Statement by freed anarchist and LGBT activist in Cuba following arbitrary detentions after cancelled state-sponsored pride march in Havana

Statement by freed anarchist and LGBT activist in Cuba following arbitrary detentions after cancelled state-sponsored pride march in Havana

Solidarity with our anarchist comrades in Cuba!

Context: http://blackrosefed.org/solidarity-with-detained-cuban-anarchist-and-lbgt-activists/

Following tensions around the cancellation of the state sponsored LGBT march and the effort by activists to call for an independently organized one, two anarchist and LGBT activists, Isbel Diaz Torres and partner Jimmy Roque Martinez, were detained by Cuban authorities. The detentions are seen as an attempt by the Cuban state to suppress and intimidate outspoken activists whom they see as leaders and vocal activists in the LGBT community in Cuba.

See also: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-48242255

Today, Sunday [12th May 2019] at 7am, after almost 24 hours in police cells in the Aguilera police station, Jimmy and I were freed. The State Security stopped us to prevent us from reaching the independent march against homophobia that, nevertheless, happened. We are well, in our Social Center and Libertarian Library ABRA, and we did not suffer any extra violent abuse to the arbitrary detention. We want to thank all the people and groups that have shown solidarity. And we want to congratulate all of us who showed a capacity for self-organization, without the need for great leadership. The multiple calls, the networks of people and collective allies, the decentralization of the call and the convergence in the fight against homophobia, transphobia, and religious fundamentalism, gave good results. Our solidarity comes to those other people who were also prevented from reaching the march, or who suffered police violence during it. #LaRevoluciónEsNuestra #LosDerechosNoSePlebiscitan

Hoy domingo a las 7am, después de casi 24 horas detenidos en calabozos de la estación policial de Aguilera, fuimos liberados Jimmy y yo. La Seguridad del Estado nos detuvo para impedirnos llegar a la marcha independiente contra la homofobia que, no obstante, sucedió. Ya estamos bien, en nuestro Centro Social y Biblioteca Libertaria ABRA, y no sufrimos ningún atropello violento extra a la arbitraria detención. Queremos agradecer a todas las personas y colectivos que han dado muestras de solidaridad. Y queremos felicitarnos a todxs quienes dimos muestra de capacidad de autorganización, sin necesidad de grandes liderazgos. Las múltiples convocatorias, las redes de personas y colectivos aliados, la descentralidad del llamado y la convergencia en la lucha contra la homofobia, la transfobia, y el fundamentalismo religioso, dieron buenos frutos. Llegue nuestra solidaridad a aquellas otras personas que también fueron impedidas de llegar a la marcha, o que durante la misma sufrieron la violencia policial. #LaRevoluciónEsNuestra #LosDerechosNoSePlebiscitan
Public statement by Isbel Díaz Torres