Twenty years ago brave Cuban women took the name Ladies in White.

Today four Ladies in White are in prison for demanding freedom for political prisoners and respect for human rights.

Ladies in White Tania Echevarría, Saylí Navarro, Sissi Abascal & Aymara Nieto jailed.

 

May 22, 2023 marks the day twenty years  ago when a group of brave Cuban women took the name the Ladies in White.  

They first came together on March 30, 2003 in the aftermath of a major crackdown that began on March 18, 2003, and with political show trials underway targeting their loved ones. 

Claudia Márquez (L) , Blanca Reyes (center) y Miriam Leiva (Rt), on 4/7/03 (Martí Noticias)

These courageous women carried out marches demanding the freedom of all prisoners of conscience and recognition of international human rights standards. 

Their objective was to see an end to prisoners of conscience in Cuba. 

Recognizing their struggle, the European Parliament awarded the Ladies in White the Sakharov Prize in 2005.

They've paid a high price for this stand. Movement leader Laura Pollán may have paid the highest price.  

Laura Pollán, February 13, 1948 - October 14, 2011

Mary O'Grady in The Wall Street Journal on October 24, 2011 reported that Pollán instead of disbanding sought to expand "the movement across the country and promised to convert it to a human rights organization open to all women. Speaking from the Guanajay prison as her condition was deteriorating, jailed former Cuban counterintelligence officer Ernesto Borges Pérez told the Hablemos Press that making public those objectives likely sealed her fate." Laura Pollán died on October 14, 2011 and was cremated shortly afterwards.

Twenty years later, and the Ladies in White continue to be subjected to brutal repression, and four women of this movement are now jailed in Cuba for calling for the release of political prisoners, and nonviolently defending human rights.

• On April 14, 2022, Ms.Tania Echevarría Menéndez was sentenced to six years in prison for crimes of public disorder and contempt. 
• On April 18, 2022, Ms. Sayli Navarro Alvarez began serving an eight-year sentence for crimes of public disorder, contempt, and assault related to her participation in the July 11 protests.
• Ms. Sissi Abascal Zamora was sentenced to six years in prison for participating in the 11J protests in the town of Carlos Rojas, in the municipality of Jovellanos, in the province of Matanzas. The 23-year-old activist and member of the Party for Democracy Pedro Luis Boitel has ten business days to appeal. Reports are that a bus full of women dressed as civilians arrived where Sissi was peacefully demonstrating with others on July 11, 2021, and proceeded to beat her and others up, and a bottle was broken over Ms. Abascal Zamora's head requiring that she receive stitches.
  
• Mrs. Aymara Nieto Muñoz served four years in prison for her activism in the Ladies in White and when released officials created a new case against her and sentenced her to five years and four months in prison. This was in retaliation for not having agreed with State Security to leave the country with her family.

The current elected leader of the Ladies in White in Cuba is Berta Soler Fernandez.

Artists have celebrated them over the years, and their work endures. Mike Porcel in 2005 composed the song "Damas de Blanco" for a documentary about the Ladies in White.

In 2011, following Laura Pollán's death, Amaury Gutierrez composed the song "Laura", and in 2013 played it for Berta Soler and other Ladies in White at Our Lady of Charity when she visited Miami.

Today, 20 years later, we remember their courageous example, and the need to follow their lead both inside and outside of Cuba. 

Freedom for Tania, Sayli, Sissi, Aymara, and the over 1,000 other prisoners of conscience in Cuba.

El 4 de Julio y la ayuda de los cubanos a George Washington

George Washington

 

Por Frank Calzon

Este 4 de julio, pienso sobre los hombres y mujeres en las Fuerzas Armadas norteamericanas que arriesgan sus vidas defendiendo la causa de la libertad alrededor del mundo. Pienso también sobre Cuba, tan cerca de los Estados Unidos, sufriendo un despotismo que la oprime y que encarcela a los campesinos que quieren aliviar el hambre reinante y que se atreven a criar sus animales y cosechar frutas y vegetales y venderlos directamente a los consumidores. Son los campesinos que se atreven a violar el bloqueo interno de la dictadura a la producción independiente de los decretos del estado que gasta millones importando pollos congelados de Nueva Orleans.

