The Let Cuba Live Committee of Maine has launched a petition drive to put pressure on President Obama to free the Cuban Five political prisoners. Prompted by Amnesty International’s appeal in October to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Cuba solidarity group (formed in 1992) launched the campaign on behalf of the political prisoners. A comprehensive report on U.S. judicial failings in the case accompanies the appeal.
Amnesty International is asking the administration to consider clemency. Representatives of organizations already working for the Cuban Five, along with other human rights activists from across the nation, came together with Let Cuba Live’s encouragement to plan the petition campaign, which is seen as nationwide in scope. The petition authors envision a good possibility that people of varied political viewpoints will sign on, mainly because the petition follows Amnesty International’s lead in focusing on human rights and the rule of law.
Additionally, the petition project has potential use as an educational tool, one informing a general public largely unaware of the Cuban Five case. Toward that end, an information sheet on the case has been fashioned for distribution to people signing the petition, or those who are undecided but wanting more information.
Seeking petition signatures, members of the petition planning group were on hand at Amnesty International’s northeast regional meeting in Boston on Nov.13 and at the School of the Americas Watch vigil in Columbus Georgia a week later.
Visit www.letcubalive.org to download PDF versions of the petition and the Case of the Cuban Five Fact Sheet.
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