14YMedio: The activist Angélica Garrido, who was released last July after serving three years in prison for protesting in the anti-government demonstrations on July 11, 2021, participated this Tuesday in the Transatlantic Parliamentary Forum for a Free Cuba, which was held in Brussels this year.
“I come today to raise my voice for them and also for my people, who are dying in silence,” said the former political prisoner.
In her appearance before a group of MEPs and politicians from the United States, Canada, and several Latin American countries, Garrido recounted her arrest, which took place alongside her sister, the writer Cristina Garrido. She was also sentenced for allegedly assaulting an officer.
“Exercising our civic rights costs us our lives. Exercising this right by raising our voice—the only weapon we have—demanding that the dictatorship step down, demanding that the dictatorship leave, because Cuba is a failed state,” she declared.
In her speech, the activist described the mistreatment she and her sister suffered in prison, as well as the lasting impact of repression on the families of detainees and prisoners. “Our children have psychological scars from the arbitrary arrests carried out in front of them. My parents died during the first year that my sister and I were in prison—they were elderly and couldn’t bear so much pain and injustice, so they passed away,” she stated.
“My voice is raised on behalf of all of them to awaken awareness about Cuba’s political prisoners. Unfortunately, every additional day they spend in prison takes a toll on their lives and health because they are subjected to repression and torture, and we are already seeing the effects of these three years of imprisonment,” she asserted.
Rosa María Payá, one of the event’s organizers and founder of *Cuba Decide*, shared with Martí Noticias how the audience received Garrido’s testimony. “The MEPs not only responded to the situation in Cuba, where the conditions of a failed state and the suffering of the Cuban people were described, but also to the alternative we are proposing: that they support systemic change in Cuba, suspend the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement that sends millions of euros to the island, activate the democratic clause of this agreement, and stop financing the Cuban regime,” she stated.
Payá called for “conditioning all relations with the Cuban regime on the release of political prisoners, respect for human rights, and the holding of a binding plebiscite on the island—a civic exercise to change the system and enable free, fair, and pluralistic elections” at the Forum, created in 2021 by *Cuba Decide* to promote actions aimed at ending the Castro dictatorship.
The event began at 2 p.m. at the European Parliament headquarters and was sponsored by politicians Carlo Fidanza and Marius Kamiński, from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, currently in opposition.
Two hours earlier, Kaja Kallas, likely the next European Chancellor, had presented the main objectives of her upcoming term during a review session held by MEPs for the new European Union Government (European Commission), composed of the Popular Party, Social Democrats, and Liberals. Her statements hinted that no policy changes toward Cuba are expected, though time will tell.
At the Forum, the Brussels Declaration was signed, reiterating the call to suspend the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba and renewing the demand for the Cuban regime to immediately release all political prisoners.
Also present at the event was Cuban-American Senator Ted Cruz, who emphasized the “imperative” need for the U.S. and the world to support the Cuban people in their opposition to the regime. “There is tremendous power in raising one’s voice. Tyrants fear the truth,” he declared, expressing his confidence in the cause’s success. “The American people stand with you. We will see a free Cuba.”