 

Y recuerdo a las Damas de La Habana, precursoras de las Damas de Blanco de hoy en su amor por la libertad. Aquellas habaneras jugaron un papel importante ayudando a George Washington en un momento crítico de la guerra de independencia norteamericana.

La batalla de Yorktown se iniciaba y el general británico Cornwallis estaba seguro de que derrotaría a los patriotas norteamericanos.
Según un ayudante de Washington, el francés Conde de Rochambeau,  “las tropas continentales estaban casi sin ropas, sin medias y sin zapatos. Casi no tenían recursos. El General Washington no contaba con la mitad de las tropas necesarias”.

 

El historiador Stephen Bonsal cuenta lo ocurrido en su libro “Cuando los franceses estaban aquí”, publicado en 1945. En 1781, la situación lucía mal, cuando Washington envío al almirante Francois de Grasse al Caribe. Charles Lee Lewis lo describe en su libro “El Almirante DeGrasse y la Independencia Americana", que publicó el Instituto Naval de Estados Unidos.

Lamentablemente, como Jean-Jacques Antier también escribe en “El Almirante DeGrasse: Héroe de la Independencia Americana", cuando el francés llegó a Santo Domingo la flota española había partido para Espana, no había oro y el gobierno colonial no podía ayudar.

 

De Grasse marchó a La Habana. Entonces no existía la Fundación Nacional para la Democracia (National Endowment for Democracy) para promover la libertad y la democracia alrededor del mundo.

 

Los cubanos admiraban a Washington y respondieron inmediatamente. “Las damas de La Habana donaron sus diamantes y 1,200,000 libras fueron recaudados”, escribió Antier. De Grasse partió para Filadelfia sin demora, y desde allí Rochembau se fue a Chester, Pensilvania en Septiembre de 1781.

 

“Vimos en la distancia al General Washington saludando con su sombrero y un pañuelo blanco, demostrando su alegría al ver el bote que llegaba a Chester", dijo Rochembau después según la crónica de J. J. Jusserand, en “Con los Americanos del Pasado y los Dias Presentes”. De Rochembau acababa de pisar tierra cuando Washington, usualmente muy circunspecto lo abrazó, la buena nueva se había hecho realidad. De Grasse había arribado con significantes recursos para continuar la lucha.

 

La campaña en el otoño de 1781, y la guerra, terminó cuando Cornwallis se rindió en Yorktown. Bonsal escribió más tarde: “El millón que donaron las damas de La Habana pueden reconocerse como los dólares indispensables para la construcción del edificio de la independencia americana”.

El Presidente Biden, que ha anunciado que La Habana no coopera con la lucha antiterrorista y que la represión y las violaciones de los derechos humanos en la isla son consideraciones en la reexaminación de su política hacia Cuba, posiblemente desconoce la ayuda de las damas de La Habana a  Washington.

En este 4 de julio, pidámosle a Dios que proteja a los soldados americanos alrededor del mundo y a las Damas de Blanco, a los activistas de UNPACU, del Movimiento San Isidro y los hombres y mujeres en manos de la gestapo cubana.

Frank Calzón es un politólogo cubano.

Amnesty International issues Urgent Action for Ladies in White Detained and Missing in Cuba

UA: 276/12 Index: AMR 25/022/2012 Cuba

Date: 25 September 2012

URGENT ACTION
DOZENS OF CUBAN OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS DETAINED

Members of the Ladies in White have been detained in Havana and several other places in Cuba. Some remain in detention and the authorities have failed to provide reasons for their detention or information on their whereabouts.

From 21 to 24 September the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) held several activities, including masses and marches in Havana, to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Mercy (Virgin de la Merced) and in memory of former political activists. Since 20 September, various members of the Ladies in White have received intimidating notes aimed at preventing them from taking part in activities. Reports from the group state that the headquarters in Neptuno Street, Havana have been surrounded by police officers.

