WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama praised the five Cuban dissidents honored by the National Endowment for Democracy on Thursday and others fighting for freedom in Cuba, and called for the jailed opposition members’ release.

The president expressed his “sincere hope” that all political prisoners would be released and allowed to participate in the “democratic future” of Cuba.

Obama referred in a statement to the recipients of the 2009 Democracy Award, presented by the congressionally funded NED.

Cuban pro-democracy activists Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Librado Linares, Ivan Hernandez Carrillo and Iris Tamara Perez Aguilera, all but one of whom has been jailed, were honored by the NED.

Obama hailed “all the brave men and women who are standing up for the right of the Cuban people to freely determine their country’s future.”

“Like too many of their fellow citizens, four of these individuals have been unjustly jailed for defending the basic freedoms we all hold dear in the Americas,” the president said.

Dissident groups say the Cuban government is holding around 210 political prisoners.

Since taking office in January, Obama has tried to bring about a rapprochement with Cuba, removing restrictions on travel and remittances for Cuban-Americans.

Washington, however, has demanded that Havana respond by taking concrete steps, something that has not occurred, such as releasing political prisoners, respecting the rights of citizens and allowing freedom of expression, the press and travel, among other liberties. EFE