Quiet streets and “selective” police repression a year after the protests that shook Cuba

Cuba will emerge from the “complex situation” in which it finds itself, promised President Miguel Díaz-Canel, a year after the historic anti-government protests. The streets of Havana looked calm this Monday, but several dissidents reported being prevented from leaving their homes.

“We too will emerge from this complex situation. And we will emerge revolutionizing”, because “the Revolution has always revolutionized itself, and it has done so in a scenario of constant economic, political and ideological siege,” Díaz-Canel assured on Twitter.

“If there is anything to commemorate this July 11, It is the victory of the Cuban peopleof the Cuban Revolution “, added the president.

On 11 and 12 July 2021 there were the largest demonstrations since the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959, when thousands of people took to the streets in almost 50 cities of the country shouting “Freedom” and “We are hungry”when the economic crisis facing the island intensified, the worst in the last three decades.

Tranquility reigned this Monday in the streets of Havana, but a strong presence of plainclothes security officers it could be observed from the weekend in some key points of the city, and there was a latent fear that new revolts could be recorded.

Surveillance

“Yes, I’m afraid, because something has to happen, since it’s very difficult and you can’t see the tip anywhere,” 64-year-old María de los Ángeles Márquez told AFP in a park near the National Capitol, one of the stops. main events of last year.

More than 15 dissidents, independent artists or journalists, and even parents of people detained for demonstrations, reported for having been warned by the police not to leave their homes. Some had patrols outside their homes.

“They think that with 2 patrols they will silence me they are very wrong, “Yurka Rodríguez, mother of Yunaikis Linares, a young demonstrator sentenced to eight years in prison, tweeted on Sunday.” They keep me under siege, “she added.

Opponents of the government called in recent days on social media to commemorate the date with new protests, but many voices made themselves known with the demonstrations a year ago they went into exile and some are in prison.

The NGO Human Rights Watch on Monday denounced a “plan” by the Cuban government to prevent demonstrations, punish those who participate and “instill fear” to prevent new protests against the regime, in a report in which documents 155 cases of abuse in the wake of last year’s protests.

fears

Like many Cubans, student Carlos Rafael Domínguez found it unlikely that a demonstration would take place to commemorate the anniversary of the protests, which resulted in one death, dozens injured and more than 1,300 detainees, according to the human rights NGO Cubalex, with based in Cuba. Miami. “Nobody will come out”because “there is no one to throw it down”the 18-year-old said.

Márquez says “people have endured a lot (to get out)” due to the strong condemnations inflicted on the participants in the protests.

According to the government, 790 prisoners were prosecuted and 488 received a final sentencemany for the crime of sedition with sentences of up to 25 years in prison.

“Faced with regimes structured in this way, there is only the civic surprise of the citizens, civil spontaneity”, said Cuban opponent Manuel Cuesta.

“The important thing right now is that the divorce is that abyss between the company and the government already has a symbolic date: 11j. And social unrest creates new dates, “he added to AFP.

Accused by Havana of orchestrating historical demonstrations, the United States praised the “determination” of the Cuban people on Monday “in the face of oppression” and supported “their struggle”according to a statement by the head of US diplomacy Antony Blinken.

“To the Cuban people: Americans looked with admiration on July 11, 2021, as tens of thousands of you took to the streets to raise your voice for human rights, fundamental freedoms and a better life,” added Blinken, two days later. that Washington will sanction 28 Cuban officials for their role in “crackdown on protests” last July.

Havana’s response was immediate: “We reject the comments of the US Secretary of State which confirm the direct involvement of the government of that country in an attempt to subvert order and peace in #Cuba, in violation of international law “, tweeted Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

AFP agency

bp