Around 50 members of the group, who travelled from different provinces of Cuba to attend the activities, were arrested on their way to Havana. The majority of them were released and deported back to their provinces, however 19 remain detained and their whereabouts are unknown. On 24 September as the Ladies in White planned to attend mass, an act of repudiation (acto de repudio see background information) took place at their headquarters. Government supporters and state agents gathered in the street chanting pro-government slogans and intimidating the women. In the early morning of 25 September 18 members of the Ladies in White were arrested at the headquarters.

Amnesty International believes that the repeated use of short term detentions of members of the Ladies in White and other activists in Cuba is a tactic used to silence dissident voices in the country and prevent peaceful activities.

Furthermore the systematic arrest of activists travelling from the provinces to Havana represents an excessive limitation to freedom of movement and represents excessive control and harassments of dissidents.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

• Calling on the authorities to reveal immediately the identity and whereabouts of all members of the Ladies in White arrested between 21-25 September;
• Urging them to immediately release the detained members, unless there is sufficient evidence to charge them with an internationally recognizable criminal offence;
• Urging them to immediately cease the harassment and intimidation of members of the Ladies in White and all other citizens who seek to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association, and immediately stop arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement of Cubans inside Cuba.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Acts of repudiation (actos de repudio) are government coordinated demonstrations, usually carried out in front of the homes of political opponents, attended by government supporters, state officials and law enforcement agencies aimed at harassing and intimidating opponents and are often used to prevent them from travelling to participate in activities. During an act of repudiation, political opponents and human rights activists are subjected to verbal and physical abuse by groups of people
chanting pro-government slogans. Police are usually present but fail to intervene to stop the assaults. Such incidents frequently involve the Rapid Response Brigades (Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida), a structure set up in 1991 and composed of Communist Party volunteers whose task is to deal with any sign of ‘counter-revolution’.

Local human rights activists and others believe these incidents are orchestrated by Cuba's security services to intimidate any opposition.

The Ladies in White was formed by a group of female relatives of the 75 prisoners of conscience who were imprisoned in March 2003 for their peaceful expression of critical opinions of the government. The group would attend mass every Sunday in the capital, Havana, dressed in white, to pray for the release of their relatives. Afterwards they would take part in a procession from the church to a nearby park, carrying white flowers.

A solidarity group called the Ladies in Support (Damas de Apoyo) subsequently emerged to support and participate in activities organized by the Ladies in White. In early 2012 the two groups merged and all members are now considered to be Ladies in White. After the release of all the prisoners of conscience from the March 2003 crackdown, the Ladies in White have been campaigning for the release of political prisoners and for the lifting of restrictions on fundamental civil and political freedoms in Cuba.

The Ladies in White have repeatedly suffered harassment and intimidation as they have attempted to carry out their peaceful activities. They are frequently subject to acts of repudiation by government supporters and members of the security forces, and also to short-term arbitrary detentions in order to disrupt their activities.

Name: Members of The Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) and other opposition activists in Cuba
Gender m/f: both
UA: 276/12 Index: AMR 25/022/2012 Issue Date: 25 September 2012

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 6 NOVEMBER 2012 TO:

President
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana,
Cuba
Fax: +53 7 83 33 085 (via Foreign
Ministry); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)
Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban
Mission to UN)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Interior Minister
General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra
Ministro del Interior y Prisiones
Ministerio del Interior,
Plaza de la Revolución,
La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +537 85 56 621; +1 212 779 1697
(via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email: correominint@mn.mn.co.cu
Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:

Attorney General
Dr Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscal General de la República,
Fiscalía General de la República,
Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella, Centro
Habana, La Habana, Cuba
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/022/2012/en

Mass for the eternal repose of Laura Pollan at La Ermita in Miami

Ladies in White in Miami attend Mass at Ermita for Laura Pollán

A Mass for the eternal repose of Laura Pollán was held at La Ermita de la Caridad on October 15 at 8:00pm. Many of the political prisoners now exiled who, in large part, owe their freedom to the Ladies in White took attended and paid their respects. As did many of the Ladies in White now exiled. Some traveled from long distances to pay their respects. Pictures and videos are posted below.

