In response to the European Parliament Resolution of March 11 regarding Cuba, we intellectuals, academics, social activists, critical thinkers and artists of the Network in Defense of Humanity declare:

1. That we share the sensibility shown by the European parliamentarians about political prisoners. Like them, we call for the immediate and unconditional freedom of all political prisoners, in all the countries of the world, including those of the European Union.

2. We deeply regret, as they do, the death of the common prisoner, Orlando Zapata, but we are opposed to his death, the first “… in almost 40 years” according to the Parliament, being distorted for other political ends that are contrary to those in defense of human rights.

3. That urging “… the European institutions to give unconditional support and encouragement for the initiation of a peaceful political transition toward a plural democracy in Cuba” is not only an act of interference, but it also presumes a sole model of democracy which certainly shows itself to be more and more insufficient and questionable. We reject that proposal because of our commitment to the principles of non-intervention and self-determination of the peoples—principles defended by the UN as well.

4. The search for and deepening of democracy presumes, among other things, to transcend the formal and invent new forms that are authentically representative, and that are not necessarily restricted to multiple parties. As is well known, often the decisions over the great problems of the world are made unilaterally by small interest groups with great power, over and above the regime of parties.

5. That to try to justify the interference into the internal political affairs of the Cuban people by manipulating the case of Orlando Zapata through the media—a common delinquent who by no means was a political prisoner—coincides with the counter-insurgency policies that are being applied in Latin America to hold back or distort the emancipatory processes of transformation that are in motion. This is in addition to the criminal blockade that the Cuban people have been subjected to, for the simple fact of not accepting impositions and for defending the right to decide its destiny with dignity and independence.

6. That we share the concern shown by the parliamentarians about respect for human rights in Cuba, but we extend that concern to the whole world. In the same way that you are concerned about the case of the delinquent who died (in 40 years there has been no previous occurrence), we invite you to demand the end of the occupation of Gaza and the aggression against the Palestinian people, which has caused not one, but thousands of deaths; an end to the intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan that has sown death and terror in towns and cities; of the bombardments of those places with the argument that it is defending democracy; an end to the double occupancy of Haiti; the closing of the prison in Guantánamo and the return of that territory to Cuba, to whom it belongs; and the return of the Malvinas Islands to Argentina. And certainly, we call for an end to the blockade, which violates the human rights of the Cuban people and which puts in doubt the moral authority of those who demand humane treatment for a delinquent when it is denied for an entire people.

7. The economic and media assault that Cuba is being subjected to, even before the death of the prisoner Orlando Zapata, constitutes an act against the human and political rights of a people that decided to forge a different path.

We demand respect for the internal processes of the Cuban people in deciding and exercising its democracy, and adherence to the universal principles of no intervention, in accordance with the United Nations.

Network in Defense of Humanity.

