• Posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2010
  • Bookmark and Share
  • email
  • |
  • print
  • |
  • rss

tool name

close
tool goes here

Cuba's 'Ladies in White' vow to continue protest marches

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on your iPhone
Follow us on your Android device Sign up for email newsletters RSS

Their numbers are dwindling, and there's even a call for Cuba's Ladies in White to disband now that the government has promised to release the jailed dissidents whose freedom they demanded.

Yet the group's leaders are vowing that they will continue marching through Havana's streets on Sundays until all Cuban political prisoners are freed. And they are urging relatives of other prisoners to join them.

"The road is the liberation of all peaceful political prisoners. That's the road, and it has to be followed," said spokeswoman Berta Soler, who estimated 50 to 60 will remain in prison after the 52 whose release they had sought are freed.

"We are calling on the relatives of the rest to come with us and march. And we will welcome any other women who want to march with us and demand liberty for the men," Soler added Monday.

"Our voices, our marches, our legs, will not stop as long as there's a single peaceful political prisoner," added Laura Pollán, another Ladies in White leader. They spoke by phone from Havana.

Another eight jailed dissidents were to be freed and flown to Spain Monday, bringing to 19 the number of prisoners released by the Raul Castro government as part of his promise to free the 52 over four months.

To read the complete article, visit www.miamiherald.com.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. To post one, you must sign in using either your McClatchyDC login or your login for Facebook, Twitter or Disqus. Just click the appropriate box below.

Please keep your comment civil, short and to the point. Obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. If you find a comment abusive or inappropriate, please flag it for the moderator by placing your cursor on the comment, then clicking the "flag" link that appears. Thanks for your participation.

BLOG

Mexico Unmasked

Written by Tim Johnson, McClatchy's bureau chief in Mexico City.

BLOG

Inside South America

Written by Jim Wyss, McClatchy's bureau chief in Bogota.

BLOG

China Rises

Written by Tom Lasseter, McClatchy's Beijing bureau chief.

BLOG

Inside Iraq

Written by Iraqi journalists.