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Franklin Reyes / AP
The 'Ladies in White' protests are the only ones allowed in Cuba.
HAVANA - Cuban authorities detained about 70 members of the dissident group Ladies in White over the weekend, drawing fresh attention to human rights issues days ahead of a visit by Pope Bendict XVI.
Eighteen women, dressed in their customary white clothing, were rounded up and taken away in buses after they left their permitted route through Havana's Miramar neighborhood during their weekly Sunday march in the Cuban capital, said a Reuters cameraman on the scene.
The arrests are likely to bring into focus the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Communist Cuban regime, which is officially atheist but has recently had better relations with Christian groups.
A One Cuba/Una Cuba Facebook campaign has been started by Cuban Americans in Florida, calling for the Pope to meet the country’s dissidents during his two-day visit, which begins March 26.
The Miami Herald notes that Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1998 was followed by concessions from the government including permission for television broadcast of Masses while Christmas Day became a national holiday.
However, Catholic authorities said last week a visit with dissidents was not on the pope's program.
Ladies in White member Magaly Norvis Otero Suarez told Reuters that 16 of the women were arrested Saturday evening when they attempted to stage a march in central Havana and another 36 were detained Sunday morning as they prepared to go to mass at Santa Rita Catholic Church, then stage their silent march along 5th Avenue, Miramar's main boulevard.
They had gathered at the home of their deceased leader Laura Pollan over the weekend to commemorate the anniversary of the arrest of 75 government opponents in March 2003 that gave rise to the organization, Otero said.
Human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez told Reuters that along with the estimated 70 women detained in Havana, another 12 dissidents were arrested in other provinces.
"The Ladies in White," or "Damas de Blanco" in Spanish, were the wives and mothers of the 75, who received lengthy sentences but have all been freed, most as part of a 2010 agreement brokered by the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in the release of 130 political prisoners.
The group has continued its weekly marches, which are the only public protests allowed in Cuba, saying there are still more political prisoners to be freed.
They are allowed to walk along a 12-block stretch of 5th Avenue, but are quickly detained when they vary from the prescribed route. On Sunday, they continued toward the Malecon, Havana's famed seaside boulevard, before police swooped in.
In numerous similar incidents in the past, the women have been released within hours without charges.
By early evening on Sunday some of the women had been freed.
'Not very favorable climate'
"They released us an hour ago and have begun releasing the others, though many have yet to report in," Otero, one of the 18 women picked up at noon on Sunday, said by telephone. The detentions followed a controversial incident last week when 13 dissidents occupied a Havana Catholic church demanding that Pope Benedict mediate an end to Communist rule.
After two days, they were ousted by police at the Church's request, which raised the hackles of Cuba's small dissident community.
Sanchez said the arrests are "creating a not very favorable climate for the pope's visit."
"The fault lies first with the government for its excessive repression as always, and the Catholic authorities' error for allowing the violent expulsion of dissidents from the church," he said.
Ladies in White leader Berta Soler has said her group would like to meet briefly with the pope to discuss human rights in Cuba. She was not at the Sunday march because she was among those detained beforehand.
The Cuban government views dissidents as "mercenaries" in the pay of the United States, its longtime ideological foe.
However, the visit of the Pope throws the activities of groups such as Ladies in White into the spotlight.
Amnesty International has previously raised concerns about their treatment, saying Ladies in White “have repeatedly suffered harassment from Cuban authorities for their peaceful protests”.
Last year a report issued by the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said rocks and iron bars were used against them in one attack, causing them “injuries, some considerable."
However, the Ladies in White distanced themselves from activists who occupied a Catholic church last week demanding that Pope Benedict XVI press Havana for political freedom.
That group of dissidents, allied to the little-known Republican Party of Cuba (PRC), were holed up since Tuesday at the Our Lady of Charity church in central Havana.
"I don't know them," said Guillermo Farinas, a dissident who has been on hunger strike more than 20 times, told the AFP by telephone. He warned the activists to "beware of carrying out any type of provocative action that could damage the credibility of the peaceful political opposition in Cuba."
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Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Sometimes actions really speak louder than words...
I hope that doddering old narcissist Castro doesnt think that the Pope knows what he did and that he seems to be the same old monster he has always been.
Get ready for the afterlife "Fidelito"...everyone else is a'waitin...your departure..
ooh yeah, wat is teh pope gona do about it?
The Pope is busy... He's picking out his personal fragrence.
the pope is coming over to visit. The Pope can only do that with permission -- where are your brains? Communion in communism. The catholic pope is has ideas to spread catholicism and going to where no man has gone before. Communion in communism. un-imagine power.
if we opened up relations and travel with Cuba, in exchange for allowing private business to do business there, Cuba would throw out Communism within a year.
Curious Bob Fidel is not the leader of Cuba any longer, his brother "Raulito" is, perhaps is time to update your archives.
God bless the Pope. Y Dios bendiga la causa de Cuba libre.
