“We Are Not Leaving Cuba”, Say Members Of The Center For Coexistence Studies

"We Are Not Leaving Cuba", Say Members Of The Center For Coexistence Studies

14ymedio, Havana, 16 May 2017 — In the midst of a wave of pressure from
the authorities, members of the Center for Coexistence Studies (CEC)
have issued a declaration of commitment to their work on the island. "We
are not leaving Cuba, we are not leaving the Church and we will continue
working for the country," says the text signed by Dagoberto Valdés,
director of the CEC.

The message expresses gratitude for "solidarity in moments of tough
repression" and assures that the team "continues to think, propose,
dream and build a free and prosperous future for all Cubans."

The statement was issued a few hours after police stopped the vehicle in
which Yoandy Izquierdo, a member of the CEC, was traveling from Pinar
del Rio to Havana to board a flight. The activist was invited to
participate in the Stockolm Internet Forum (SIF) in Sweden but misses
his plane this Sunday because of the arrest.

Izquierdo was detained at the police unit in Los Palacios and officers
asserted that they need to conduct a search to determine if the driver
of the car was "charging for the shuttle service to the airport."

The activist was not released until after his flight took off, but this
Monday he managed to reach José Martí International Airport and board a
plane to his destination.

The detention of Izquierdo was added to an escalation in repression
against the members of the CEC that has increased in the last months;
several of the organization's managers have been object of pressures,
warnings and interrogations.

Last January the economist Karina Gálvez suffered a raid on her home and
has been accused of an alleged tax evasion offense. The police are
keeping her house sealed waiting for the trial to take place.

The Coexistence Studies Center organizes training courses for the
citizenry and civil society in Cuba. The entity functions independently
of the State, the Church and any political grouping. The magazine of the
same name emerged in 2008 and is published bimonthly.

Source: "We Are Not Leaving Cuba", Say Members Of The Center For
Coexistence Studies – Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/we-are-not-leaving-cuba-say-members-of-the-center-for-coexistence-studies/