Release Frank García Hernández and his comrades

For years, indeed decades, we have denounced the blockade imposed by the US authorities against Cuba. We have denounced and continue to denounce the various policies and measures adopted by Washington since 1959-1960 to isolate, destabilise and attack Cuba. We are anti-imperialists and convinced internationalists.

We were therefore very concerned to learn of the arrest during a march of protest in Havana on 11 July of Frank García Hernández, Cuban historian and Marxist, Leonardo Romero Negrín, young socialist studying physics at the University of Havana, Maykel González Vivero, director of Tremenda Nota and Marcos Antonio Pérez Fernández, pre-university student. Frank García Hernández is an important scholar has achieved a worldwide reputation for his work on reevaluating the history of the Cuban left and organising an international congress on Trotsky in Havana in 2019.

We call for the unconditional release of Frank and all his comrades and for respect for the democratic rights of all the Cuban people.

As the revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg stated in The Russian Revolutionin 1918:

without a free and untrammelled press, without the unlimited right of association and assemblage, the rule of the broad masses of the people is entirely unthinkable.

She added:

Freedom only for the supporters of the government, only for the members of one party — however numerous they may be — is no freedom at all. Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently. Not because of any fanatical concept of “justice” but because all that is instructive, wholesome and purifying in political freedom depends on this essential characteristic, and its effectiveness vanishes when “freedom” becomes a special privilege.

Cuba Update

Thanks for supporting our statement. We have learned that Frank García Hernández and Maykel González Vivero, director of the LGBT+ magazine Tremenda Nota, were released on Monday, July 12 at 2100hrs. They are under house arrest but but nevertheless are allowed to move around so long as they do not participate in protests etc. They have been charged with causing public disorder on 11 July. Leonardo Romero Negrín, a young socialist Physics student at the University of Havana, and Marcos Antonio Pérez Fernández, a pre-university student, HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED. The whereabouts Leonardo Romero Negrín are unknown. His name does not appear in the police detainee registry, but he was seen being arrested. It is therefore essential to continue the campaign. Please circulate the petition and persuade more people to sign it. The link to the petition is here: https://www.ch…

Signatories

Etienne Balibar, Anniversary Chair of Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University London

Tithi Bhattacharya, author Feminism for the 99%, USA

Sâmia Bomfim, deputada federal São Paulo, Brazil

Richard Boyd Barrett TD (member of the Irish Parliament)

Robert Brenner, University of California Los Angeles, USA

Christine Buchholz, Member of the German Bundestag, Die Linke

Gerry Carroll, MLA (member of Northern Ireland Parliament)

Maria Carvalho Dantas, Member of the Spanish Congress, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya

Noam Chomsky, Emeritus Professor, MIT, USA

Petros Constantinou, Athens city councilor, coordinator KEERFA, Greece

Mike Davis, Emeritus Professor, University of California Riverside, USA

Rehad Desai, Radical film maker, South Africa

Fábio Félix, deputado distrital Distrito Federal, Brazil

Eva Flyvholm, MP, Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Red-Green Alliance, Denmark

Luciana Genro- ex-candidata a Presidente, direção nacional do PSOL (Party of Socialism and Liberty) e deputada estadual Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Jess González, member of the Catalan Parliament for En Comú Podem

Christian Juhl, MP,  Spokesperson on Development Aid, Red-Green Alliance, Denmark

Gino Kenny TD (member of the Irish Parliament)

Michael Löwy, Emeritus Director of Rresearch CNRS, France

Paul  LeBlanc, Professor of History, La Roche University, USA

Paul Murphy TD (member of the Irish Parliament)

Fernanda Melchionna, deputada federal Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

David Miranda, deputado federal Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sola Olorunfemi, General Secretary AUTOBATE, Nigeria

Gerardo Pisarello, member of the Spanish Congress, Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem, and First Secretary of the Bureau of the Congress

Vivi Reis, deputada federal Pará, Brazil

Mônica Seixas,  deputada estadual São Paulo, Brazil

Brid Smith TD (member of the Irish Parliament)

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, University Professor in the Humanities,  Columbia University, USA

Eric Toussaint, University of Liège and Paris VIII, internationalist militant and writer, Belgium

Miguel Urban, member of the European parliament, Anticapitalistas, Fourth International, Spanish State

Nikolaj Villumsen, Member of the European Parliament, Red-Green Alliance, Denmark

