U.S. Blockade of Cuba is Immoral, Says Assange

The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, denounced the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba during a Thursday video-conference with Cuban journalists.

During the Havana-London video-conference meeting, with the participation of journalists, journalism students, and bloggers from different Cuban cities, Assange expressed his interest in the negative socio-economic situation faced by Cuba as a result of the U.S. blockade.

According to the online magazine Cubahora, Assange said that his organization has learned a great deal from Cuba about confronting the U.S. aggression, fundamentally in terms of principles, determination, humanity, ethical clarity and intelligence.

Assange also expressed solidarity with the cause of the Cuban Five. Four of these patriots are still in U.S. prisons for monitoring the actions of anti-Cuban terrorist groups based in the United States.

Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González were arrested in 1998 in Miami and given long prison sentences after a trial that a UN panel described as biased.

René González is now in Cuba after completing his sentence and a period of probation.

As a gesture of support for the Cuban Five, Assange appeared onscreen wearing a yellow ribbon pinned to his chest, a symbol used as part of the campaign for their freedom.

The dialogue closed a workshop of cyberjournalism given by Pedro Miguel Arce, editorial writer for the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, and sponsored by Havana’s Jose Marti International Institute of Journalism.

To watch the whole video-conference with Mr. Assange click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n762185A-8