MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Cuba detains Ladies in White ahead of the visit by Pope Benedict XVI
Ladies in White have been denied and interview with the Pope Cuban authorities detained on Sunday about 70 members of the dissident group Ladies in White, 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, according to witnesses.
The arrests are likely to bring into focus the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Cuban regime, which is officially atheist but has recently had better relations with Christian groups.
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 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 said 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 and 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.
“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.
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Read all commentsI am an atheist but the unreconstructed communist old farts running Cuba just give life to these delusionists by banning them from seeing the Chief Delusionist himself: The Pope.
Mar 19th, 2012 - 03:44 pm 0Are they still that fearfull of the RC Church? Perhaps they are after all.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner the current disaster president of Argentina
Mar 19th, 2012 - 06:53 pm 0and the other Argentina crooks are her vice-president, Amado Boudou, he is actually an owner of the company that prints money for the government in Argentina, a major conflict of interest, but he denies it, he owns the company in the names of other friends and associates. He is being investigated and surely will end up in jail where he belongs. Cristinas 2 VERY UGLY children, Maximo and Florencia Kirchner, are also very corrupt. Maximo owns all kinds of hotels and properties adn Florencia is a film student in New York and lives in a luxury Park Avenue apartment and is known for major cocaine use. Some of us who know her in New York remember how she always used to tell us how her parents have a bank account drawn on the Nation of Argentina and for her family money is no object. These 2 corrupt children of Cristina Kirchner are self proclaimed “militants”, they belong to 2 internal terrorist groups which Cristina Kirchner finances, “La Cámpora” and “Quebracho”. “La Cámpora” goes around to the poor shantytowns around the cities in Argentina and gives the poor people a bag of groceries, a sausage sandwich called “choripan” and $20 pesos to buy their votes. These people have no choice but to accept this as they are extremely poor and have no other hope. “Quebracho” is a terrorist group which Cristina Kirchner pays to protect her, they disguise their faces and go around shaking down businesses to get money and give back to the president. They are also responsible for drug dealing, robberies and murders.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTBAjfgHLyk&feature=relmfu
www.youtube.com/watch?v=azwWSN2pukk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSvQw00SV-c
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyPC0SD0PGw
www.ripoffreport.com/government-worker/argentina-tourists-m/argentina-tourists-murdered-l-33f51.htm
www.ripoffreport.com/federal-government/cristina-kirchner/cristina-kirchner-cristina-kir-dc9b0.htm
I am not an athiest neither am I here to tell athiests not to be athiests.
Mar 19th, 2012 - 11:03 pm 0If they like being athiest, I'm fine with that, as long as they don't harangue me in the pub waving Richard Dawkins novels at me, trying to get me upset and spilling my beer, and then resorting to some weird wooping and basically leaving looking like a bag of fail.
It really ruins my pub time..
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