Suzi Weissman, Professor of Politics, Saint Mary’s College of California, USA

Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies, SOAS, London, Britain

Kieran Allen, National Secretary, People before Profit and author, Ireland

Eric Alliez, Philosopher, Professor at Université Paris 8, France

Luana Alves – city councillor, São Paulo/SP, Brazil

Anthony Arnove, editor, USA

Baba Aye, Co-convener Coalition for Revolution (CORE), Nigeria

Pratyay Banerjee

Tarun Bhartiya, Imagemaker, Northeast India

Andreu Blackwell, joint editor Punto de Vista internacional

Beth Boerger

Pratyajayaditya Bondhu

David Brophy, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney, Australia

Lai Brown, National Secretary Socialist Workers & Youth League, Nigeria

Alex Callinicos, Emeritus Professor of European Studies, King’s College London, Britain

Josemar Carvalho – city councillor, São Gonçalo/RJ, Brazil

Kunal Chattopadhyay, Professor of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, India

Lam Chi Leung, editor of the Marxists Internet Archive Chinese, Hong Kong

Joseph Choonara, editor of International Socialism, Britain

Matt Collins, Belfast City Council, Ireland

Marc Cooper, writer, USA

William M. Crane, Doctoral candidate, History Dept, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA 

Willy Cumming

Gareth Dale, Brunel University, Britain 

Alex de Jong, co-director IIRE Amsterdam, Netherlands

Kadijatu Dem Njie, leading member, Marx21.net, Spanish state

Pelle Dragsted, writer, member of the national leadership of the Red-Green Alliance, Denmark

Penelope Duggan, editor International Viewpoint

Israel Dutra, Secretário de Relações Internacionais do PSOL, Brazil

Carolyn Egan, president of United Steelworkers Local 8300, president of United Steelworkers Toronto Area Council, Canada

Fiona Ferguson, Belfast City Council, Ireland

Pedro Fuentes, Direção Nacional do MES, Brazil 

Panos Garganas, editor, Workers Solidarity weekly, Greece

Thies Gleis Member of the Federal Executive Committee of Die Linke, Germany

G K Ghosh, peace activist, India

Melisa Halpin, Councillor, Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, Ireland 

Wayne Heimbach

Robert Austin Henry, Honorary Associate, Department of History, University of Sydney, Australia 

Dr Christian Hogsbjerg, Lecturer in Critical History and Politics, University of Brighton, Britain 

Jack Howard

Adam Johannes, Cardiff Socialist Forum Cardiff, Wales, Britain

Kostas Katarahias, chair Hospital Workers Union, Athens Cancer Hospital, Greece

Dan La Botz, Co-Editor, New Politics.

Amy Leather and Charlie Kimber, joint national secretaries of the Socialist Workers Party, Britain

Bruno Magalhães, Observatório Internacional do PSOL, Brazil 

Jan Malewski, editor of Inprecor

John Meehan

John Molyneux, Editor of Irish Marxist Review 

Marcio Lauria Monteiro, Historian, teacher and Communist from Brazil

Ben Moroney, Greens councillor, City of Campbelltown, NSW, Australia

Kevin Ovenden

Mel Packer

Mark Porciani

Charles Post, Editorial Board Spectre: A Marxist Journal and the Tempest collective, USA 

Philippe Poutou, NPA candidate for the presidential elections of 2022, France

Christine Poupin, spokesperson of NPA New Anticapitalist Party, France

Dr Lucia Pradella, Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy, King’s College London, Britain 

Dr Sean Purdy, Professor of History, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Viviana Ramírez, Senior Teacher of Spanish & Home Economics (retired), Australia

Dr John Rees, Visiting Research Fellow, Goldsmiths, University of London, Britain

Joel Reinstein

Nick Riemer, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney, Australia

Mariana Riscali, Executiva Nacional do PSOL, Brazil 

Roberto Robaina, city councillor, Porto Alegre/RS, Direção Nacional do PSOL, Brazil 

Neil Rogall

Catherine Samary, economist, member of the Fourth International, France

Zhaleh Sahand

Miroslav Sandev, teacher, unionist, member of Solidarity group Australia

Edgard Sanchez, spokesperson PRT and joint editor Punto de Vista internacional, Mexico

Dr Jeff Sparrow, author

Sukla Sen, peace activist, Mumbai, India

Jurandir Silva, city councillor, Pelotas/RS, Brazil

Ashley Smith Democratic Socialists of America Tempest Collective, USA

Colin Sparks, Professor Emeritus Hong Kong Baptist University, UK

Sue Sparks

Maria Styllou, editor Socialism from below review, Greece

Michael Thomson, NSW State Secretary National Tertiary Education Union (retired), Australia

