Artist and opposition leader Yunior García vows that he and others, despite government warnings and recent crackdowns, are moving forward with national protests.
report found security forces violated due process, beat, sexually abused or forced into solitary confinement Cubans who participated in the protests. The Cuban government has denied reports of abuse.
García said that authorities had cut off his cellphone and that he was using one that had been loaned to him. He quoted Castro: “Within the revolution, everything. Against the revolution, nothing.”Thursday wasn’t the first time the government had rejected the planned protests. They were first scheduled for Nov. 20 butOrganizers decided to change the day of the protest to Nov.
“They have reached out to our families with blackmail, with defamations, and trying to pit our parents against us. Many of us have been surprised at the dignity of the parents, who until yesterday, believed in the revolution," García said."But seeing the blackmail has disappointed them and they have quickly realized they have been living a lie.”
He believes change can be achieved in Cuba through “democratic and peaceful means.” Since 1959, protests against the government have been forbidden, but theGarcía says he is against the U.S. embargo on Cuba and any foreign military intervention.