It is time to say goodbye to Communism in Cuba.
The Lord hears the cry of the oppressed and downtrodden.
Pay attention Castros!
Communism ruined Cuba, That could be the richest country if it were free, a tropical Las Vegas as it were.
Free Cuba...just for the fun of it.
American aggression ruined Cuba. The white male power structure in this country just couldn't stomach the fact that brown and Black people in Cuba were not going to be bullied by them. That's why the U.S. sabatoged the Cuban and Haitian economies.
Here you go, Chris, another deck of race cards for you because you use them instead on focusing on the issues. Just because you are wrong on the issue does not mean you have to resort to a bunch of race cards. We all know both white, black and all mixes in between would be better off if the Communist Occupation Forces never illegally occupied Havana and destroyed Cuba. So what does Christ do, instead of admitting Communism destroyed the great nation of Cuba, he resorts to the race card. Playing the Race Card will never help Cuba, getting rid Communism and sticking with the issues will. Cubans of all races would rather get rid of Communism instead of playing a race card. Ojala que pronto, va a ser un Cuba Libre para todos.
yea, a free Cuba. A tropical Las Vegas, run by the mafia and American gangsterism.
Does Chris realize a communist Cuba was backed by Russia, which is white? Racist fool. And this was because of its close proximity to America, a station right near us.
It was the Mafia that ruined Cuba. If this group had millions to bribe the Pope then he visited them.....Its all about the Money:
So was it 70, 18, or 82 people that were detained? Throwing numbers out without clearly explaining them makes it sound like someone with very poor short term memory was just throwing words on paper to sell a story.
Which is worst communism or fascism?
Sarcasm is worst.
It all depends on who is the leader and who is in the grave.
The regime sponsors communism. The Pope sponsors fascism.
The Castor regime doesn't "sponsor Communism", it is a dictatorship that crams Communism down the throats of the Cuban people.
And the Pope most certainly does not "sponsor fascism".
Be precise. If your complaint is that the Pope condemns an active homosexual lifestyle, say so and build a case that he should change his mind. Is that so difficult? The Church is 2,000 years old and has over one billion adherents spread across the globe. It does not move quickly.
What is the big deal here, If i march with a group and the group leaves the route we all get arrest.
I am sure you know this, it has happen many times to me, no big deal. I either spend some time in Jail or pay the
fine. My brother who is a monk and priest friends get arrested all the time if they leave the route intended.
I just hope the people putting comments understand this. You try and leave your permitted route.
I think the Pope should out of Cuba and let the people decide what they want, and who they want it from.
The political climate in Cuba the last 60 may not have been to every ones liken but, they had help from many other communist counties.
The last thing these people need is interference from the POPE, U.N. or any one else. The change is coming and they will do it themselves.
Spoken like someone with no backbone. The Church has a duty to oppose injustice, while keeping its profile a low enough to prevent mass murder of the faithful by dictatorial rulers.
It's time for the Communist dictatorship to go away. The DICTATORS are the ones who need to let the Cuban people decide for themselves.
Remember Fidel made them a nation of educated and proud athletic achievements. They provide Doctors and Professionals to many countries in the Carribean and it did come from dictatorship. The other alternative would have been to keep them uneducated and prostitute themselves to the western world so I guess that is what most of the neocons wanted. Cuba is fine! Fidel has outlived his required past and now it is time to move on and Cuba will move on and will be successful in a world in which a huge neighbour does not cripple it with humungous sanctions. for God's sake we are friendly with China that is a bigger communist state than Cuba but I gues we bow to the financing China provides. In my crude terms we will suck anybody's ass that provides us with money or places that we can plunder their resources. Cuba has stood its ground and Fidel and Che Guevara need to be commended for the sacrifices for bringing them to the educated world this is the plus you ignoramous neocons can never recognize. people like Thurmond who were a bunch of Racists and mafia supported thugs that we appreciate. Look around Cuba at the the other half dead beat countries if that is one calls them like Haiti, Domingo and the likes these are the people we manage with our type of Democracy and see for yourselves they are a bunch of uneducated thugs that steal and murder for the slightest of reasons as they are managed by our democratic Mafia institutions. Give Cuba a break Fidel and Raul will be on their way soon however Cuba will always owe them a debt for keeping them out of prostitution period.
Freedom comes with a price TommyD. Don't blame other countries because all you see are the few criminals every country has. You need to stand on your own two feet and understand what freedom means without a decorator. If you don't understand freedom without dictators then maybe you need to live in a country like Cuba under one.
TommyD, Castro got to power by deception, using the same people who supported him in the revolution
and fought for him, then executing them with summary trials by the thousands when they disagreed
with his decision to impose communism on the island. Why do you insist communism is the the only
alternative to social ills and corruption? There were many possible resolutions to the problem
that could have been tried.
Communist dictatorships have always been quite good at producing Olympic athletes, strong militaries, and a government near-monopoly on violent crime.
