«I can’t be in an institution that destroys those who disagree»

Cuban narrator and poet Laideliz Herrera Laza resigned from her membership of the Union of writers and artists of Cuba (UNEAC) «because it is complicit in government policy and the kidnapping of voices committed to truth and decency.»

«I presented my resignation to the union of writers and artists from Cuba for dignity and principles, and it is like a kind of relief to an internal conflict that was having. They are happening here, on the island, many situations with intellectuals, with artists and UNEAC is still quiet. In fact, sometimes they publicly attack those who disagree, in one way or another, of the government policies,»

In a letter delivered to the state institution on Friday, the writer refers to the lack of support of the entity that, having to protect its affiliates, directs “collective letters that try to kill the reputation of those who feel with the right to express ourselves.”

In that sense, she refers to her husband, author and humorist Jorge Fernández Era, requested in the last legal advice to the institution after state security initiated a legal process against him, and the response has been denied by evasive. ”

Fernández was resigned in September 2024 to his affiliation to the UNEAC cataloging it as «paramilitary force to the dictators’ service.

The Cuban intellectual stands out in her resignation letter that UNEAC, with her position, conceals the «impunity of state security, which commits violent acts against humanity, such as the beating in Jorge, on July 18, in the Unit of the PNR of Zanja».

«My husband is only the closest example of what is happening with the intellectuals of the country. I could cite more, but it is the one that directly involves me, for not letting us submit to coercion and defend our rights, violated with total impunity for the security of the State and the National Revolutionary Police, with the consent of the Government, the Communist Party of Cuba and of institutions such as the Attorney General’s Office that is supposed to be. The writer points out in her withdrawal from the institution.

«I also live that psychological harassment, when the patrol arrives every day 18 because, simply, he will exercise his right to manifest peacefully, something that is endorsed in the Constitution of the Republic and does not respect him,» says Herrera Laza in allusion to the peaceful demonstration that the 18 of each month performs a group of intellectuals and activists in parks and places of the country, including her husband.

On July 18, Fernández was physically assaulted by a political police officer at a PNR station (Revolutionary National Police) in Havana, where he remained detained.

«They have threatened family members, my mother, my brother -in -law, his son and myself,» said Herrera Laza.

Similarly, he pointed out that, «by not defending the free and creative thinking of its artists, the UNEAC contradicts its statutes», which they proclaim attaches «to the principles of socialist democracy» and defends the right to information, the exercise of the criteria and freedom of creation, as well as research, criticism, debate and controversy.

According to the message of Herrera Laza, the organization «is committed to a state policy that constantly censures what is not convenient, that imposes silence, that listens only to those who, to maintain their positions and benefits they tell them what they want to hear, that it persecutes the intellectuals who denounce through their works, social networks and independent media, since there is no possibility of doing it otherwise, the moral, social and economic crisis that we suffer.

The writer stressed that the harassment of the repressive forces of the regime is aimed at everyone who disagrees and «have more and more impunity» and, the worst, all people and institutions are silent.

«Most people shut up. They shut up for fear, shut up for keeping their positions, shut up for their benefits, for many reasons and I can’t be in an institution that is supposed to represent me and not do it. On the contrary, when they can destroy me it will do it,» he concluded.