.Obama Honors Imprisoned Cuban Dissidents
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - President Barack Obama on Thursday praised five Cuban pro-Democracy activists and called for all political prisoners in the communist nation to be freed. The President's statement marked the National Endowment for Democracy's annual Democracy Award, which honored the dissidents.
Iris Tamara Perez Aguilera, Ivan Hernandez Carrillo, José Daniel Ferrer García, Librado Linares García and Jorge Luis Garcia "Antúnez" Pérez were recognized Wednesday night on Capitol Hill for their "significant personal hardship for nothing more than standing up for basic rights and freedoms."
Carrillo, García and Linares and are currently in prison, while Antúnez was released in 2007 after 17 years in Cuban jails. Aguilera, is living under virtual house arrest since beginning a hunger strike in March of this year along with Antúnez.
House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the top Republican in the committee, Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) and other members of the Congressional delegation from Florida attended the ceremony.
Obama in his statement praised the five Cuban dissidents and "all the brave men and women who are standing up for the right of the Cuban people to freely determine their country's future." He also expressed hope that all political prisoners will be "unconditionally released and allowed to fully participate in a democratic future in Cuba."
The United States early this month had successfully pushed for ending the 47-year exclusion of Cuba from the Organization of American States. The move is part of the Obama administration's goal of reaching out to the communist nation and helping its citizens exercise more freedoms.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had wanted concessions from Cuba in return for membership in the OAS, which had kicked out the island nation during the Cold War in 1962. Cuba did not agree to any concessions, and made clear it was not interested in the OAS.
In April, Obama had issued a memo easing the rule against Cuban-Americans traveling and sending money to relatives, and allowing U.S. telecommunications companies to provide services in Cuba while keeping the U.S. trade embargo in place.
Around the same time, a delegation of American lawmakers led by Congressional Black Caucus chairman Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) had traveled to Cuba and called for "normal relations with the United States." It was the first time former President Fidel Castro met with U.S. officials since he relinquished leadership to his brother Raul and was reported ill in July 2006.
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Iris Tamara Perez Aguilera, Ivan Hernandez Carrillo, José Daniel Ferrer García, Librado Linares García and Jorge Luis Garcia "Antúnez" Pérez were recognized Wednesday night on Capitol Hill for their "significant personal hardship for nothing more than standing up for basic rights and freedoms."
Carrillo, García and Linares and are currently in prison, while Antúnez was released in 2007 after 17 years in Cuban jails. Aguilera, is living under virtual house arrest since beginning a hunger strike in March of this year along with Antúnez.
House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the top Republican in the committee, Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) and other members of the Congressional delegation from Florida attended the ceremony.
Obama in his statement praised the five Cuban dissidents and "all the brave men and women who are standing up for the right of the Cuban people to freely determine their country's future." He also expressed hope that all political prisoners will be "unconditionally released and allowed to fully participate in a democratic future in Cuba."
The United States early this month had successfully pushed for ending the 47-year exclusion of Cuba from the Organization of American States. The move is part of the Obama administration's goal of reaching out to the communist nation and helping its citizens exercise more freedoms.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had wanted concessions from Cuba in return for membership in the OAS, which had kicked out the island nation during the Cold War in 1962. Cuba did not agree to any concessions, and made clear it was not interested in the OAS.
In April, Obama had issued a memo easing the rule against Cuban-Americans traveling and sending money to relatives, and allowing U.S. telecommunications companies to provide services in Cuba while keeping the U.S. trade embargo in place.
Around the same time, a delegation of American lawmakers led by Congressional Black Caucus chairman Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) had traveled to Cuba and called for "normal relations with the United States." It was the first time former President Fidel Castro met with U.S. officials since he relinquished leadership to his brother Raul and was reported ill in July 2006.
All Headline News
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