Statement by the Cuban Association of the United Nations on the growing media and cultural war being waged against Cuban artists and intellectuals.

The Cuban Association of the United Nations and its collective and individual partners denounce, once again, the immoral and illegal media and cultural war that is increasingly being waged against the creators who decided to bet on the socialist homeland.

The harassment to which the Buena Fe group has been subjected in Spain, the coercion of musicians and owners of establishments where they were to perform, and the verbal and even physical aggressions to which its members have been subjected, are a renewed expression of that war, conceived, designed and promoted by anti-Cuban circles in the United States.

The shameful decision of the management of the literary event «Paris Poetry Market» to withdraw the honorary presidency of its 40th edition from the renowned poet Nancy Morejon, National Literature Prize in 2001, is a scandal and an affront. The civil society organizations and individual members of the ACNU emphatically reject and denounce this decision taken under pressure from unpatriotic elements.

The harassment against our artists is deployed by the same groups that, from South Florida, strive to undermine and try to reverse the political, economic and social system that we Cubans decided for ourselves, as a sign of self-determination by voting in favor of the text of the new Constitution of the Republic, on February 24th, 2019.

The strategy of the enemies of Cuba and its Revolution is unequivocally manifested. It is the cultural expression of the criminal and genocidal multidimensional blockade to which our people are subjected, with the illusory pretension of destroying the Cuban Revolution. Its promoters and executors intend to intimidate and discredit Cuban artists, writers and intellectuals who embrace and support our Revolution so that they will renounce this historical and perfectible project.

The Cuban Association of the United Nations denounces that this «witch hunt» against Cuban artists and intellectuals violates International Law; it violates Articles 19 and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which endorse the right of every individual to freedom of opinion and expression and the right of everyone «to freely participate in the cultural life of the community…», respectively.

The immoral persecution against our artists also undermines the «Principle of equal dignity and respect for all cultures» enshrined in the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognizes the right of everyone to participate in cultural life. It is paradoxical that those who claim to be champions of democracy and respect for human rights grossly and unscrupulously violate the aforementioned international instruments.

In denouncing the abominable harassment of Cuban artists, intellectuals and creators in general, the Cuban Association of the United Nations and its collective and individual partners call on international civil society organizations, social actors and all people of good will to oppose this illegal cultural war and to defend the freedom of expression and self-determination of these creators.

Havana, June 2nd, 2023