By Alejandra Garcia on October 14, 2021 from Havana
Cubans caravan past the US Embassy in support of their revolution. photo: Alejandro Azcuy
On Tuesday, Cuba blocked the petition of a so-called “peaceful protest”, which has the US government and the Miami extremists pushing it behind the scenes. The Cuban Government’s response was forceful: no legitimacy is recognized in the reasons that motivate such a demonstration.
The self-proclaimed Archipelago group called for the “Civic March for Change” in Havana and other cities of the country, and it was due to be held on November 15. But the bad precedent left by the riots of last July 11, makes everyone question the true peaceful intentions of this new movement, which arose overnight and out of nowhere. Many Cubans even wonder who its members are.
“The promoters and their public representatives, some of whom have links with subversive organizations or agencies financed by the U.S. government, have the sole intention of promoting a change of political system in Cuba,” reads the letter circulated by the government in response to Archipelago’s request.
The Cuban people do not want to repeat another violent July 11. That day, those who claimed it was a peaceful protest were the same ones who looted stores, overturned cars, injured law enforcement officers, or tried to take over a police unit to get weapons and overthrow the government by force and violence.
“Not only authorities don’t want such a scenario to repeat, neither do the people,” one woman told another this afternoon as they waited for public transportation.
For Cubans, any incitement coming from abroad has for Cubans the color of blood and fear. “That July 11, I felt such excessive violence, I felt blows, glass breaking, shouting, crying… I don’t want to live a similar episode ever again in my life,” recalled Antonieta Castellanos, a resident of the capital.
The government will not take the risk of history repeating itself. Furthermore, “a protest whose ostensible purpose is to lead sooner or later to the overthrow of the government cannot be authorized, especially when it is promoted by Washington. Our Constitutional won’t serve as an imperialist instrument,” clarified the General Director for the United States of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio.
The Cuban diplomat called on us not to be naïve. “Review the history of Latin America and see if there is an episode in which the U.S. government has supported the struggles of the peoples against the oppression of oligarchic governments. Imperialism is the enemy of the people and their causes for justice. It is a natural ally of the oppressor.”
It is no coincidence that, as soon as the “peaceful march” was announced, it received public support from US legislators, political operators, and local outlets that encourage actions against the Cuban people in an attempt to destabilize the country, and urge military intervention.
We are in the framing era. All it takes is to capture in the frame of a cell phone photo a minimum of people in a violent situation to distort reality and make the world believe that this is “the truth” about Cuba.
“They want to give us one blow after another. It is part of the unconventional war we are facing. They want to provoke the incident that will lead to a social explosion,” reads the authorities’ letter.
Cuba’s right to defend itself from foreign aggression, which this time is camouflaged as “peaceful intentions,” is at stake today.
But the island has no fears. Sixty years of U.S. blockade and the 243 additional measures of Donald Trump’s administration (2017-January 2021) – maintained willingly by Joe Biden – haven’t been able to twist the Cubans’ hope for the future and times ruled by tolerance and respect.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano-English