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HUNGER STRIKE
By David Ovalle

Twenty FIU students fast in support of jailed Cubans

A group of Florida International University students fasted Tuesday afternoon to show solidarity with two jailed Cuban dissidents who are on a hunger strike protesting long prison terms and dismal conditions.

About 20 students sat in silence at the university's food court, holding signs depicting Victor Rolando Arroyo and Félix Navarro Rodríguez, who were jailed by the Castro regime in a dissident roundup more than two years ago.

''What's happening there is an injustice,'' said Veronica Valdes, 21, a senior majoring in international relations. ``They're denying people basic human rights.''

Their health faltering, Arroyo and Rodríguez were transferred this week from a prison infirmary in Cuba's Guantánamo province to separate jails elsewhere on the island, the Spanish news agency EFE reported this week.

Arroyo, a journalist, began his hunger strike Sept. 10, EFE reported.

He was accused of ''undermining national independence'' and sentenced to 26 years in prison in March, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Rodríguez, sentenced to 25 years, began his own hunger strike a few days later.

The FIU students, some Cuban Americans like Valdes, organized Tuesday's fast with the help of Directorio Democrático Cubano (Cuban Democratic Directorate), a Hialeah-based organization that supports pro-democracy movements on the island.

''These young people just contacted us,'' said executive director Janisset Rivero. ``For us, it's great because there is a need for new people to come into this struggle.''

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