Solidarity with Cuban Five in Belgium

HAVANA, Cuba. The growing participation of Belgians in the efforts to obtain freedom for the Cuban Five, unfairly imprisoned in the United States, was confirmed by Senator Sfía Bouarfa.

A Juventud Rebelde newspaper report says Bouarfa, also the president of the Belgium-Cuba Friendship Association, is highly motivated to promote support for the cause of the Cuban Five, not only among friends but also with everyone she encounters.

The Cubans have been held in US jails since their arrest in 1998.

The paper quotes Sfía Bouarfa as saying that there are many groups in Belgium dedicated to supporting the cause of the Cuban Five and also to denounce the more than four decades of the US blockade against Cuba.

"We have also demanded respect for Olga Salanueva and Adriana Perez right to visit their respective husbands in their US prisons, Rene and Gerardo, as well as calling for their immediate release," said the Belgian politician.

She said many demonstrations have been held in front of the US embassy to lobby for the immediate release of the five men imprisoned for having tried to defend their people from terrorism.

Sen. Bouarfa said the Friendship Association was created as a place for encounter between Cuban and Belgium parliamentarians, "a space that could provide us with better conditions to spread the truth about the Cuban Revolution," she said.

(Creciente participación en Bélgica en favor de Los Cinco)