Ladies In White Pay Tribute To Laura Pollan

Ladies In White Pay Tribute To Laura Pollan / 14ymedio
Posted on February 15, 2016

14ymedio, Havana, 14 February 2016 — Several groups of Cuban activists
paid tribute on Sunday to Laura Pollan, the late leader of the Ladies in
White. The weekly pilgrimage of the human rights movement along 5th
Avenue in Havana honored the 68th anniversary of the birth of the late
founder and leading figure in the women's group.

At least 37 women made it to the parish of Santa Rita, in the
neighborhood of Miramar and joined in the march. Another 15 activists
from various organizations were also represented at the site to support
the opposition, as confirmed by this newspaper.

Pollan was born on February 13, 1948. She worked as a teacher and began
her civic activism at the time of the Black Spring of 2013, when her
husband Hector Maseda was convicted and sent to prison. She led the
Ladies in White dissident movement until her death in October 2011.

In 2014, a group headed by her daughter, Laura Labrada, separated from
the Ladies in White and formed the Laura Pollan Ladies in White Civic
Movement.

At the conclusion of the march this Sunday in Havana, the women met, as
is traditional, in Gandhi Park. As they left the park they were
violently arrested and taken to the Tarara Police Station, east of
Havana, according to reports to 14ymedio from activists.

Also on Sunday, the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) denounced the
arrest of 83 of its members, most of them while trying to get to the
Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre in Santiago de Cuba.

Source: Ladies In White Pay Tribute To Laura Pollan / 14ymedio |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/ladies-in-white-pay-tribute-to-laura-pollan-14ymedio/