Alan Wald, H. Chandler Davis Collegiate Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

Adrienne Wallace , Councillor, Carlow, Ireland

Thomas Weyts, SAP – Antikapitalisten / Gauche anticapitaliste, Belgium

Lawrence Wong

Christian Zeller  Prof. of Economic Geography, University of Salzburg, Austria

You can sign the petition on www.change.org

cubacommunistsolidarity@gmail.com

Signatures received 14 July

Eduardo Lucita                       Argentina

Juan Carlos GIORDANO      Argentina Diputado Izquierda Socialista – FIT-Unidad

Stalin Pérez Borges                Argentina

Dani Cotton                            Australia

David Glanz                           Australia

Victor Osprey                         Australia

Lucy Honan                            Australia

Adam Adelpour                     Australia

Davey Heller                          Australia

Jack Morris                             Australia

adil WERMIZYARI              Australia

Andrew Brown                       Australia

Melanie Lazarow                   Australia

Liz Walsh                               Australia

Peter Robinson                       Australia

Ingrid Wijeyewardene           Australia

Robert Stainsby                      Australia

Caitlin Doyle-Markwick        Australia

Madeline Zapletal                  Australia

Sherwan Ali                            Australia

Michael Schembri                  Australia

Erin O’Leary                          Australia

Ulrich Brand                           Austria

Sébastien Brulez                    Belgium

Roberto Lisbôa                       Brazil

Mauro Vinicius Floriano        Brazil

Priscila Gomes                       Brazil

João Machado Borges Neto   Brazil

Frederico Augusto Frazão     Brazil

Pedro Fuentes                         Brazil

Tommaso Mottironi               Brazil

Valerio Arcary                       Brazil

Wanderson Melo                    Brazil

Leandro Santos Dias              Brazil  Presidente PSOL PR 

Maria Orlanda Pinassi            Brazil

Faline Bobier                          Canada

Pam Johnson                          Canada

Rebecca Rogers                     Canada

Deborah Murray                     Canada

Brian Champ                          Canada

Chantal Sundaram                  Canada

Stephen Pender                      Canada

Ritch Whyman                       Canada

Søren Søndergaard                 Denmark MP for the Red Green Alliance

Enith Flores                            Ecuador

Kaj Henriksson                      Finland

Hugh Jenkins                          France

Alexandre Guérin                   France

Claudine Reboux                   France

Sylvain ALIAS                      France

monique gaas                          France

jacques fortin                          France

Michel Cahen                         France

Leïla PETIT                           France

Armand Creus                         France

Sophie Ozanne                       France

Joelle Bonet                            France

FW Klaus Helms                    Germany

Matthias Koeniger                 Germany

Markus Lehner                       Germany

Günter Meisinger                   Germany

Ulrich Duchrow                     Germany

olga stefanidou                       Greece

Eleni Kokkini                         Greece

Ioanna Pavlopoulou               Greece

nikos matsablokos                  Greece

ZETTA MELAMPIANAKI  Greece

Venkatesh Kolagari               India

Ekabali Ghosh                        India

Abhinandan Sinha                  India

Apurba Roy                            India

Heru Joni Putra                      Indonesia

Farid Saberi                            Iran

Azad Arman                           Iraq

Karl Gill                                 Ireland

Marnie Holborow                   Ireland

Paul O’Neill                            Ireland

Marnie Holborow                   Ireland

Andrew Keegan                     Ireland

Gary Tennant                          Ireland

Francis O’Reilly                     Ireland

franco Barracchia                   Italy

Nicole Ontillera                     Italy

Bruno Pepe Russo                  Italy

Paola Guescini                       Italy

Karen Ohmura                       Japan

Enrique Duarte                       Mexico

agustin ramos                         Mexico

Mario Miguel Antonio Garcia           Mexico

Violeta Chihuahua                 Mexico

Sol Chávez                             Mexico

Andy Dufresne                       Mexico

Mariana itzel Hurtado Corona           Mexico

Javier Contreras                     Mexico

Jaime González                      Mexico

URANIA CHAVARRÍA DECANINI          Mexico

Alfredo Gurza                         Mexico

José Juan Grijalva León         Mexico

Doble Resistencia                  Mexico

kameran ahmad                      Netherlands

Peter Drucker                         Netherlands

Christopher Beck                   Netherlands

Federico Lafaire                     Netherlands

Joene Praat                             Netherlands

Sean Yi                                   New Zealand

Jon Sandven                           Norway

Andrzej ?ebrowski                Poland

Agnieszka Kaleta                   Poland

Micha? Wysocki                     Poland

Joanna Puszwacka                 Poland

Piotr Sobiecki                         Poland

Anna Dzierzgowska               Poland

Rafael Bernabe                       Puerto Rico

