By Nelson Acosta and Jeff Franks
Reuters
Tuesday, March 16, 2010; 3:05 PM
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban government supporters harassed and shouted at
members of the opposition group "Ladies in White" on Tuesday in Havana
as the women marched in protest against the 2003 imprisonment of 75
dissidents.
The women, numbering about two dozen and dressed in white, had to be
protected by state security agents after they stopped and yelled
"Freedom, Freedom!" in front of the headquarters of the Cuban state
journalists union.
The dissidents were marching for the second day in a protest to
commemorate the 2003 "Black Spring" crackdown by the government against
opponents.
About 150 men and women began walking alongside and shouting them down
in what is known in Cuba as an "act of repudiation," usually directed
against government opponents.
"Viva Fidel! Viva Raul! The street belongs to the Revolution!" the
government supporters shouted, referring to the 1959 Revolution led by
Fidel Castro which subsequently installed a communist system in Cuba.
The women, who are wives and mothers of the Black Spring prisoners, were
escorted by state security agents, who formed a protective cordon, to
the Central Havana home of Ladies in White leader Laura Pollan.
Tuesday's demonstration was the second of seven consecutive marches
planned by the women's group to mark the seventh anniversary of the
Black Spring crackdown that began March 18, 2003 and drew widespread
condemnation of Cuba.
The anniversary comes at a time when Cuba's human rights record is under
fire for the February 23 death of dissident hunger striker Orlando
Zapata Tamayo and for its handling of an ongoing hunger strike by
dissident Guillermo Farinas in the central city of Santa Clara.
Farinas, who launched his strike three weeks ago to back demands for the
release of 26 ailing political prisoners, has been in a hospital
receiving fluids intravenously since he collapsed on Thursday.
A third hunger strike is underway by former political prisoner Orlando
Fundora, who began eight days ago and is now in a hospital, his family
said on Tuesday.
GOVERNMENT WARNING
The Ladies in White staged their first march on Monday without incident.
But Pollan said she had been warned by the government not to march to
"sacred places" that included the state journalists' center.
In December, the women were jostled and jeered by government supporters
when they marched to mark International Human Rights Day.
Of the 75 people imprisoned in 2003, 52 remain behind bars.
Alejandrina Garcia, wife of prisoner Diosdado Gonzalez Marrero, who is
serving a 20-year sentence, said Tuesday's incident was not unexpected.
"What happened today is the same as always -- government mobs repudiated
us with government slogans, but we continued shouting 'Freedom' and
"Zapata lives," she told Reuters.
She said the Ladies in White would march again on Wednesday as planned,
with the intention of visiting Fundora to encourage him to end his
hunger strike.
A man whom Garcia identified as former political prisoner Hugo Damian
Prieto was detained by security agents following a brief fracas with
government supporters outside Pollan's home.
Zapata's death has become a rallying point for Cuba's small dissident
community and drawn international attention to their cause. The United
States and Europe have condemned communist-led Cuba over the hunger
strikes and called for the release of its estimated 200 political prisoners.
Cuba's government, which views dissidents as mercenaries working for the
United States and other enemies, has described Zapata and Farinas as
common criminals. It has vowed to resist international pressure over the
dissidents.
(Editing by Jeff Franks, Pascal Fletcher and Eric Walsh)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/16/AR2010031602512.html
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment