Cuba arrests 22 Ladies in White

Cuba arrests 22 Ladies in White
October 15 2012 at 09:28am
AP
Havana -

Cuban authorities have arrested at least 22 members of Cuba's dissident
Ladies in White as they planned to mark one year since the death of
their former leader, the group's new chief said on Sunday.

Berta Soler said the women have been detained since Saturday to keep
them from celebrating the one-year anniversary of Laura Pollan's death.
But she vowed to keep up the pressure against the Communist regime.

"We will march despite repression by the Cuban government," said the
group's new head, Berta Soler. "The Ladies in White are in mourning but
also strong."

Soler said she had reports of at least 12 arrests in Havana, six in
Villa Clara and four in Matanzas.

The Ladies in White, founded in 2003 by wives and kin of political
prisoners seeking their release after a crackdown, have been at the
centre of efforts to promote change in Cuba after more than five decades
of one-party Communist rule on the island.

During a march in western Havana, activists from the group shouted
"Laura Pollan lives!" and "freedom, freedom, freedom" as they carried
pink gladiolus. Some also donned shirts bearing Pollan's picture.

Further tributes to Pollan included prayer sessions, according to Soler.

Pollan died October 14, 2011 in a Havana hospital, a week after being
admitted with breathing difficulties that eventually led to respiratory
failure. She had been battling diabetes and hypertension.

Traffic access to Pollan's home, converted into the group's
headquarters, has been blocked since late on Friday.

Pollan "challenged the regime at all levels," Pollan's husband Hector
Maseda told AFP. - Sapa-AFP

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