Essay: Inter-religious harmony and dialogue on fundamental human rights could bring about the change Cuba has needed for decades

ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says recent gatherings to discuss religious freedom illustrate the change that is sweeping across Cuba…

London, UK

On 31st October, members of religious groups from across Cuba came together in the capital, Havana, for a roundtable to discuss the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB).

It was the second of its kind within the month, with an earlier set taking place on 3rd October in Havana and El Cristo, Santiago, and similar events taking place on other parts of the island on 31st October.

Particularly encouraging is just how diverse those who participated were, with representatives invited from both registered and unregistered associations including the Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian denominations, as well as Afro-Cuban, Jewish and Muslim groups.

There is something powerful happening in the country at the moment; there has been ever since peaceful protests spread across the island in July, 2021, as Cubans from all walks of life came together to call for change and democracy and end to the relentless human rights violations of the Cuban Communist Party.

As has been reported extensively, including in this column, the government responded with violence and mass arrests. The crackdown precipitated the largest wave of emigration from the country in decades, with around two per cent of the population estimated to have fled within two years of when the protests began, and no sign of letting up

In addition, there are now believed to be over 1000 political prisoners in security facilities across the island. Many have been subjected to violations of the right to FoRB such as being singled out for public humiliation on account of their beliefs, or being denied the right to receive religious visits or to participate in religious services in the prisons in which they are being held.

But the Cuban people are resilient; groups which would have once had very little if anything to do with one another are now coming together to talk about fundamental human rights, and the Cuban Government fears this.

Not present at the gatherings on 31st October were Protestant pastors Alejandro Hernández Cepero and Luis Eugenio Maldonado Calvo. Both were detained for several hours on the day after being summoned by members of Cuba’s internal intelligence service known as the Department of State Security.

The two pastors were interrogated by DSE agents who used pseudonyms, with Pastor Maldonado Calvo later telling CSW that “they planned to fabricate a reason to accuse us [of criminal activity], because they told me so multiple times…that I should not continue to support these meetings, because they could damage my reputation and accuse me of some crime that would result in my imprisonment for various years”.

Pastor Maldonado Calvo added that the officers had claimed – baselessly – that the FoRB roundtable was a pretext to “meet together to plant bombs and to carry out attacks”.

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Another pastor, Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso, who was exiled from the country in 2016 after facing relentless harassment for his work defending the right to FoRB and promoting inter-religious dialogue, told CSW that the Cuban authorities view religious freedom “as an issue of national security which – and they are right about this – will strengthen Cuban civil society”.

It is no surprise then that even as DSE agents interrogated and threatened Pastors Hernández Cepero and Maldonado Calvo, others surrounded the location where the roundtable was held and attempted to stop some attendees from participating.

As is the case in Cuba’s close ally of Nicaragua, the government knows that the biggest threat to its survival comes from within, and it is doing everything in its power to crack down on independent civil society and silence the voices of anyone it perceives as a critic.

This is exactly why we must stand with and pray for Cuba, joining with Cubans of all religion and belief backgrounds in calling for democratic reforms and respect for the human rights of all. And where Cuba appears completely closed off to such calls from the international community, states must find creative ways of strengthening independent voices and initiatives like these FoRB roundtables that will educate and unite Cubans further still until the Cuban Communist Party loses its decades long grip on power.

Ellis Heasley is public affairs officer at UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW.