Cubans Prevented from Protesting in Vatican. Hundreds of Cubans gathered at the Vatican this Sunday to denounce to the Pope the situation that the people of the island are experiencing and get him to pronounce on the matter.
Upon arriving at the gates of the Holy See, Alexander Otaola – who called the demonstration – along with hundreds of Cubans, received the news from the Vatican guard that all could not enter. Several media indicated that the refusal was due to an alleged attack, but the presenter declared to the independent media ADN Cuba that “there was no threat of anything.”
Amnesty Int'l Calls Out Castroism for Not Allowing N15 Protests. Cuba: Rejection of request to protest is yet another example of intolerance of freedom of expression.
In light of the Cuban government’s negative response to requests from civil society to hold a Civic March for Change, planned for 15 November, to call for the release of activists detained for exercising their rights, including following the historic protests of 11 July, as well for human rights to be respected and for differences to be resolved through dialogue, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:
“Groups of people from various provinces around the country have been submitting requests in recent weeks to different local governments asking for authorization to carry out peaceful marches, organized in a clearly defined way in a legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression. Instead of guaranteeing these rights, President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s government has declared these civil society marches ‘illegal’ and ‘unconstitutional’, once again violating the right to peaceful protest in Cuba.”
The international community must not forget the hundreds of people detained during the historic protests on 11 July 2021 simply for peacefully exercising their right, as well as the six people named prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International shortly afterwards
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International
“Amnesty International has received reports that activists have been arbitrarily detained and that people who have responded to the Archipelago group’s calls to demonstrate have been harassed, intimidated and put under surveillance by members of the security forces. This response by the authorities is consistent with the policy of repression, applied for decades in Cuba, which criminalizes peaceful protest and imprisons and ill-treats Cubans from all walks of life solely for expressing their opinions. We will be monitoring the actions of the authorities, to denounce any act of repression against protesters.”
“The international community must not forget the hundreds of people detained during the historic protests on 11 July 2021 simply for peacefully exercising their right, as well as the six people named prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International shortly afterwards, as a symbolic gesture towards the many hundreds more who likely deserve this designation, who must be released immediately and unconditionally.”
A ninth high-ranking Cuban military officer died this weekend, the regime's Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) said Sunday.
A statement from the dictatorship broadcast by the regime's state-run television station on Sunday reported the death of Felix Baranda Columbié, who died Saturday of COVID-19-disease caused by the CPC virus.
Baranda becomes the ninth high-ranking military member of the Cuban regime to die since the first case reported by the regime or the pro-government press on July 17.
Baranda is the ninth high-ranking military member of the Cuban regime to die since the first case reported by the regime or the pro-government press on July 17.