Members of the Cuban community in Canada advocate before legislators for the freedom of political prisoners in Cuba

Members of the community of Cuban origin in Canada spoke this Tuesday before legislators of that country for therelease of more than a thousand political prisoners in Cuba, as part of a joint petition from Cuban civil society that seeks the support of parliaments and congresses of 18 democratic nations.

The group of activists held a meeting with theSenator Leo Housakos and Member of Parliament Pierre Paul-Hus, in which they addressed “the critical situation that Cuba is going through,” in particular, thepolitical prisoners, thehuman rights violations and therepression of political dissent by the Cuban regime.

The activistRaimet Martínez He noted that “emphasis was placed onjoint petition which is being presented in 18 democratic countries by Cuban civil society, which advocates for the release of more than 1,000 political prisoners, among other points.”

Therepresentatives of the Cuban-Canadian community They advocated that members of Cuban civil society be recognized as “valid interlocutors when the issue of Cuba is discussed in Canada, and thus be able to bring the reality of our country to the chambers of democratic governments,” Martínez said.

The idea for the petition arose in Canada, where the document was delivered to the more than 300 members of Parliament and the 105 members of the Senate, he indicated.Cuban Diary.

The activistKirenia Carbonell declared toMegaTV that “this initiative belongs to all Cubans who fight for a democratic Cuba. The group is quite extensive in Canada, the United States and Europe. We decided to unite in this petition in a document that is inclusive, without ideologies, that is not partisan in nature. There are no leading organizations.”

Carbonell said the petition seeks “disprove the narrative of the military, totalitarian and genocidal regime of Havana using the democratic vehicles at our disposal in the countries where we live. Bring the truth of what is happening in Cuba and be able to change the tables.”

The petition has been signed by more than 600 people, inside and outside Cuba.

In March 2022,Senator Housakos, of the Conservative Party, presented in the Canadian Parliament a motion condemning the repression of the Cuban regime, in what constituted a historic initiative.

The motion called from the Senate for the government of Canada to “denounce the illegitimacy of the Cuban regime and recognize the opposition and civil society as valid interlocutors”.

He also urged the Canadian government to intercede with the Cuban regime to “guarantee the right of the people to demonstrate peacefully without fear of reprisals or repudiation”Housakos said.