Clarifications on the 2019 Conga

FACEBOOK

Clarifications on the twelfth edition of the Cuban Days against Homophobia and Transphobia
CENESEX-THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2019

CENESEX-THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2019

Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
The original is posted by CENESEX to their FACEBOOK page.

The National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX) has been a specialized institution of the Ministry of Public Health since 1988. Its mission is to contribute to the development of comprehensive sexuality education, sexual health and the recognition and guarantee of the population’s sexual rights.

In 2007, CENESEX began to observe the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, and one year later, to hold the Cuban Conference against Homophobia and Transphobia, with the aim of promoting the free and responsible exercise of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to educate citizens in respect for sexual rights, always with the participation of State institutions and civil society organizations.

The twelfth edition of the conference (2019) has programmed 29 activities in two provinces of the country (Havana and Camagüey), characterized by the development of academic, community, artistic, recreational and communicational spaces. In addition, initiatives are being carried out in other territories. All this effort is carried out from the Ministry of Public Health and in coordination with the leadership of the Party and the government, in that instance.

Among the most emblematic activities of these celebrations, the conga and the artistic gala are recognized, which have remained since the beginning. This year an adjustment was reported in the program that implies the cancellation of the conga, which has had a wide repercussion that has been widely reflected in social networks.

However, the sharpening of the aggressiveness against Cuba and Venezuela, which in the case of our country has its maximum expression in the activation of Chapter III of the Helms Burton Law, has emboldened groups that, although they already existed, in recent times are trying more forcefully to distort the reality of Cuba. For that purpose, they intend to use our Conga to discredit, divide and replace the true meaning of this activity.

The Conga is not the only resource within the educational and communicational actions to sensitize and mobilize reflections in the citizenry. Those who really want to defend the days can close ranks together with Cenesex and the organizing committee of this twelfth edition, to ensure its successful development, and not join provocations or politically prejudiced attacks.

These actions are promoted fundamentally by some groups that have always been alien and even opposed to the organization of this type of events, and to the role of the public institutions that organize and defend it. Now they use what happened with the conga as a weapon against our institution, and through it, against the State, the government and the Party.

To those who, from activism or because of their sincere civic convictions, feel the logical annoyance and contrariness that motivates this change in the program, we exhort them to maintain calm, to show discipline and responsibility, in order to contribute to the better development and present and future evolution of our Days.

The political and civic maturity of our LGBTI population must prevail over any attempt to distort or sabotage what we have done together for more than a decade. Its greatest expression is the challenges and legislative advances to which we are committed since the proclamation of the new Constitution. This must be our first priority, and therefore is the theme of this and next year’s Jornadas (2019-2020): All Rights for All People under the Rewrite Happiness campaign.

We call, then, to make these Cuban Days against Homophobia and Transphobia a space for unity, in the defense of the Revolution and socialism, as the only social project that defends the true inclusion of all people.

Organizing Committee of the Cuban Days against Homophobia and Transphobia