• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 09 / 19 / 2010

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2010.09.18 - 13:26:45 / [email protected]. HAVANA, Cuba. - One thousand activists will enter the Havana harbor on Tuesday on board the Peace Boat, on a trip aimed at strengthening bonds of friendship and solidarity and at getting acquainted with Cuba’s reality at first hand.

This 14th visit of the Japanese ship to the Caribbean island will coincide with International Peace Day, established in 2001 by the UN General Assembly, and will take place in an international context of imminent danger of a nuclear war in the Middle East.

Under the slogan “Learn from Past Wars to Build a Future of Peace,” the Japanese Peace Boat NGO has organized international sea voyages twice a year since 1983, with the purpose of promoting peaceful solutions to world problems.

On Thursday, members of this cruiser met at the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples with relatives of the five Cuban heroes incarcerated in the United States for 12 years now for fighting terrorism.

Olga Salanueva and Elizabeth Palmeiro, the wives of Rene Gonzalez and Ramon Labañino, respectively, explained visitors the situation of cruel imprisonment their husbands are still in, as well as those of their companions -Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez.

Since 1990, the Peace Boat has included Cuba among its destinations, which has favored direct contacts of university students from Japan and other nations with Cuban organizations and institutions and with the population.

The ship has visited some 100 countries and the project has involved over 30,000 people in its global educational programs, aimed at promoting peace and positive social and political changes in the world, and at contributing to spread a culture of respect for the environment.

The previous stay of the slip in Havana, in 2009, was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and to the 80 anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuban and Japan.
 
Source: ACN