Communists banned Cubans from celebrating their Independence Day

The Cuban Communist Party early arrested human rights activist Agustín López Canino to prevent him from attending an event he was trying to organize to celebrate Cuba’s Independence Day.

May 20, 2022 marks the 120th anniversary of the true Cuban revolution ending Spanish colonization. In the Cuban diaspora, Independence Day is often celebrated with high-profile parties, events honoring poet and founding father José Martí, and protests calling for the overthrow of the 63-year-old communist regime. In the country, the Communist Party bans celebrations of events, instead forcing Cubans to attend mandatory celebrations on days like May 1, the Marxist “May Day” commemoration of communist ideology, or July 26, when Fidel Castro organized a massacre of military garrison. 1953.

Cuban independent media outlet Medio reported on Friday the 14th that police “detained” López earlier that same day in South Havana, citing unnamed family members. In an interview with Cubanet, another independent publication on the island, López announced on Wednesday that he plans to travel to Havana’s malecon, a major tourist destination, and start a protest for “the rights and freedoms of the people” at 10:00 local time. “For political prisoners convicted of participating in the civil protests of July 11, 2021.”

That day, the island hosted the largest nationwide protest in recent history, with nearly 187,000 people from almost every municipality taking to the streets and demanding an end to the Castro regime. In response, the Communist Party launched a violent attack against suspected protesters and widely arrested anyone involved in the witness protest. Dozens of those arrested were children, and many were sentenced to 19 years in prison for their peaceful protest.

Lopez said she openly urged people to join the protest on Friday, but no individuals or civil society groups had formally called for the protest to prevent mass arrests prior to the event.

“So if that doesn’t work or is ‘controlled’ by the government, we will continue. [the people] next year,” he said. “These are the people who need freedom, the people who should enjoy their human rights.”

On Thursday, shortly before his arrest, López appealed to the people of Havana to protest the anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Cuba.

“The decisive moment is approaching, dawn is breaking and I will demand my rights and the rights of the people,” Lopez said. “They threatened me with prosecution and then answered the call if I went out into the street in a prison. [go to] h man made Fueneteovhuna“Using a term he defines as code for the general public,” he said.

A report released Friday, 14 y Medio, states that journalists on the island are struggling to organize and publish print reports as the government appears to have cut off their Internet access.

Lopez is a longtime freedom fighter and is frequently jailed.

#Cuba Activist Agustín López Canino FUE arrested Este Viernes after she registered with the police at her home. Fuentes Familiales aseguran Que Sigue was detained at the Santiago station in Las Vegas, south of Havana. #panunupil (Picture in file) pic.twitter.com/w1hNJoIfez

– Yoani Sanchez (@yoanisanchez) March 5, 2018

She is the sister of the late protester Ada Maria López Canino, a member of the opposition group Ladies in White. Women in White is a Christian organization made up of mothers, children, sisters and wives of political prisoners whose only protest is to march to Catholic Mass every Sunday in white and with photos of their imprisoned loved ones. Their leader, Bertha Soler, and several of its members face violent police raids and arrests on a weekly basis, often without a case, so police can arrest them again within a week.

#Cuba Another part of the farewell duel of Ada Maria Lopez Canino, the White Lady, who passed away yesterday afternoon. Breaking the duel is his brother, blogger Agustín López Canino. pic.twitter.com/UylUtBkXhz

– Ivan Hdes Carrillo (@ivanlibre) 14 December 2017

On Friday, the Castro regime launched a campaign to denounce anyone celebrating Cuba’s Independence Day. lolaThe official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party has called the country traitors and those responsible for creating supporters of the American “military occupation”. Miguel Diaz-Canel, the puppet dictator, who is called the “President” but has no power independent of the Castro family, took the opportunity to denounce the Cubans celebrating their independence on Friday.

“Only annexationists can celebrate May 20,” tweeted Diaz-Canel, the figure of the current de facto Chinese and Russian colony. “There is no one else under our flag. [presumably, the American flag] There was a symbolic act of independence next to him in 1902. Sovereignty of the republic seized by the empire [America] until 1959”.

Only annexationists can celebrate May 20. Raising our flag on the other side in 1902 was a symbolic act of independence. The sovereignty of the republic was seized by the empire until 1959. #CubaViveEnSuHistory #TenemosMemoriahttps://t.co/kohWl6WNDL

-Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez (@DiazCanelB) 20 May 2022

Efforts to intimidate, torture and silence Cubans since July 11 have failed. This was one of the most violent protests since the week as residents of Giza, a province of the East until 1959, raided a local store owned by the Cuban Export-Import Company (CIMEX) and offices of the Cuban Telecommunications Company. . (ETECSA) on Wednesday’s power outage. Guiza is one of the hardest hit areas in eastern Cuba due to blackouts caused by the communist regime’s inability to properly manage or maintain the electricity grid. Reports indicate that locals stoned the intended locations, causing their windows to be broken. The regime confirmed that the stoning had taken place and carried out a “revolutionary verification act” in the city, a mandatory crowd scene where communists wave flags and harassed suspected dissidents.