HUBER MATOS

WHEREAS, Huber Matos, a fellow teacher, has been cruelly imprisoned in a dungeon since 1959 by Cuba's Castro regime; and

WHEREAS, his only "crime" was to resign his position as a provincial governor and warn Castro of the dangers of Communism; and

WHEREAS, he has suffered cruel and inhuman treatment including periods of over a year in solitary confinement, living without clothes for two years, total isolation from his family, beatings and several untreated illnesses; and

WHEREAS, his twenty-year sentence is up in October, 1979, and Castro has never fulfilled his promise of September, 1978, to release 3,600 political prisoners; and

WHEREAS, Costa Rica has announced its willingness to offer political asylum and transportation out of the country to 138 Cuban political prisoners, including Huber Matos; and

WHEREAS, up until now the Cuban government has shamefully ignored this offer:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers calls upon the Cuban government to release Huber Matos and other political prisoners; and

RESOLVED, that the Carter Administration and the Congress pressure Castro to keep his promise to give these innocent victims their freedom.