Citizen protests against the Cuban government at Nuevitas, Camagüey, in August 2022 / Image credit: Twitter video capture
Denver Newsroom, Aug 30, 2022 / 11:00 am (CNA).
The Cuban Conference of Religious Men and Women (CONCUR) sent a message of solidarity on Facebook on August 27 for the hundreds of residents mistreated or arrested by the Cuban dictatorship during protests in Nuevitas, Camagüey province, last week.
In their statement, CONCUR added, “As religious life leads us to be beside the suffering, we echo the cries of the multitudes in many towns of the country and most recently in Nuevitas, Camagüey, seeking a response to their fundamental needs and their desire to express themselves freely.”
“We regret that the only answer they have gotten is persecution and jail,” the statement read.
Beginning on August 19, the Cuban government repressed for several days the city’s enormous rallies against the 18-hour daily power shortages that have lasted for several weeks.
Some videos shared on social media depict a number of people in the streets with flashlights, cell phones, and pots and pans, demanding that electricity be restored and protesting against the administration of President Miguel Daz-Canel.
The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Justicia 11J reported on its social media that between August 23 and 24, it had documented “forced disappearances, arrests, and new cases of censorship and repression.”
“According to our records, there have been 18 arrests (including two 11-year-old girls) and two fresh enforced disappearances. “As of the posting of this update, the Nuevitas park is entirely militarized,” the non-governmental organization reported on August 24.
In their statement, CONCUR reaffirmed that, as the Church, “we again offer to accompany incarcerated persons and their families.”
The religious ended, “We implore the good God, Father of all, and Our Lady of Charity to protect and guide all our people along the paths of freedom, justice, and peace.”
The island’s independent media note that the protests in Camagüey are the largest since the historic demonstrations of 11–12 July 2021.
In their calls for independence, the demonstrators cited inflation, food and medical shortages, and the inadequate response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested, and several were handed summary trials without a defense attorney.
This item was originally published by CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, ACI Prensa. CNA has translated and altered the document.