Cuban human rights activists call on the European Union to stop ignoring the repression and misery in Cuba, which only serves to prop up the communist Castro dictatorship.
Via the European Conservative:
Worsening Situation in Cuba Sees Dictatorship Crack Down, Economy Crumble
Advocates of a free Cuba and the release of its political prisoners are reminding Europe not to forget about the poverty and oppression Cubans suffer at the hands of the long-standing communist regime.
“The European Union should read beyond the narrative exported by the propaganda of the Castro regime,” Carolina Barrero, a writer and activist self-exiled in Spain after participating in demonstrations in 2021, told The European Conservative.
Barrero notes that under the Political Dialogue and Cooperation agreement, the EU sends millions of euros to Cuba every year that end up going directly into the coffers of the regime. Only Lithuania and Sweden have opposed the ongoing agreement, according to Barrero, despite Cuba sending troops to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH), 2023 has been one of the worst years for political authoritarianism since the communist revolution 65 years ago. The Cuban regime committed at least 3,830 “repressive actions” in 2023. The report considers last year “disastrous” for respect for rights and freedoms on the island, due—among other reasons—to the application of a new Penal Code.
The OCDH estimates that around 1,000 political prisoners remain in Cuban prisons, although it warns of other tactics such as house arrest, totalling 952 cases and serving to deactivate opposition movements. Furthermore, it emphasizes the “emptying of the opposition and civil society,” by forcing dissidents to leave Cuba to avoid going to prison. The organization said in a statement that it is aware of “at least 438 repressive actions” in the month of December alone.
The report also noted that international criticism seems to have left Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel unmoved. He has not changed the “desolate panorama of exile, imprisonment, harassment and intimidation against opponents,activists and journalists” despite ongoing pressure to do so.
Additionally, the organization warns, all Cubans are facing a dire economic situation, not expecting “the regime to even cover the most pressing needs of its citizens.”
2021 represented a year of hope in Cuba, after the historic ‘11-J’ mobilizations, which continued into 2022 with widespread protests for basic services. In contrast, 2023 was marked by a gigantic economic crisis that has led the Revolution’s leadership to opt for the most aggressive change of direction since the infamous “special period” at the end of the eighties.
Although the standard of living in Cuba is chronically low, the year just ended saw the dismal quality of life for most Cubans sink even lower.
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