
Rob Miller Director, Cuba Solidarity Campaign