Gloria
La Riva and Rosemari Mealy, longtime activists whose work includes
years of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, were awarded the
Friendship Medal by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba. The
awards were petitioned for by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with
the Peoples. La Riva, coordinator of the National Committee to Free
the Cuban Five, and Mealy, veteran leader of the Venceremos Brigade,
were each awarded the medal at the conclusion of the International
Conference in Solidarity with Cuba, in the Palace of Conventions in
Havana. Ricardo Alarcón, president of the
National Assembly pinned the medal on Mealy and Salvador Valdes
Mesa, general secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation pinned
it on La Riva.
The
conference was attended by almost 1,000 foreign delegates who
participated in the May Day rally the day before. In addition to her
acceptance speech, La Riva urged the audience to get involved in the
efforts to publicize the violations committed by the U.S. government
in its manipulation of the Miami media during the Five’s trial, and
to demand the Five’s immediate freedom.
Dear members of the presidium, dear
sisters and brothers of Cuba, dear family members of the Cuban
Five:
I am truly grateful to receive this medal and I accept
it on behalf of the compañeras and compañeros who work with me
without let-up in solidarity with Cuba, and in the other struggles
against imperialism.
One person alone cannot achieve gains without the
collective work of many people who are committed to just causes.
There are many people, the majority youth, who have worked very hard
in the struggle for the Five Cuban Heroes, especially in the current
efforts to obtain information on the Miami journalists paid by the
government, and in the mobilization against Posada Carriles in El
Paso, Texas. They do it without personal recognition and with a
revolutionary attitude. Therefore I receive the medal for them as
well.
To you, Cuban compañeros, Cuba and its seasoned people
have shown humanity that a united and determined people with
principles can successfully resist the most aggressive and dangerous
imperialist power the world has ever known. The heroic mission of the
Five continues behind the prison bars and they also show us how to
resist. We are by their side until and beyond their liberation.
The example of Cuba is vital proof that only socialism can resolve
the crises of humanity and the planet.
Thank you, people of Cuba, for your unbreakable defense of
socialism and your stellar internationalism.
Thank you Fidel for your revolutionary leadership and your life.
We wish you success in the follow-up to the 6th Congress of the
Communist Party of Cuba.
Long Live Fidel and Raúl!
Free the Cuban Five!