But they're still bad.
just think! if cuba said to its people like they did some years ago."if you want to leave, go ahead and leave" and leave they did, more than a hundred thousand left, relatives and friends in America got into their boats, rented the boats,(probably stole some boats too)and buzzed off to Cuba to pick up their friends,their relatives,the crooks,the murderers , the people no one wanted , the people everyone wanted and brought them back to America and then America deported the worst back to Cuba.Well, i guess that was one way of getting rid of all the political protesters, the hardened criminals, the sick , the dying,the poor ,the crazies.so what does this tell us....don't knock fidel and his brother or he will send us the crooks,the poor,the crazies again . when cuba opens its doors, not only do the relatives come to America, not only the nice people who want to make a life for themselves in a free country come , not only the doctors and the lawyers and the scientists come. but the folks no one wants also comes.How would you like to live next to a guy who cut off the heads of his neighbors.
These folks know how to handle dissidents !!
Obama should have done the same thing with the teapartybaggers.
You're the dissident!
100% Capitalism doesn't work; 100% Socialism doesn't work. Like everything else in life, it takes a little left and a little right to make things come together. If Cuba would lift some of it's restrictions and the U.S. would lift the embargo, I believe Cuba's situation (and ours) would improve. A lot of the problems between these two countries stems from old grudges; the same types of grudges that drug Ireland through decades of war and which are still causing problems in the Middle East.
That is easy for you to say while NOT in a Cuban Prison as a political prisoner. The Children of many of the Damas De Blanco are rotting in jail for just using basic freedoms not due some "old grudges". To think the problem with Cuba is just due to "old grudges" is naive at best
Kurt's comments according to International Amnesty there are not political prisoners in Cuba, they all were released, so "rotting in jail" seems a lie to me. the last technique the political police is using is catch and release after a few days, in this way they avoid to be blacklisted by human rights organizations.
This is the same thing that is going to happen in this country. The government will have problems with the church and pretty soon people that support the church will be dissident.
Pope eats babies... Google it...
Unless you're being sarcastic to the Catholic bashers just shut up. Really.
What I find amazing about this story is that American media has finally shown Black Cubans in photos. Considering that a majority of Cubans have an African background on some level you'd never know this from the pictures that are always presented in our media.
Chris, seen many "pictures" of Cubans as in real life face to face, reconize them as all Cubans. No need to try to play the race card as with your comments in 2.1. All races would be better off without communism. Real Cubans hate communism and don't play the race card to avoid the issues.
Chris Gilliard the reason is that most Cubans that migrated here were white, because the descendants of white Spaniards ran the country and had the money. The island composition now is more mixed than before with roughly 50% white, 40% mixed and 10% black, the majority of Cubans do not have an African background yet, perhaps in 15 more years. Before Castro races were less likely to mix, because there was more racism than today.
If the Pope was in the U.S. and guarded by the secret service, if these ladies showed up to protest, they too would be hauled off and arrested. The charge is a felony. You can thank old Obama for signing that law into into existance. So much for First Amendment Rights.
Not many comments here on topic :) For a moment I thought the article was about stifling peaceful dissent in Cuba. How naive I was.
So many posts talk about bad things we did in the past (50 years ago and more). Go back even further and people used to be broken on the rack, and guillotined. So what. The article is about what is happening now.
Do you arrest a bunch of old (unarmed) ladies who walk SILENTLY? Is that justified by ANYTHING ANYONE did 50 years ago? Just a thought.
Yeah..Just like they Leave "Heads"..In Mexico..After the "Popes" Visit.But This has Happened for Decades and Decades.
Oh please. Do you even know what you're talking about?
And Now.."The Mexico",Religous Statue,Shall Cry Again..And Again..And Again.I Think Your All..NUTS!!
And,I Think Your All..Drug Addicts Too..And Financial Experts..
They better all watch out for..The "Cuban" Drug Lord..and His "Little Friend"...AGAIN.
Kurts comments: maybe you shouldn't comment if you're not aware of what you're talking about. Just because you don't want to face up to facts doesn't obligate the rest of us to bury our heads in the sand. The facts are that racism has played a very big part in creating the current political structure of our hemisphere.
Otter, you lost rights when The Patriot Act and Homeland Security regs were put in place.
You ought to do more research,before typing scuttlebutt.
What is Marco Rubio's position on this?
Cuba is a proud nation that has suffered under our embargoes, but still, under Fidel, and with a sense of community no one here would understand, Cuba has enjoyed some of the very things that we Americans covet (Amazing healthcare, advances in education for everyone, a healthy respect for arts and music, and a virtual eradication of racism). It might be worthwhile to investigate the pros and cons of Capitalism vs. Communism without looking through the veil of an American "Grand Narrative" that so enthralls us, without judging the people of Cuba, and using common sense, decipher what the Pope and Catholicism really means to the people of Cuba...and to the world.