Manuel Rodríguez Banchs     Puerto Rico

INSOOK KIM                       South Korea

David Karvala                         Spain

David Robles                          Spain

Thomas Hummel                   Spain

jesus María Uzkudun Ilarramendi     Spain

Jesus M. Castillo                    Spain

ENID AMELIA VARGAS    Spain

Stephan de Miguel                 Spain

Rodolfo García                       Sweden

Eiga Fatahi                             Sweden

Elin Hedén                              Sweden

Benny Andersson                   Sweden

Björn Lindquist                      Sweden

Juan TORTOSA                     Switzerland

Brice Touilloux                      Switzerland

Roy Anderson?                         Thailand

Johnny Rhodes                       Thailand

Ozan Tekin                             Turkey

Özde? Özbay                          Turkey

?afak Ayhan                           Turkey

Ferdane Erduman                   Turkey

Burak Demir                           Turkey

Ebru Gökçe                            Turkey

Roni Margulies                      Turkey

hasan fehmi özer                    Turkey

tuna emren                              Turkey

Onur Korkmaz                       Turkey

Marc Mulholland                   UK

Héctor Puente Sierra              UK

Sasha Simic                            UK

Camilla Royle                         UK

Stephen Mynott                      UK

Gareth Jenkins                       UK

Steve Johnston                       UK

Martin Empson                      UK

Goretti Horgan                       UK

Jaice Titus                              UK

Adrian Gregory                      UK

Ian Parker                               UK

Richard Morgan                     UK

Angus McNelly                      UK

Giles Ji Ungpakorn                UK

Jim Gillen                               UK

Sean Wallis                            UK

Simon Hester                          UK

Morag Gillie                           UK

Julie Webster                          UK

Sandy Nicoll                           UK

Peter Jackson                          UK

John Narayan                          UK

Helen Davies                          UK

Richard Sean Leahy               UK

karen reissmann                     UK

Ken Muller                             UK

Anna Gluckstein                    UK

Jonathan Hall                          UK

Sally Kincaid                          UK

Anne Alexander                     UK

john davies                             UK

Ian Mckendrick                      UK

Doug Morgan                         UK

richard mcewan                      UK      tower Hamlets College UCU

Simon Pearson                       UK

Steve West                              UK

Jess Edwards                          UK

Terry Conway                         UK

miriam scharf                         UK

Caroline Day                          UK

Andy Richards                       UK

Maggie Mariscotti                  UK

Claire Wormald                     UK

Christopher Bright                 UK

Jude walsh                              UK

Gareth Rickards                     UK

C. Y. C Collymore                 UK

Louise McDermott                 UK

Rob Turner                             UK

Christopher Denson               UK

Paul Overton                          UK

Kajan Para                              UK

Tim Stafford-Couch               UK     

Pauline Rowland                    UK     

Tim Sneller                             UK     

Charlotte Reid                         UK

Karen Evans                           UK

Steve Pinhorn                         UK

N M                                        UK

Teresa MacKay                      UK

Cameron Etherton                  UK

Mike Hope                              UK

Talat Ahmed                           UK

Maria Isabel Ruidiaz              Uruguay

Coen Pontoh                           US

Ioannis Delatolas                   US

Jason Dawsey                         US

Pete Klosterman                     US

Joseph Miller                          US

Alex Steinberg                       US

Andrew Lamas,                      US       University of Pennsylvania

Eric Fretz                                US

Schneur Newfield                  US

Stephen Oren                          US

Heather Paulson                     US

Robert Montgomery               US

Lorrie Beth Slonsky               US

John MacKay                         US

David McClure                      US

Barbara Pryor                         US

Phil Gasper                             US

Mary K Catone                      US

Richard Modiano                   US

Todd Howard                         US

Michael Meltzer                     US

steve phillips                          US

Frank Murphy                         US

Leslie Sebastian                     US

Horace Small                          US

Barbara Welch                       US

Susan Bauckus                       US

Lee Smith                               US

Nguyen Ly                              US

Steve Ellman                          US

candi cooper                           US

Pilar Marrero                          US

Eleanor Wynn                         US

alfredo santana                       US

Lonny Weissman                   US

Yanina Gori                            US

Mark Trevor Burrell              US

Ben Earle                                US

Russell E Tennyson               US