Argentina: Atilio Boron, Stella Calloni, Vìctor Ego Ducrot, León Rozitchner, Claudio Katz, Jorge Beinstein, Emilio Taddei, José Seoane, Clara Algranati, Miguel Mirra, Movimiento de Documentalistas, Sara Rosmberg, Hugo Rangone, Víctor Heredia, Manuel Ruano, Raúl Isman, Sergio Caniche Bailone, Daniel C. Bilbao, Patricio País Garay, Irene Rosa Perpiñal, Eladio González, Vicente Battista, Raly Barrionuevo, Juan S.Pegoraro, Juan Chaves, Néstor Kohan,
Bélgica: François Houtart, Michel Collon
Bolivia: Jorge Sanjinés, Hugo Moldiz Mercado, Remigio Carlos, Oscar Vega, Oscar Silva, Alejandro Dausa, Remberto Cárdenas, María Bolivia Rothe, Rafael Puente, Carmen Guardia, Marcela Revollo, Marcos Domich, Ricardo Bajo, Farit Rojas
Brasil: Thiago de Mello, Frei Betto, Joao Pedro Stedile, Theotonio Dos Santos, Emir Sader, Virgínia Fontes, Gaudencio Frigotto, Ricardo Gebrim, Plinio de Arruda Sampaio Jr., Elder Andrade de Paula, Centro Brasileiro de Solidariedade aos povos e luta pela Paz (CEBRAPAZ), Socorro Gomes, Carlos Walter Porto-Gonçalves, Fernando Morais, Tania Jamardo Faillace, Dilmair Santos, Roseli Maria de Oliveira, Carlos Alberto Almeida, Paulo Nakatani,
Canadá: James Cockcroft, Pierre Mouterde, Carlos Angulo Rivas,
Chile: Manuel Cabieses Donoso, Marcos Roitman
Colombia: Irene Amador, Fernando Rendón, Gabriel Jaime Franco, Nicolás Suescún, Armando Orozco, Zabier Hernández, Rubén Darío Arroyo, Gloria Chvatal, Rafael Quiroz, Fernando Rivera, Haydé Marín, Beatriz Ortega
Cuba: Roberto Fernández Retamar, Fernando Martínez Heredia, Miguel Barnet, Alberto Faya, Vicente Feliú, Vivian Martínez, Armando Cristóbal Pérez, Manuel E. Yepe Menéndez, Barbara Isleyt Vega Coll, Gloria Escobar, Olga Lidia Pérez, Hedelberto Lopez Blanch, Mylai Burgos, Armando Fernández, Rafael Betancourt, José Pertierra, Raul Alzaga Manresa, Marilyn Bobes, Natalia E. Revuelta, Carlos Alzugarya
Ecuador: María Augusta Calle, Magdalena León, Alejandro Moreano, Irene León, Sally Burch, Osvaldo León, Eduardo Tamayo, Raúl Pérez Torres
El Salvador: Paul Fortis, Julio César Monge, José Mario Zavaleta Mendoza
España: Alfonso Sastre, Pascual Serrano, Eva Sastre Forest, Santiago Alba Rico, Manuel Talens, Montserrat Ponsa, Javier Couso, Juan Madrid, Iñaki Errazkin, Maria Dolores Estebaranz, Pilar Álvarez Villar, Asociación de amistad Euskadi-Cuba, Ramón Chao, Juan Luis Vallina Ariznavarreta, Alfredo Otegi Ibañez Bilbao, Antonio Maira, Ángeles Maestro, Antonio Villarejo, Angi Salazar Cuesta, Maria Paz Gonzalez, Carlos Fernández Liria, Carlos Rios, Paloma Valverde González, José Manzaneda, Cubainformación, Belén Gopegui, Constantino Bértolo, Vicente Romano, Roberto Montoya, José Luis Egea, Miguel Candel, Ignasi Muntanya i Ponsa, Andrés Sorel,Yolanda Castro Jiménez, Hugo Gómez Ángel, Higinio Polo, Alicia Hermida, Jaime Losada, Ana Ramos, Montse Heras
Estados Unidos: Danny Glover, James Early, Saul, Landau, Julio Vernon Ruiz, Jane Franklin, Gloria la Riva, Setsuko Ono,
Francia: Ignacio Ramonet, Hernando Calvo Ospina, Salim Lamrani, Jacqueline Roussie, Virgilio Ponce (portavoz de la Coordinadora de Cubanos Residentes en Francia), Rémy Herrera,
Guatemala: Simona Yagenova
Haití: Didier Héctor Brutus
Holanda: F. Gomez Olivares
Honduras: Juan Almendares
Hungría: Istvan Meszaros
Italia: Gianni Miná, Carlo Frabetti, Emilio Lambiase, Piero Gleijeses, Gennaro Carotenuto, Luciano Vasapollo, Rita Martufi
Jamaica: Keith Ellis
