San Isidro Movement, a movement by artists and activists demanding greater freedom of expression, has been gaining momentum in Cuba, a country under an authoritarian communist regime for over six decades.
The movement grabbed global attention when the members of the movement, including Cuban artists, academicians and other alternative thinkers staged a unique protest outside Cuba's Ministry of Culture on November 27, 2020.
Cada vez llegan más compañeros al Ministerio de Cultura. Los cubanos y cubanas #EstamosConectados #27Nov #LibertadParaDenis#NoALaViolenciaPolicial#EstamosConectados pic.twitter.com/Ms3JI0p8RH
— Movimiento San Isidro (@Mov_sanisidro) November 27, 2020
Amnesty International released a statement on December 15, 2020 saying that the members of the movement along with independent journalists have been placed under strict surveillance in the country and they face the threat of arrest by police and state security officials if they leave their houses, which amounts to house arrest.
The organisation strongly condemned the surveillance and harassment stating that it is unacceptable under international law as it violates the right to privacy and constitutes a deprivation of liberty in many cases or at least unlawful restriction on freedom of movement. The organisation will continue to monitor the alarming situation.
#EstamosConectados https://t.co/VqorroO7OM
— Movimiento San Isidro (@Mov_sanisidro) November 27, 2020
What is San Isidro Movement in Cuba?
The San Isidro Movement (MSI) began two years ago in Cuba in protest against the state censorship of artistic works.
In September 2018, the Cuban government sought to enforce Decree 349, a law that would give powers to Cuba's Culture Ministry to restrict cultural activity it did not approve of.
The movement has now become a platform for Cuban dissidents both within and outside the Caribbean nation.
What is the movement called San Isidro?
•In protest against the decree, artists, activists and journalists from across the country gathered in San Isidro, a Black-majority locality, which is among Havana’s poorest but culturally most active wards. The locality is also a part of the Old Havana UNESCO World Heritage Site.
•The protesters managed to connect and spread their message over the internet with great ease courtesy the landmark 2015 deal between the US and Cuba, as one of its provisions states that the Cuban regime should allow its people greater internet freedom in exchange for opening bilateral relations with the US.
•Otherwise, Cuba has an authoritarian regime, which controls all modes of communication and no political opposition is permitted.
•The San Isidro movement gained a lot of steam because of the internet and when the campaigners demonstrated outside Cuba’s parliament against the controversial censorship measure, the government, which is usually known to swiftly crush any form of dissent, was forced to concede and agreed to suspend the decree's enforcement.
What happened in November 2020?
•On November 9, 2020, an MSI member Denis Solís, was arrested by the police. Solís had live-streamed his arrest on Facebook when the police entered his house without permission and this cause furor over the internet.
•He was later sentenced to 8 months of imprisonment for “contempt”, and was sent to a maximum-security facility outside Havana, where he remains in confinement.
•Following his arrest, the members of the San Isidro began a hunger and thirst strike, locking themselves in their headquarters at San Isidro.
•The strike continued until November 26 when government officials broke down the apartment’s door and arrested 14 people who were inside.
•Officers dressed in medical gowns gave the pretext that one of the protesting members had broken COVID-19 protocols. These arrests were also recorded on mobile phones and posted on the internet.
•An hour after the arrest, social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube went down across the country.
•This prompted around 300 protestors, including both supporters of the San Isidro movement and other movements, to demonstrate outside the Cuban Culture Ministry demanding a dialogue with the Vice Minister who had to give in and finally held a five-hour meeting with them.
#Cuba🚨 Ahora
— Rosa María Payá A. (@RosaMariaPaya) November 28, 2020
Cientos de jóvenes frente al Ministerio @CubaCultura exigen "la conformación de una sociedad en que todos los cubanos tengamos la libertad de expresarnos y la posibilidad de participar en el rumbo que tome el país#LiberenADenis
Dónde están @LMOAlcantara y Anamely? pic.twitter.com/HKjs87O1lA
What was the Cuban leadership's reaction?
Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the movement an "imperialist reality show to destroy our identity and subjugate us again." He called for the movement to be crushed.
The Cuban government did, however, release one political dissident - Silverio Portal Contreras, on December 1, 2020 to lessen public anger.
Reactions from Other Nations
US: Freedom of expression is a human right, US stands with Cuba's people
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed support for the San Isidro movement and urged the Cuban regime to cease harassment of MSI protestors and to release musician Denis Solís, who was unjustly sentenced to eight months of jail term. He said that freedom of expression is a human right and that the United States stands with Cuba’s people.
We urge the Cuban regime to cease harassment of San Isidro Movement protestors and to release musician Denis Solís, who was unjustly sentenced to eight months in prison. Freedom of expression is a human right. The United States stands with Cuba’s people.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 24, 2020
Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor for US President-elect Joe Biden also tweeted saying that they support the Cuban people in their struggle for liberty and echo calls for the Cuban government to release peaceful protestors. He urged the Cuban government to allow the Cuban people to exercise the universal right to freedom of expression.
We support the Cuban people in their struggle for liberty and echo calls for the Cuban government to release peaceful protestors. The Cuban people must be allowed to exercise the universal right to freedom of expression.
— Jake Sullivan (@jakejsullivan) November 29, 2020
Other Nations
Several other nations like the Netherlands, Czech Republic and organisations like Amnesty International voiced their concern over the human rights violation in Cuba.
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