Aleida Guevara March, daughter of Ernesto Che Guevara, and Irma, daughter of imprisoned René González, have just completed a tour of 11 Canadian cities between September 26 and October 12. They were invited by the combined Canadian solidarity with Cuba movement with the main objective of informing the Canadian public about the case of the Five Cubans who are incarcerated in the United States after a flawed trial in a Miami court.
At a press conference in Havana, Wednesday, both expressed their satisfaction with the very full schedule of meetings, interviews and conferences they had given during the tour, which they said enabled them to bring to light a subject that is kept suspiciously unreported by the mainstream Canadian press.
Bernie Dwyer was at the conference and asked Irma and Aleida about their experiences in Canada.
Both women said that they felt a little overwhelmed at the ignorance of the case and that perhaps the main thing that they achieved was to open a door through which people can know a little and become interested enough to find out more and take action.
Irma González explained that both women had received very warm welcomes from Canadian solidarity groups across the country, which compensated for the fatigue they felt during the strenuous tour. There were even US citizens present who crossed the border to participate in their conferences. During the interview with Radio Havana Cuba Irma talked about all the cities they visited.
[Irma] We went to twelve cities, starting in Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal, Quebec, then again to Toronto, Hamilton, Halifax.It was a very long trip but it was worth it because many people got to know about this case. Not many people knew about this. There was a wall of silence between this case and the people of Canada so we asked them for help to talk about this case to raise awareness about the case of these five terrorist fighters and many people have come to us to say we’ll help you, we’ll do whatever we can. It was a very positive trip.
Irma explained that the trip was organised by all 34 Canadian solidarity with Cuba committees:
[Irma] All the solidarity with Cuba committees in Canada were involved in the organisation. There were many. It was a very beautiful thing because all of them united to create this trip, all of them throughout Canada. I think that there are thirty-four committees and all of them got together to organise our visit.
When asked how there was such interest in the meetings considering the lack of press coverage about the case of the Five, Irma said that although initially, their audiences came to hear Che Guevara’s daughter speak, they became very interested in the case of the Cuban Five and wanted to know more:
[Irma]They came to hear Aleida, Che Guevara’s daughter to talk about her father and they mostly asked questions about Cuba, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and about our system. Then she introduced the case and many of them became interested because it is a matter of justice We kept focussed on the case and then they asked us what they could do, to help the cause and how to free the five men.
Everyone present heard about the violations committed in this case, why these men were there in Miami just trying to take care of human life. They all came to us. It was the feeling of solidarity and humanity that makes them interested in this case.
She also explained the aspects of the case that the Canadian audiences found most interesting:
[Irma]: When we spoke of all the violations, not only of the laws of the US but also of human rights, for instance putting these men in the “Hole” during the appeal process in extremely hostile conditions or how they were put in the punishment cell the second time for simply writing a letter to the people of the United States explaining they were in the US struggling against terrorism, this had a lot of impact.
They were also shocked that two of the wives have not been allowed to see their husbands in prison. In the case of Adriana without any reason, the US authorities gave her the visa, she told her husband Gerardo that she was going to see him but they promptly detained her at the airport and returned her to Cuba and now they won’t give her a visa.
Take my mother’s case, how my father’s family was used to try to force him to testify against his four comrades and if he didn’t there would be reprisals against his family. For sure he did not testify against his brothers and they deported my mother and now neither she nor my little sister can see him
When we spoke to Canadian lawyers about the violations that had been committed, it really had an impact on them. But mainly the people who came to the meetings were not so much interested in the legal side as simply in the cause of justice and solidarity. We told them all that had been done against the five men for fighting against terrorism. To impress the Canadian people, we simply had to tell the truth.
Anonio Guerrero, one of the five political prisoners is forty five today. Irmita sent him a special greeting.
[Irma] Happy birthday!! I just want to tell him that tomorrow we will be thinking of him, all of us even though we know that the conditions are not great for him.
At the press conference, Che Guevara’s daughter, Aleida Guevara March told Radio Havana Cuba that the human side of the story was of most interest to the less prominent media outlets:
[Aleida Guevara] I think that in some way we touched the people. Irma telling her personal story as a daughter was very important. I spoke the truth inasmuch as a Cuban I have always been close to the situation of the five but it is not the same as the families, who know the details of things that have happened, how they have suffered from this separation.
We put a lot of emphasis on all the children effected, using personal experience, of course, it was also in October that my father was assassinated, on the 8th of October to be exact and we had some activities around that time. So from my personal experience it is sad in the sense that they are going to grow up needing their fathers and they don’t have them.
In the case of these children and adolescents whose fathers are far away because of a totally irrational situation, it is logical that we all struggle for this to be resolved so that these children can be in contact with their fathers.
The two women left Canada with the feeling that there was still much to do, many things that could be done better, but that nonetheless they were able to reach people and that Irma’s experience as the daughter of one of the Five was important to hear.
WHO ARE THE MIAMI FIVE?
Five Cubans who were trying to stop Miami based terrorist groups from carrying out violent actions against the people of Cuba. They were found guilty of charges ranging from murder to espionage by a court in Miami which relied on the evidence of convicted terrorists. All are innocent of the charges brought against them. Extensive intimidation of jurists by these same terrorists was a feature of the trial. They are currently appealing their convictions.
