Ailí Labañino Cardoso Australia’s Speaking Tour For The “Free the Cuban 5 Campaign”

Ailí Labañino Cardoso  Australia’s Speaking Tour For the “Free the Cuban 5 Campaign” August 3-18

The Tour is jointly funded and coordinated by the CFMEU (Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union), the MUA (Maritime Union of Australia) and supported by the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society (ACFS).

Aili is the daughter of Ramon Labañino, one of the Cuban Five who has been a political prisoner in the USA since 1998. He is currently serving a long prison sentence for fighting against terrorism, and he is due for release in 2022.

Ailí arrives in Canberra on August 6 following her tour of Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane. She will depart from Sydney on Monday the 18^th August.

Ailí has been politically active since her teen years and a youth leader in Cuba. As an advocate  for the freedom of the Cuban Five she has participated in meetings, events and conferences in Cuba and internationally. She has participated in various international solidarity activities in Venezuela , International Celebration of the 80^th Anniversary of the birth of Che Guevara in  Rosario (Argentina), International Symposium on the Freedom of the Cuban Five, at Holguin; Cuba’s Solidarity Event in Costa Rica; World Youth and Students Festival in South Africa (2010) and in Ecuador in 2013. She is currently completing a Masters in International Relations and Politics.

Don’t miss the Cuban solidarity event in Canberra with Ailí as a keynote speaker  in a public presentation addressed to the community of Canberra at ANCLAS (Australia National Centre for Latin American Studies). at 6:30 pm , Wednesday 6 August 2014, in Manning Clark Theater 4, ANU. Everyone is welcome.

Come  and meet Ailí, in an informal cocktail function organised by the CFMEU Canberra Branch, with the collaboration of ACFS- at the Tradies Club, Woden, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm on Thursday 7h August. The famous Latin American local group “Trio Encuentro” will help you feel welcome.

For more details telephone Brian Hungerford at 62824747 or email at: brilu@grapevine.com.au

The case of the "Cuban Five"

The Australian National Centre for Latin American Studies and the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba present: “The case of the ‘Cuban Five’: relations between Cuba and the US” Public lecture by Ailí Labañino-Cardoso 6:30pm Wednesday 6 August Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 4, ANU In September 1998, five Cuban men were arrested in Miami by FBI agents. Gerardo Hernandez, Ramón Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and René Gonzalez were accused of the crime of conspiracy to commit espionage. The US government never accused them of actual espionage, nor did it prove that real acts of espionage had been carried out, as no classified document had been confiscated from the Five. Their actual mission in the United States was monitoring the activities of the groups and organisations responsible for activities against Cuba. Ailí Labañino-Cardoso, the young daughter of Ramon Labañino, one of the five Cubans who have been sentenced for more than 30 years, has spoken at many meetings and conferences in Cuba and internationally. Ailí’s presentation will highlight the significance of the Cuban Five within Cuban society and the world.  At the same time it will be a way of understanding many important elements of relations between Cuba and the US. The lecture will be followed by light food and beverages through the kind support of the Embassy of Cuba. Admission is free. No RSVP required.

With Friends Like That...

Who Really Runs Australia?

Australia and Cuba are now combined to suffer their most undemocratic crisis.

The US Government has ordered that no country in the World is allowed to conduct banking transactions with Cuba.

This situation has now been in force for the past fortnight.

It means in practice that no one in Australia can send money to Cuba.

The Canberra Branch of the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society on Tuesday of last week tried to forward money to Cuba as payment for a project to organise a refrigeration unit in a Cuban Seniors Retirement hostel.

Normally the Canberra group sends small amounts of money (in Euros) to Cuba through the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. However, our most bellicose ‘friend,’ the USA, has decreed that Cuba is a terrorist nation. This false belief, based on lies, has revealed that every bank in Australia is some 40 percent owned by the Bank of New York. So, now we know. America is in charge of Australian banks and what Australian citizens can do with our own money.

This form of vicious arrogance, by the USA, should be confronted by Australian government action.  We should at the very least, threaten to withdraw our ambassador from Washington.  

Brian Hungerford.