Cubans residing in the United States went to New York City to protest the presence of the designated president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, at the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN).
The protests began on the afternoon of Monday, September 18. During this event, those present remembered the political prisoners who are detained within the regime’s prisons for having demanded a better life during the 11J demonstrations.
🗣️ PROTEST IN FRONT OF THE UN!
Cuban exiles protest in front of the UN, in New York, in the presence of the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel
📹: @maritovoz pic.twitter.com/xIskSAcLUQ
— ImpactoVenezuela (@ImpactoVE) September 19, 2023
Likewise, those present spoke out against the serious economic crisis that has been affecting the Greater Antilles for months.
These demonstrations were also recorded in a park near the UN headquarters, where the Cuban community in exile complained about the facilities granted to the Cuban dictator, especially with the complaints of repression and violations of human rights that exist in their country. against and that of the regime.
“It has been unfortunate, it is very frustrating to see him arrive, to see that they give him the visa, that he is here and the worst thing is that he is going to speak at the United Nations, an organization that receives complaints every month from Cuban civil society of disappearances. forced, arbitrary detentions, torture inside prisons,” Cuban activist Anamely Ramos told the media outlet Radio Marti.
A small art exhibition was also organized consisting of works by artists who have suffered repression by the Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan governments.
The exhibition was called ‘Silenced Voices. Artists Defying Repression’, and was implemented at the Blue Gallery. Works made by Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo ‘El Osorbo’ were mounted at the site, who have been detained since the demonstrations of July 11, 2021.
Alessandra Pina, director of the Americas program at Freedom House, also spoke out against Díaz-Canel’s presence at the UN, pointing out that the world needs to know the atrocities that communist dictatorships have committed.
“Citizens of the world need to know about the drama that is happening in these three countries,” Pina declared to the aforementioned media outlet.
Likewise, Pina expressed concern about the Cuban government’s existing candidacy in the UN Human Rights Council, pointing out that she hoped that democratic governments would vote wisely.
“We think that it is the responsibility of democracies, which are the countries with the best human rights records, to have weight in Geneva. We hope that, in October, when the active members of the Human Rights Council are elected, that countries understand the responsibility of this vote.”