CAMPAIGN AIMS
The release and exoneration of the five victims of this obvious miscarriage of justice.
CAMPAIGN DEDICATION
The campaign is dedicated to the memory of the 3,478 Cubans killed and 2,099 maimed at the hands of US-based terrorists groups since 1959.
Bernie Dwyer was at the conference and asked Irma and Aleida about their experiences in Canada.
Both women said that they felt a little overwhelmed at the ignorance of the case and that perhaps the main thing that they achieved was to open a door through which people can know a little and become interested enough to find out more and take action.
Irma González explained that both women had received very warm welcomes from Canadian solidarity groups across the country, which compensated for the fatigue they felt during the strenuous tour. There were even US citizens present who crossed the border to participate in their conferences. During the interview with Radio Havana Cuba Irma talked about all the cities they visited.
[Irma] We went to twelve cities, starting in Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal, Quebec, then again to Toronto, Hamilton, Halifax.It was a very long trip but it was worth it because many people got to know about this case. Not many people knew about this. There was a wall of silence between this case and the people of Canada so we asked them for help to talk about this case to raise awareness about the case of these five terrorist fighters and many people have come to us to say we’ll help you, we’ll do whatever we can. It was a very positive trip.
Irma explained that the trip was organised by all 34 Canadian solidarity with Cuba committees:
[Irma] All the solidarity with Cuba committees in Canada were involved in the organisation. There were many. It was a very beautiful thing because all of them united to create this trip, all of them throughout Canada. I think that there are thirty-four committees and all of them got together to organise our visit.
When asked how there was such interest in the meetings considering the lack of press coverage about the case of the Five, Irma said that although initially, their audiences came to hear Che Guevara’s daughter speak, they became very interested in the case of the Cuban Five and wanted to know more:
[Irma]They came to hear Aleida, Che Guevara’s daughter to talk about her father and they mostly asked questions about Cuba, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and about our system. Then she introduced the case and many of them became interested because it is a matter of justice We kept focussed on the case and then they asked us what they could do, to help the cause and how to free the five men.
Everyone present heard about the violations committed in this case, why these men were there in Miami just trying to take care of human life. They all came to us. It was the feeling of solidarity and humanity that makes them interested in this case.
She also explained the aspects of the case that the Canadian audiences found most interesting:
[Irma]: When we spoke of all the violations, not only of the laws of the US but also of human rights, for instance putting these men in the “Hole” during the appeal process in extremely hostile conditions or how they were put in the punishment cell the second time for simply writing a letter to the people of the United States explaining they were in the US struggling against terrorism, this had a lot of impact.
They were also shocked that two of the wives have not been allowed to see their husbands in prison. In the case of Adriana without any reason, the US authorities gave her the visa, she told her husband Gerardo that she was going to see him but they promptly detained her at the airport and returned her to Cuba and now they won’t give her a visa.
Take my mother’s case, how my father’s family was used to try to force him to testify against his four comrades and if he didn’t there would be reprisals against his family. For sure he did not testify against his brothers and they deported my mother and now neither she nor my little sister can see him
When we spoke to Canadian lawyers about the violations that had been committed, it really had an impact on them. But mainly the people who came to the meetings were not so much interested in the legal side as simply in the cause of justice and solidarity. We told them all that had been done against the five men for fighting against terrorism. To impress the Canadian people, we simply had to tell the truth.
Anonio Guerrero, one of the five political prisoners is forty five today. Irmita sent him a special greeting.
[Irma] Happy birthday!! I just want to tell him that tomorrow we will be thinking of him, all of us even though we know that the conditions are not great for him.
At the press conference, Che Guevara’s daughter, Aleida Guevara March told Radio Havana Cuba that the human side of the story was of most interest to the less prominent media outlets:
[Aleida Guevara] I think that in some way we touched the people. Irma telling her personal story as a daughter was very important. I spoke the truth inasmuch as a Cuban I have always been close to the situation of the five but it is not the same as the families, who know the details of things that have happened, how they have suffered from this separation.
We put a lot of emphasis on all the children effected, using personal experience, of course, it was also in October that my father was assassinated, on the 8th of October to be exact and we had some activities around that time. So from my personal experience it is sad in the sense that they are going to grow up needing their fathers and they don’t have them.
In the case of these children and adolescents whose fathers are far away because of a totally irrational situation, it is logical that we all struggle for this to be resolved so that these children can be in contact with their fathers.
The two women left Canada with the feeling that there was still much to do, many things that could be done better, but that nonetheless they were able to reach people and that Irma’s experience as the daughter of one of the Five was important to hear.
WHO ARE THE MIAMI FIVE?
Five Cubans who were trying to stop Miami based terrorist groups from carrying out violent actions against the people of Cuba. They were found guilty of charges ranging from murder to espionage by a court in Miami which relied on the evidence of convicted terrorists. All are innocent of the charges brought against them. Extensive intimidation of jurists by these same terrorists was a feature of the trial. They are currently appealing their convictions.
CAMPAIGN AIMS
The release and exoneration of the five victims of this obvious miscarriage of justice.
CAMPAIGN DEDICATION
The campaign is dedicated to the memory of the 3,478 Cubans killed and 2,099 maimed at the hands of US-based terrorists groups since 1959.
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