México: Pablo González Casanova, Víctor Flores Olea, Héctor Díaz-Polanco, Carlos Fazio, Ana Esther Ceceña, José Steinsleger, Gilberto López y Rivas, Oscar Ugarteche, José Francisco Gallardo, Claudia Gómez Haro, Horacio Cerutti, John Saxe-Fernández, Hugo Gutiérrez Vega, Jorge Fons, Alicia Castellanos Guerrero, Camilo Pérez Bustillo, Angel Guerra, Armando Bartra, Jaime Estay, Nayar López Castellanos, Oscar González, María Atilano, Fernando Buen Abad Domínguez, Xochitl Leyva Solano, Josefina Morales, Rebeca Peralta, Aldo Rabiela, Peter Rosset, Raúl Álvarez Garín, JorgeAlonso, Ramón Patiño Espino, Observatorio Latinoamericano de Geopolítica, Félix Hernández Gamundi, Luciano Concheiro Bórquez, Manou Dornbierer, Servicio Internacional de Solidaridad Cristiano con América Latina Mons. Romero, Carlos Morera Camacho, Víctor Rodríguez-Padilla, Magdalena Gómez, Martín Hernández, Guillermo Almeyra, Alfonso Anaya, Francisco López Bárcenas, Dalia Ruiz, Leticia Rentería, Gabriela Hernández, Leticia Gutiérrez, Hildelisa Preciado, Norberto Pérez, Carmen Mendoza, Movimiento de Solidaridad Nuestramérica, Sergio López, Enrique Cortés, Walter Martínez, Maricarmen Montes, Claudia Sandoval, Mujeres para el Diálogo, Leonor Aída Concha, Catalina Eibenschutz, Lourdes del Villar, Margarita Favela, Angeles González, Elizabeth Alejandre, Rosa Barranco, Graciela Tapia, Guadalupe Abdo, Justicia Paz y Vida, Leticia Rentería, Graciela Tapia Chávez, Colectivo Radar, Yacotzin Bravo, Edmundo del Pozo, Liliana López, Rodrigo Gutiérrez, Cuauhtémoc Amezcua Dromundo, Aleida Hernández, Arantxa Tirado, Adelita San Vicente Tello, Raúl A. Rubio Cano, Camilo Valqui Cachi, Jose Manuel Herrera García, Erwin Flores, Túpac Amaru Sánchez Luna, Teresa Nava Alfaro, Jose Albar Chavelas, Erick Álvarez, Cutberto Pastor Bazán, Sibalaune Sánchez Luna, Antonio Jiménez, Dalia Ruizavila, Luisa Paré, Arturo Huerta, Ma. Fernanda Figueroa, Ricardo Pérez Avilés, Carolina Oropeza, Raul Merino Escamilla, Hector M Barrera, Ramón Costa Ayube, Carlos Ramirez Muñoz,
Nicaragua: Aldo Díaz Lacayo, Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy, Salah Ahmine, Hilario Ramon Obando Salazar, Martha Mercado, Érika García, Donal Pérez, Henry López, Marbely García, Roberto Currie
Paraguay: Ricardo Flecha, Techi Cusmanich, Tomás Palau, Carlota Villagra, Hugo Ferreira, Miguel Ángel Fernández Argüello
Perú: Aníbal Quijano, Winston Orillo, Javier Diez Canseco, Diana Avila aulette, Humberto Ñaupas Paitán, Arturo Corcuera, Victor Oliva, Julia aría Ortiz Morales, Tania Temoche, Manuel Góngora Prado, Rosina Alcárcel, Gorki Tapia, Atilio Bonilla, César Krúger, Gustavo Rojas, Rolando Accari, José Luis Ayala, Tomás Gustavo Escajadillo, Juan Cristóbal, Julio armona, José Quevedo, Hildebrando Pérez, Reynaldo Naranjo, Juan Cristóbal,Tomás G. Escajadillo O’Connor, Marcela Pérez Silva,Chiara Varese, Federico García, Pilar Roca,Gustavo Espinoza,Eduardo Arroyo,Fanny Izquierdo,Bruno Portuguez,Teresa Alberti, Vicente Otta, Grazia Ojeda del Arco, Alaín Elías
Portugal: Miguel Urbano
Puerto Rico: Rafael Cancel Miranda, Elma Beatriz Rosado, Milagros Rivera, Vilma Soto Bermudez, Pablo Marcano García, Danny Rivera
República Dominicana: Chiqui Vicioso
Suecia: Dick Emanuelsson, Eva Björklund, Pepe Viñoles
Ucrania: Manuel Humberto López Rodríguez
Uruguay: Raúl Zibechi, Antonio Elías
Venezuela: Fernando Báez, Aram Aharonian, Vladimir Lazo García, Alberto Aranguibel

New signatures en: http://www.porcuba.org/