San Isidro Movement (MSI): Cuba | 15 Dec 2020
Why in News
The Movimiento San Isidro started two years ago and has now become a platform for Cuban dissidents both within and outside the nation.
Key Points
- Background:
- The Movimiento San Isidro, or the San Isidro Movement (MSI), started two years ago (2018) to protest state censorship of artistic work through Decree 349.
- Decree 349 is a law that would have given powers to the Cuba’s Government to restrict cultural activity it did not approve of.
- To protest against the decree, artists, poets, journalists and activists gathered in San Isidro, a Black-majority locality that is among Havana’s poorest yet most culturally active regions.
- The Movimiento San Isidro, or the San Isidro Movement (MSI), started two years ago (2018) to protest state censorship of artistic work through Decree 349.
- Current Spark:
- A member of the MSI, Afro-Cuban rapper Denis Solís, was arrested by the police. This led to widespread protests and strikes.
- Global View:
- Various National government and International human rights organisations such as Amnesty International have raised concern for human rights in Cuba.
- Cuban diaspora in many countries continue to hold rallies in support of the movement.
- The Cuban Government Stand:
- The Cuban government alleges that the movement is funded by USA and are being used to subvert the state.
India Cuba Relations
- India shares close, warm and historical relations with Cuba and both countries are founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
- In 1959, the Cuban-Argentinean guerrilla commander Ernesto Che Guevara paid a diplomatic visit to India and was welcomed by the then Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
- In 2019, India supported the resolutions in the UN General Assembly calling for lifting of US sanctions against Cuba.
- India and Cuba agreed to collaborate in the areas of Biotechnology, Homeopathy and the traditional system of medicine during the visit of the President of India to Cuba in 2019.