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Urgent Appeal to International Labor Organizations La Habana, Cuba The International Conference of the International Labor Organization adopted a resolution dated June 11th that condemns the government of the Republic of Cuba. This is an unprecedented event in our nation's history. The resolution, attached herein, is further proof that awareness continues to grow in the international community regarding the absence of freedoms and the flagrant violations of international law perpetrated by the Cuban government against the best interests of our workers, our labor movement and our people in general. The Cuban government is signatory to eighty-eight ILO agreements. Unfortunately, signing said international commitments has not bound the government to abide by them or respect their tenets. Cuba's incipient Independent Labor Movement has been plagued by confrontation with the government. Our offices have been repeatedly searched and our working materials confiscated. State Security agents spy on us and tap our communications. Our labor activists endure beatings, and physical as well as psychological abuse. They are fired from their jobs for political reasons, and most recently, last April seven of our labor leaders were sentenced to a total of 150 years in prison. They are: Carmelo Díaz Fernández, 63 years of age. President, Unión Sindical Cristiana (Christian Labor Union) and assistant director, Centro Nacional de Capacitación Sindical y Laboral (National Center for Labor and Labor Union Education and Training). Sentenced to 16 years. Miguel Galván Gutiérrez, 38 years of age. Executive board member, Centro Nacional de Capacitacion Sindical y Laboral. Sentenced to 26 years. Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos, 53 years of age. Secretary General, Consejo Unitario de Trabajadores Cubanos (Unitary Council of Cuban Workers). Sentenced to 25 years. Alfredo Felipe Fuentes. Delegate from Havana Province, Consejo Unitario de Trabajadores Cubanos. Sentenced to 26 years. Nelson Molinet Espino. 37 years of age. President, Confederación de Trabajadores Democráticos de Cuba (Federation of Cuban Democratic Workers). Sentenced to 20 years.
Héctor Raúl Valle Fernández. 35 years of age. Vice-president, Confederación de Trabajadores Democráticos de Cuba. Sentenced to 12 years. Iván Carrillo Hernández. Exective board member, Confederación Obrera Nacional Independiente de Cuba (Cuba's Independent National Workers' Federation). Sentenced to 25 years. These adverse conditions have highlighted, first and foremost, the government's intolerance. We are worried about this state of affairs because it confirms the process of political deterioration that is taking place in our country, also demonstrated by the open confrontation staged against the European Union and many countries in Latin America. Regardless, we remain active, and will continue to work for labor rights and the rights of Cuban workers to organize unions. In order to prevent the forces of repression from annihilating our movement with further waves of arrests, harassment and mass sanctions, we request from our fellow labor activists across the free world to please: · Raise your voices in solidarity with our cause! · Use every means available to ask the Cuban government to respect labor rights, union rights and human rights! · Ask the Cuban government to free our brothers who have been unjustly sentenced to long prison terms! · Inform foreign investors doing business in Cuba today that our workers' rights are trampled upon! Today more than ever, we need your active solidarity. We need you to exert pressure to avert a fatal crisis in our country. We, the undersigned, executive committee members of the various independent labor organizations in Cuba, shall continue our peaceful struggle for respect of workers' rights, and for the right to organize free labor unions, and to train and educate Cuban workers about union and labor practices. We can be contacted at the following numbers for additional information. In Cuba: 537-879-3412 or 5345-8-2845. Confederacion Obrera Nacional Independiente de Cuba (CONIC) / Cuba's Independent National Workers' Federation Caridad Diaz Beltran Sergio Suarez Inclan Pablo Gregorio Molina Nieves Idelmar Bauza de La Rosa Isabel Rubí Batista Alcibíades Rivero González Unión Sindical de Trabajadores Independientes de Cuba (USTIC) / Cuba's Independent Workers Labor Union Raimundo Jorge Martínez Alfredo Vivanco González Jorge Luis Rubí Rubí Confederación de Trabajadores Democráticos de Cuba (CTDC) / Cuban Federation of pro-Democracy Workers Velsis Cabrera Mayelín Cedeño Unión de Trabajadores Cristianos (UTC) / Christian Workers Union Manuel Ismael León Paneque Manuel Víctor Rodríguez Rodríguez Maritza Castro Martínez Rev. Ricardo Santiago Medina Galabarría Manuel Fernández Roche Centro Nacional de Capacitación Sindical y Laboral (CNCSL) / National Center for Labor and Labor Union Education and Training Víctor Manuel Domínguez García María López Vela Central Sindical Cristiana / Christian Union Organization Orlando Agapito Alvelo Padrón Ismael Omar Castellanos Jorge Magdalena Gómez Dulce María Amador Morales Felipe Careras Hernández Eduardo Bravo Calderón Gisela Perico Sánchez Sindicato de Conductores de Bicitaxis / Bicycle Taxi Drivers Union Milton Meléndez Reinaldo Roger Benìtez Machadomarcial Torres Guisado Sindicato Libre de Trabajadores Cubanos / Free Cuban Workers Union María Elena Mir Marrero Reinaldo Cosano Alén Federación de Plantas Eléctricas, Gas y Agua de Cuba (Granma) / Cuban Federation of Electric, Gas and Water Plants (Granma province) Angel Luis Ferreiro Luis Sergio Núñez Rodríguez Damaris Santana Aguilera Gabriel Díaz Sánchez Félix Rivero Ariel Arzuaga Peña Rolando Pérez Alfonso Central Sindical Cristiana (Independiente) / Independent Christian Union Organization William Toledo Terrero Ivette Toledo Mompé Julio Román Hernández Odalis Miranda Suárez Vicente González Lezcano Lourdes Milián Romero Carlos Toledo Terrero Asociación de Trabajadores por Cuenta Propia / Association of Self-Employed Workers Ismael Salazar Agüero Osmany Hernández Fraga Ernesto Capote Suárez Luz María Rodríguez Avila Gladis Rodríguez Rodríguez Orlando Ponte Flores
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