Anisleydis SuriaMother of the boys Sergio Diaz Suriawho was recently arrested for refusing to Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR)has spoken out publicly against conscription. The Cuban resident of Cardenas, Matanzas Provinceannounced on social media that she was Santa Clara wanted to visit her son in prison, but she was only allowed a 30-minute conversation.

Suria has already expressed her determination to fight for her son’s release on social media. She reiterated her dissatisfaction with the injustice being suffered by her son and stated that she is against conscription in Cuba – a country under a totalitarian regime that uses violence against opponents of the dictatorship and uses army recruits as slave labor in deplorable conditions.

“No to conscription,” wrote Díaz Suria’s mother on Facebook on Saturday. In a post, she once again expressed the pain caused by her son’s imprisonment for refusing to do military service. “After not knowing about you for four days, we went to Santa Clara at around 4 a.m. to visit you and find out how you were. After such a hard journey, they tell me that your visit will only last half an hour. What an abuse!” complained the prisoner’s mother.

Increasing resistance to military recruitment

In recent years, numerous young people and their families have expressed their opposition to recruitment by the FAR, pointing out the injustices and inequalities that affect the selection process, from which the children of elites linked to the regime are “exempted.” Tragic incidents involving young people during military service are increasing, despite the Cuban government’s attempts to cover up such incidents.

Numerous social media reports document a rising number of deaths among young Cubans related to military service, many of them by suicide.

Cuban government refuses conscription at the UN

In May 2022, thousands of Cubans reacted with outrage on social media when a diplomat from the regime appeared before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that military service in Cuba was “voluntary.” This statement manipulated the content of the National Defense Actin which compulsory military service for men is explicitly stipulated.

In Chapter VIII, Section Three (Article 77), the law states that “male citizens are required to register in the military register during the year in which they turn sixteen years of age.” The law also states that “after registration in the military register, citizens are required to carry out activities that prepare them for entry into military service and to keep their status properly updated.”

In 2019, Cuban military courts imposed penalties that resulted in dismissal on military recruits who self-harmed – a common practice in recent decades that has resulted in many unfortunate incidents.

Compulsory military service is systematically criticized by Cubans, with campaigns to abolish it even being launched on social media. However, the reality is that recruitment has not stopped even during the coronavirus pandemic, which is being strongly questioned by the public.