On August 27, the Cuban Conference of Religious Men and Women (CONCUR) published a statement on Facebook in support of the hundreds of people that the Cuban dictatorship had prosecuted or imprisoned during demonstrations last week in the hamlet of Nuevitas in the Camagüey province.
In their statement, CONCUR stated that “religious life calls us to be alongside the suffering people. We make ours the cry of the multitudes in different communities across the nation, and more recently in Nuevitas, Camagüey, demanding a response to their basic needs and their desire to be able to express themselves in freedom.
We regret that the sole action taken against them has been jail and persecutory measures.
Beginning on August 19, the Cuban government repressed for several days the widespread demonstrations over the city’s up to 18-hour daily power shortages.
Videos that have been shared on social media show a lot of individuals demonstrating in the streets against President Miguel Daz-administration Canel’s and calling for the restoration of power while carrying torches, mobile phones, and clanging saucepans.
The nongovernmental group (NGO) Justicia 11J said on its social media that between August 23 and 24, it had “recorded forced disappearances, arrests, and fresh cases of censorship and repression.”
“According to our calculations, there have been 18 arrests (including two girls aged 11) and two additional forced disappearances. The Nuevitas park is entirely militarized as of the writing of this bulletin, the NGO said on August 24.
As a Church, “we offer ourselves once again to accompany incarcerated individuals and their families,” CONCUR emphasized in its statement.
The religious ended, “We implore the good God, Father of all, and the Our Lady of Charity to guard and lead all of our people down the paths of freedom, justice, and peace.”
The demonstrations in Camagüey are the biggest since the historic events of July 11–12, 2021, according to independent media from the island.
The demonstrators demanded independence while expressing worries about inflation, food and medical shortages, and the inadequate response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Hundreds of demonstrators were detained, hundreds were arrested, and some were subjected to quick tribunals without a defense attorney.
Spanish-language news partner of CNA, ACI Prensa, originally reported this article. CNA has translated and modified it.