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.”
Faced with this situation, the influencer met with those present and agreed that at least 50 people would enter so that the message could reach Pope Francis. One of the Cubans who managed to enter San Pedro Square, and who was kneeling holding a Cuban flag aloft while the pontiff performed the Angelus, the police officers called his attention and took the flag away.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that approximately 500 Cubans slept on the Via della Conciliazione after they were denied access to the square. According to several videos published on social networks, it can be seen how the protesters wrapped themselves with the Cuban flag and made the “L” sign with their fingers to demand “freedom”.
According to the website on the Papal Audiences, it is not necessary to buy tickets or special passes or tickets are required to participate in the Papal Blessing and the Angelus Prayer on Sundays around noon in St. Peter’s Square.
The hundreds of protesters chanted on the outskirts of the square, loudly, the phrases of “Homeland and Life”, “Freedom for Cuba” and carried signs in Italian that read “Mercy for the Cuban people” and “Respect for rights humans in Cuba ”.
Reactions
The discontent on the part of activists for human and religious rights around the world did not wait.
Argentine activist Agustin Antonetti condemned this Sunday the banning of the entrance to the Plaza de San Pedro for Cuban citizens who went there to demonstrate against the Cuban regime.
“The Vatican has decided to ban all Cuban citizens who are going to ask for freedom from entering St. Peter’s Square,” Antonetti commented on his Twitter profile. “This is a historical shame. There are no more words than complicity. All these accomplices have little left ”.
The Cuban influencer Analogías de Lola also used her social networks to repudiate the actions of the Vatican authorities by not allowing the entire group of Cubans who were in the place to enter.
“Do not forget each of the details that we are experiencing today, I feel so much pain to see how we are being treated, and at the same time more proud to see how we are increasingly making use of our primary right,” he said.
“Cubans lie down in front of the Vatican after the refusal of the Church and Pope Francis to allow them to enter Sunday Mass. The Church has turned its back on the Cuban people, ”said independent Cuban journalist Yosmany Mayeta on Twitter.
Otaola with the Italian Opposition, detention at the airport
After the demonstration ended, the presenter Alexander Otaola in a conversation with the leaders of the opposition in Italy stated that there should be a rejection by the Cuban priests of the respect, and they should write a letter to Pope Francis where they demand it. minimally rectify what happened and say a prayer with the Cuban people in Plaza San Pedro.
Minutes before his departure for Miami, the presenter was detained by the Italian authorities at the Rome airport. The independent media Cubanos por el Mundo, which collaborates with Otaola, stated that someone allegedly had filed a complaint against the influencer, but the type of complaint or the reason for it was not reported either.
Coincidentally, in the conversation with the Italian opposition, the presenter had commented that upon his arrival in the country he had been detained by the authorities.
“When we got to the airport, immigration stopped me,” he said. “The migration man tells me that he does not know what the problem is, he cannot explain to me because he does not know. My name was there and then they had to take me to a room to review the documents ”.
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This story was originally published on October 25, 2021 4:49 pm.