HAVANA (WSVN) — Activists in Cuba said they are still planning to go through with a civic march on Monday, but the island nation’s government said no protests will take place.
During a recent meeting of foreign diplomats accredited in Cuba, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said that once the island lifts its COVID-19 restrictions and reopens to international travelers on Monday, there will be no demonstrations.
“I am absolutely certain that nothing is going to happen,” he said through a translator. “Yes, I also hope that the government of the United States, which has spent so much money, made so much effort and statements, will have to explain in some way how it’s going to continue the relationship with Cuba, when they realize that there will not be the slightest support for their policy in the Cuban reality.”
Rodriguez’s pronouncement comes as supporters of the government have blocked access to opposition leader Yunior Garcia Aguilera’s apartment in Havana. The playwright’s Archipelago initiative is behind the upcoming march.
Organizers intend to hold the march on Monday so it falls on the 502nd anniversary of the capitol city’s founding. It aims to be a follow-up to the protests held in July that attracted thousands of Cubans across the island.
When the Cuban government deemed Monday’s march illegal, Garcia Aguilera planned a solo march for Sunday, but it was also rejected by the government.
While speaking with reporters on Friday, Garcia Aguilera denied claims from the Cuban government that the protests were planned and financed by the U.S. government
“I am also going to demonstrate that it is not that they [the government] have declared this as illegal for the reasons they have said,” he said. “It is because they are not willing to allow anything, not even the slightest expression of a Cuban citizen who opposes them, or has a contrary thought, or who simply wants to participate from another point of view in the reality of the country.”
Protesters in July demanded changes in the government as well as an end to blackouts and food shortages.
In a tweet posted Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, wrote, “The Cuban regime has the opportunity to hear and listen to the Cuban people during peaceful demonstrations on #15N, and to demonstrate respect for human rights. We commend the brave Cuban people showing the strength of their will and the power of their voice.”
Despite the government having declared the protests to be illegal, organizers said they will proceed as planned.
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