Help! Ayuda! - - Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina

I was asked to post this, please help!


Friends

It is my unfortunate duty to write to you today to ask for your help on behalf of a friend to us all, Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina. Although you may not know him, he is a Cuban brother who was arrested last Wednesday by the Cuban National Revolutionary Police (PNR) as he traveled back home to Guantanamo from Holguin. Rolando, along with his brother Nestor, have an organization called the Democratic Cuban Youth Movement, whose centerpiece project is "Universidades Sin Fronteras", that calls for autonomy of all Universities in Cuba. They have always acted in a peaceful and non-violent way to promote their project and achieve their goals. Due to the lack of human rights and the freedom of expression in Cuba their project is considered hostile to the government and its socialist ideology as stated in the Cuban constitution.

Rolando is currently being detained in a prison in Matanzas. He was last seen by his brother, Nestor, but said that "Rolando was in a critical state, thrown on the floor, barely able to speak, threatened of a 'savage beating', and was on the third day of a hunger strike."

Nestor Lobaina was recently released from prison after serving 5 years for "committing acts against the state." Nestor has not heard from Rolando for the past 48 hours and fears for his physical health.

We ask all of you to join us in solidarity with Rolando and his family as they face the ultimate testament of courage in their valiant struggle for the freedom and respect of human rights for all Cuban citizens. There will be many events occurring worldwide to shed light on Rolando's situation. More information is forthcoming but, as a first step, we encourage you to (will only take a minute) and sign the attached letter and send to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. It is our hope to inundate the mail boxes of all Cuban embassies throughout the world to let them know that Rolando does not stand alone and that we are aware of their systematic repression against their own citizens.

The members of the International Youth Committee for Democracy in Cuba (IYCDC) will be holding simultaneous press conferences in their respective countries tomorrow, Wednesday, September 14, 2005, to draw attention to Rolando's detainment and violation of his human rights. The members of the IYCDC will also fast for 24hrs on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 as a show of support and solidarity for Rolando. We hope you can all join us in our activities and pray for Rolando as he faces extreme physical conditions that we would never have to face in our country. If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at info@raicesdeesperanza.org.

Cuban Interests Section :
2630 & 2639 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Email: cubaseccion@igc.apc.org

Fax: (202) 986-7283

Instructions: Please copy and paste the following letter and sign with your name. You can fax, email, or physically mail this letter using the information provided above.

SECCION DE INTERESES DE LA REPUBLICA DE CUBA EN ESTADOS UNIDOS:

ME DIRIJO A USTED COMO MIEMBRO DEL COMITÉ INTERNACIONAL DE JÓVENES POR LA DEMOCRACIA EN CUBA. NOTAMOS CON PREOCUPACIÓN Y ESPASMO LA DETENCIÓN DEL CIUDADANO CUBANO ROLANDO RODRÍGUEZ LOBAINA. SABEMOS QUE HA SIDO DETENIDO ARBITRARIAMENTE POR LA POLICÍA NACIONAL REVOLUCIONARIA CUANDO REGRESABA A GUANTÁNAMO DESDE HOLGUÍN.


ROLANDO RODRÍGUEZ LOBAINA ES COORDINADOR DEL MOVIMIENTO CUBANO DE JÓVENES POR LA DEMOCRACIA QUE TRABAJA POR LA AUTONOMÍA UNIVERSITARIA EN LA ISLA. ESTAMOS MUY PENDIENTES DE LO QUE PUEDA LLEGAR A PASARLE Y EN VIRTUD DE ESTO ES QUE SOLICITAMOS A SU DELEGACIÓN DIPLOMÁTICA QUE TENGA A BIEN BRINDARNOS INFORMACIÓN ACERCA DEL PARADERO DEL SEÑOR RODRÍGUEZ LOBAINA.

CASO CONTRARIO INICIAREMOS ACCIONES EN LA CORTE INTERAMERICANA DE DERECHOS HUMANOS.

HAGO PROPICIA ESTA OPORTUNIDAD PARA SALUDARLO ATENTAMENTE.

NOMBRE


Thank you for taking a couple of minutes to help Rolando and the Cuban people's struggle. Please feel free to contact us (info@raicesdeesperanza.org) with any queries and we will update you on any information we receive on his condition and events we plan on holding. Please feel free to forward to all those who sympathize with the Cuban people's struggle.

¡Cuba DESPIERTA!

¡Juventud DESPIERTA!

Tony Jimenez
Raices de Esperanza

www.raicesdeesperanza.org