The Voice of the Martyrs calls for prayer for Christians in Cuba in midst of crackdown

Over twitter today The Voice of the Martyrs made public the following image:

These are difficult times for Christians around the world. The oldest communities of Christians in the world are being driven to extinction in the Middle East. Meanwhile in Cuba where the persecution and harassment of Christians had continued for decades things have gotten worse. Christian lay persons Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and Harold Cepero were killed under suspicious circumstances on July 22, 2012.

In 2014, Raul Castro announced a reform that beginning in 2015 led to the seizure of Church properties. Maranatha First Baptist Church, a historic Church property was taken in May of 2015 under this new "law."

On August 16, 2016 Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that the pace of church demolitions in Cuba was increasing. According to CSW in their latest report on freedom of belief or religion there were 1,606 separate violations between January and July 2016.  This worsening situation compound the explosive growth of repression last year. In 2015 there was a tenfold increase in religious repression compared to 2014 with 2,300 separate violations recorded in 2015 compared to 220 in 2014.

Pastors have been harassed and beaten up by Castro regime agents. Christians are being dragged away from their homes and Churches. Scores of Churches are being destroyed.

These are some of the reasons why The Voice of the Martyrs says: Pray for Christians in Cuba as a crackdown against religion continues.

Religious repression worsens in Cuba

More churches are being destroyed in Cuba and pastors harassed and beaten in 2016

 
 On August 16, 2016 Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that the pace of church demolitions in Cuba was increasing. According to CSW in their latest report on freedom of belief or religion there were 1,606 separate violations between January and July 2016.  This worsening situation compound the explosive growth of repression last year. In 2015 there was a tenfold increase in religious repression compared to 2014 with 2,300 separate violations recorded in 2015 compared to 220 in 2014.

Rev Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso arrested and taken away March 20, 2016

 Carey Lodge, a journalist for Christian Today reported on March 21, 2016 that a day earlier:

"Rev Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso's home and church were surrounded by police and state security agents early in the morning on March 20, he told Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) ahead of his arrest.  The pastor was then arrested and taken away by officials, while his wife, Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez, was placed under house arrest. She and the couple's two young daughters have been locked inside their home, in Taguayabon, Villa Clara Province, and their phone connection has been cut.

Before being cut off, Marcheco Suarez was able to speak to CSW over the phone. Though the family and church have not been allowed to speak to Barroso directly, she said she'd been told that her husband had been taken to the city of Santa Clara, and was being refused food or drink.

She added that the pastor had already been ill over the weekend, after a stranger pricked him with a pin while he was on public transport last week."

 The March 20th arrest just hours before the start of President Obama's official visit to Cuba speaks volumes of the nature of the so-called normalized relations between the Obama administration and the Castro regime as does the exponential increase in religious repression since the December 17, 2014 announcement that relations would be normalized.

Rev Mario Felix with wife Yoaxis and two kids

Three days before President Obama arrived in Cuba, a Chilean former Minister of Culture and former Ambassador to Mexico Roberto Ampuero tweeted in Spanish the following: "Paradox: After decades backing Right wing dictatorships in Latin America, now the United States could end up backing a Left wing dictatorship." 

Below is video of the March 20, 2016 arrest of the Cuban pastor.

Cuban Communist Party official admits persecution of Protestant group

Back in 2010, Christian Solidarity Worldwide released an extensive report on religious freedom in Cuba. This past Friday they released a smoking gun that demonstrates that religious liberty in Cuba is under assault on the island. Below is the video with English translation and the press release:



Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has released a video in which a Cuban Communist Party official openly confirms a government strategy to target churches affiliated with the fast growing Apostolic Movement, a protestant network.

The short film, recorded clandestinely early in 2010 and smuggled out of the country, shows Caridad Diego Bello, the head of the Religious Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, explaining the government’s strategy to crackdown on the Apostolic Movement.

For years, church leaders of all denominations have complained of difficulties with Diego, particularly in receiving permission to repair old church buildings or build new facilities. This is the first time, however, that video evidence has been published, showing Diego publicly admitting that the government is working to eradicate the Apostolic Movement.

In the video, Diego states “…we are taking measures and will continue to take measures, the hands of our authorities will not waver, and I don’t do this in a manner of warning but rather to inform, so that the illegalities that groups like these are committing can be countered in every province and in every territory... there are some would-be leaders of these type of organizations that have had been relocated from their homes, that have lost their temple. There are people that visit us that will no longer be able to enter the country again, there are people that have been fined for facilitating the violation of immigration status by foreigners in Cuba, we have confiscated literature because it has not entered the country via the appropriate channels, but rather under the table.”

Churches affiliated with the Apostolic Movement have documented consistent religious liberty violations over the past few years, including numerous cases of arbitrary detention of church leaders and the destruction of church buildings. CSW has also released a second video showing the site of the demolition of one of the largest churches linked to the Apostolic Movement in Santiago de Cuba.

CSW’s Director of Advocacy, Andrew Johnston said, “Religious leaders of all denominations told CSW earlier this year that the Apostolic Movement has been singled out for intense persecution. This video is confirmation, from the very mouth of the top official in charge of religious affairs in the country that the government is working to stamp out the group. Just a few months ago, leaders of the Apostolic Movement publicly asked that the government enact legislation on religious activity. We join with them in calling on the government to cease immediately its harassment of these churches and to establish a clear legal framework for all religious groups to operate in the country.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit http://www.csw.org.uk.

CSW is the UK’s leading human rights advocacy organization specializing in religious freedom, working on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promoting religious liberty for all.

Taken from: Cuban Communist Party official admits persecution of Protestant group 14/01/2011
http://dynamic.csw.org.uk/article.asp?t=press&id=1083&search=