Forced eviction breaks off hunger strike protests in Havana

Cuban authorities evicted a group of dissident artists, academics, journalists, and activists on Thursday in a bid to disperse and end a hunger strike protest against restrictions on civil liberties.

Authorities told Reuters that they had to step in because of the protesters’ failure to observe hygiene protocols needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The protesters called it an “absurd” excuse for ending a protest that had only shed light on rights abuses in the Caribbean island.

In a video live streamed on Facebook, witnesses of the raid spoke out. 

“They entered by force, breaking the door,” said Iliana Hernandez, an independent journalist. “Many military people as if they were doctors wearing gowns.”

Hernandez goes on saying that the police had detained her and others before taking them to their homes. Around 1 A.M., the group said they were still out of contact with three of the 14 detained. 

Almost an unknown entity before it publicized the protest on social media, The San Isidro Movement, played a role in uniting Cuba’s typically fractious opposition groups in sympathy. In turn they have also have received criticism from human rights groups such as Amnesty International.

Founded in 2018, the movement’s ethos was to oppose a new decree limiting freedom of speech, often through disrespectful artistic performances. It has had numerous run-ins already with Cuba’s Communist authorities that frown on public dissent.

Earlier this month, security forces besieged its headquarters after group members protested against an eight-month jail sentence for rapper Denis Solis on charges of contempt.

Several members and supporters of the movement later declared a hunger strike and said some were not drinking water either. Reuters reported that it could not independently validate this as security forces barricaded access to the premises.

Happening amid Cuba’s worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union, the recent events have roused some citizens who don’t usually talk politics to criticize the government’s handling of the situation. Famous Cuban artists like musicians Carlos Varela and Haydee Milanes and filmmakers Carlos Lechuga and Claudia Calvino have already voiced out their thoughts.

Earlier this week, state-run media accused the group who staged the hunger strike as those seeking to destabilize Cuba and are operating from Miami and Washington.