RATB Writes

RATB

Yo soy Chavez- I am Chavez

Details: Created on Wednesday, 23 January 2013 00:36

London

Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! supporters joined the international media campaign of solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution, echoing the Venezuelan people who came out in their tens of thousands to proudly declare 'I am Chavez, Chavez is the people!'

Newcastle upon Tyne

Free the Cuban 5-Letter from Antonio

Details: Created on Saturday, 08 December 2012 17:11

The fight to free the Cuban 5 continues, and this heartfelt letter of thanks demonstrates the continued importance of building solidarity and raising awareness of the 5 prisoners of imperialism. The Cuban 5 were falsly tried! FREE THE CUBAN 5! For up to date news from the international campaign see www.freethefive.org

cuban 5 letter002S

November 28, 2012,

Dear Sam and friends at Rock around the Blockade

Thanks for your letter and your support.

We have completed 14 years of unjust imprisonment. If there is something that has given us strength, if there is something that has made us feel optimistic all the time, it is each and every letter that we have received from our friends from all over the world.

This year, 2012, has been a year of intense struggle for our freedom, on the legal plane, as well as with your multiple solidarity activities.

Our appreciation for each friend that has written to us and that has struggled without rest in order to return us home is deep and eternal.

It is painful for us to not have enough time, nor the best conditions, to answer your letter, full of encouragement and brotherhood, more quickly and personally.

I reiterate that we never forget you. You are in our hearts. Here, I’m sending a photo with my family, taken during a visit. On behalf of the Five, I wish you health, prosperity, love and a Happy New Year 2013!

Five big embraces,

¡Venceremos!

Greeting to all our friends in the UK.

Antonio Guerrero.

Free the Cuban 5: RATB marks 14 years of unjust imprisonment

Details: Created on Sunday, 16 September 2012 22:13

On Saturday 15 September, Rock around the Blockade activists took to streets in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow to mark 14 years of unjust incarceration of the Cuban 5 in the US and to demand their release.

Rallies in each city publicised the case of these five anti-terrorist heroes who are being held as political prisoners for simply trying to defend Cuba from terrorist attacks that were being planned from within the US.

Speeches at the rallies highlighted the example of Cuba’s Revolution, which shows that there is an alternative to the poverty, war and environmental destruction of today’s imperialist-dominated world. The persecution of the Five is just part of a continual campaign to destroy the revolution and wipe out this alternative.

One of the Cuban Five, Fernando Gonzalez had written to Rock around the Blockade from gaol in the US to support the day of action. His words were read out at the rallies: ‘As you get together today to show your commitment to the struggle for our release from prison, we express our gratitude to all of you as well as our decision to withstand any circumstances and remain in the fight for justice for as long as it takes to achieve it.’

Details: Created on Thursday, 06 September 2012 20:08

EVENT CANCELLATION: Free the Cuban 5: The Struggle Continues, Saturday 15^thSeptember 2012

Regretfully we are cancelling the Rock around the Blockade (RATB) meeting, ‘Free the Cuban 5: The Struggle Continues’, which was due to take place at Bolivar Hall in London on Saturday 15 September.

Instead we will be holding a demonstration for the Cuban 5 on the same day, to mark 14 years of their unjust imprisonment (see below for details).

The reason for the cancellation is that our guest speaker, Cuban activist Lázaro Oramas, was unable to get a visa from the British consulate before the date of the meeting. Other invited speakers were also unable to attend for various reasons.

Instead of the meeting we will be marking 14 years of unjust imprisonment for the Cuban 5 with a street rally in Angel, North London on the same day. We hope that you can join us to raise the profile of the case and demand justice for the Five.

RALLY DETAILS

Street Rally for the Cuban Five

Saturday 15 September

1 – 3pm

Outside Angel tube station, North London

Oswaldo Paya's Death: A Tale of Imperialist Lies and hypocrisy

Details: Created on Saturday, 04 August 2012 21:34

paya By Victoria Smith. for Rock Around the Blockade

On 22 July, Oswaldo Paya died in a car accident on the Las Tunas-Bayamo highway in the proximity of Las Gabinas, Granma Province. Paya was a leading member of the counter-revolutionary organisation Christian Liberation Movement, a group that has been involved in trying to destabilise the socialist government of Cuba since 1987. In 2002 Paya received the European Union’s Sakharov Prize for his counter-revolutionary attempts to undermine Cuban Socialism. Whilst not having been officially in the pay of right-wing counter-revolutionaries in Miami, Oswaldo Paya had been receiving funding from right-wing organisations in Spain and Sweden, including the governing Popular Party in Spain. The car crash has sparked a barrage of accusations and internet rumours from Cuba’s enemies, alleging that his death was political.