The silence of most Canadian media about human rights abuses in Cuba is not surprising, but appalling. For most of the media, Cuba is as the exotic tourist “paradise” that Canadians very much like, it’s just beaches, mojitos, salsa, and for some, “jineteras” (prostitutes in the Cuban lingo) and other sexual "businesses." Nothing about the recent arbitrarily detention, intimidation and imprisonment of independent artists, journalists and members of the political opposition as denounced by Amnesty International.
Lately we have seen a nationwide movement of Cuban artists, intellectuals and human rights activists who are raising their voices in support of individual liberties in Cuba and they have made urgent calls to the international community for solidarity and support. But the Canadian media prefer to ignore this movement. Silence, nada.
There is an online petition addressed to the Canadian House of Commons that you can check here. The petitioners are asking MPs to: “1. Make a public statement in solidarity with the San Isidro Movement, the Patriotic Union of Cuba and all civil society groups leading the peaceful struggle for human rights in the island; 2. Unequivocally condemn the arbitrary detentions and intimidation of activists in Cuba, as has been done in the cases of Venezuela, Belarus and other nations; 3. Urge the Canadian government to join Amnesty International and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and demand the release of Cuban political prisoners Aymara Nieto Muñoz, Melkis Faure Hechevarría and Edilberto Arzuaga Alcalá, as well as hundreds of others arbitrarily imprisoned by the Cuban regime for political reasons; and 4. Exhort the Canadian government to invite human rights activists to its embassy in Havana and listen to their accounts of repression in Cuba.”
This silence about human rights violations by Cuban authorities is unacceptable. If you care about freedom and respect of human dignity, you should sign the petition.
Thanks, Isaac, for sharing petition e-3274 and for helping to educate Canadians about systematic human rights violations in Cuba through Critical éducation Critique. Activists in Cuba need international solidarity and support as an essential component for success in their peaceful struggle for democracy. During the month of Abril, the Cuban Human Rights Observatory, an NGO monitoring Cuba based in Spain reported 1,018 repressive acts in Cuba against human rights activists, independent journalists, artists, and members of civil society. Likewise, Prisoners Defenders has reported there are 150 political prisoners in Cuba. Since the protest in front of the Ministry of Culture on November 27, 2020, to the present, the number of peaceful public protests demanding respect for political and civil rights in Cuba has been on the rise month by month. As freedom loving Cuban Canadians we are sending and SOS to the media in Canada to report about this petition and more broadly about gross human rights violations taking place in the island. What is the reason for this silence? Why can’t Canadians not hear in newspapers, radio, and TV the stories of those leading the peaceful struggle for human rights, democracy and inclusion in Cuba? Best regards, Michael Lima, Democratic Spaces.com
ReplyDeleteThank you Michael for initiating this online petition.
DeleteIsaac, thanks for taking care of the current situation of Human Rights violations in Cuba. The petition was signed, by the way. I believe it is an excellent initiative that anyone genuinely concerned with democracy and freedom should be subscribed to. Thanks for writing about this and sharing it with me.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ángel.
DeleteThank you for spreading the message.
ReplyDelete