OPEN LETTER
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE
HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL RAÚL CASTRO RUZ
Government House (Palácio de la Revolución)
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE
HIS EXCELLENCY LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA
Government House (Palácio do Planalto)
TO DR. DARSI FERRER RAMÍREZ
ACTIVIST of the BLACK MOVEMENT of
Valle Grande Prison
In response to requests from intellectuals, social activists, and personalities from
On July 21, 2009, when he was participating in the organization of a peaceful demonstration in defense of those rights, Dr. Ferrer was imprisoned under criminal charges that are not in keeping with the character, life history, and moral values of this renowned activist of the Cuban Black Movement. Since then, he has been held prisoner under conditions that characterize abuse of his rights.
The facts as I have come to know them indicate that we are facing a clear case of political intimidation against those, in Cuba, who raise their voices in protest against racism, discriminatory practices, and all kinds of intimidations meted out to citizens who dare call for the establishment, in their country, of a State that is respectful of Civil Rights, of the right of citizens to freely congregate and form organizations and to freely demonstrate their opposition to discriminatory practices of which they feel they are a target for one reason or another.
We all know that Dr. Darsi Ferrer is not a criminal. The facts indicate that, because of his long history of consistent struggle on behalf of the rights of those who are the most marginalized in
For this reason, in protest against the violation of his Civil Rights, Dr. Darsi Ferrer has gone on a hunger strike.
We fear for his precious life, especially at a time when the Cuban nation so needs, for its own democratic revival, citizens who are fully committed to upholding the moral and ethical values that guide life in a democratic society. Dr. Ferrer is one such citizen.
Convinced of the injustice that is being meted out against Dr. Ferrer, and, through him, against the Black Movement of Cuba and the Cuban population as a whole, as well as civil, human and democratic rights the world over,
_ I appeal to the government of the
_ I appeal to the Federal Government of Brazil and to His Excellency Luiz
_ I beseech Dr. Darsi Ferrer to cease his hunger strike immediately, and to stop putting his life at risk, for we must not be deprived of his precious civic contribution, at a time when
I join my voice with those who day by day, more and more insistently, are calling for Dr. Darsi Ferrer’s release from prison, while inviting all those who cherish democratic freedom, who struggle against racism, and who have always upheld the Cuban people’s right to exercise full sovereignty, to intercede with the authorities of Cuba for the immediate termination of its onslaught against the Civil Rights militants of that country.
ABDIAS NASCIMENTO
Former Senator and Former Federal Congressman,
Founder of the Black Experimental Theater and the Afro-Brazilian Studies and
Research Institute (IPEAFRO);
___________________________________________________________
IPEAFRO – AFRO-BRAZILIAN STUDIES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Rua Benjamin Constant, 55 /1101 -
Tel 55.21.2509-2176 / Fax 55.21.3217-4166 / e-mail: ipeafro@gmail.com / www.ipeafro.org.br
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