Poster reads: "United in prayer for Laura Pollán"

Press accounts expressed surprise at the tributes for Laura that are flooding cyberspace from the famous, the powerful and countless every day people whose lives she touched. The Mass at La Ermita was standing room only and along with the Ladies in White, former prisoners of conscience, a US Senator, a former Congressman, and a commandant of the revolution the general public gathered to pray for her immortal soul on a rainy Saturday night dodging heavy downpours.

On Friday, October 14, 2011 at 11pm the first prayer service for the eternal repose of Laura Pollán was held at La Ermita. An video clip excerpt from the service is embedded below. Parishioners were still in a state of shock and and intense sorrow having learned of Laura's passing at 7:50pm that very night.




Early the next day it was announced in both the mass media and social media that a special Mass for the eternal repose of Laura Pollán would be held that same night, Saturday, October 15 at 8pm.

Bishop Agustin Roman

Cardinal Raymond L. Burke in CatholicCulture.org presents in an article "On the Christian Burial of the Dead" why this type of mass for the recently departed is so important:

Praying for the dead is an integral part of our Christian life; it is one of the spiritual works of mercy. Our prayer for the dead both honors their memory and expresses our faithful love as we assist them to be purified of any temporal punishment due to sin and to reach their final destiny and lasting home with God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs us about the importance of prayer for the dead:

From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead. (No. 1032)

According to the Cardinal, "There is no more effective means to express our love and provide spiritual help for those who have died than to have the Mass offered for the eternal repose of their souls."

While there exists a political prisoner in Cuba the Ladies in White will be there ask for their liberty." - Laura Pollán


Ladies in White gathered at La Ermita to pay their respects and pray for the immortal soul of Laura Pollán.

Agustin Roman, the retired Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami, and an icon of the Cuban exile community delivered the homily. A video clip excerpt is available below along with a very loose translation which attempts to remain true to what the Monsignor said.



"A person as left us who very much loved liberty. We must agree that Laura was a person who struggled mightily for freedom and she has left but she left us a remembrance, a gift, a seed that she planted: The Ladies in White. Let us pray her and also pray for what she sowed. So that it will continue. Today we pray in a special manner for the freedoms that she sacrificed for. Let us fight for that and pray for that." [...]

Peace is founded on four pillars: The first is the truth. There cannot be peace where there is not truth. There cannot be peace where there is not justice. There cannot be peace where there is not love. Hate can never achieve peace. There cannot be peace where there is not freedom. If one of these four pillars is absent said Pope John XXIII peace collapses. To rebuild peace requires rebuilding the four pillars. Undoubtably that is what the Ladies in White have done. They have done it nonviolently.


Following the Mass former prisoners of conscience and Ladies in White gathered to remember and exchange anecdotes of their time with Laura Pollán.

Former prisoner of conscience Carmelo Díaz Fernández

Former prisoner of conscience Fidel Suarez Cruz

Two Ladies in White conversing with Antonio Diaz Sanchez (his back to the camera)

Former prisoners of conscience Roberto de Miranda and Normando Hernandez

Amnistía Internacional denuncia clima de miedo y represión contra Damas de Blanco

Las Damas de Blanco de Cuba, objetivo de detención arbitraria e intimidación

22 agosto 2011

Las autoridades cubanas deben poner fin a la intimidación ejercida contra un grupo de mujeres que hacen campaña en favor de la liberación de presos políticos, según ha afirmado Amnistía Internacional después de que ayer volvieran a detener a 19 mujeres pertenecientes a este grupo.

Las últimas detenciones se practicaron ayer en la ciudad suroriental de Santiago de Cuba y sus inmediaciones, donde las mujeres se disponían a marchar en silencio y rezar por el fin del encarcelamiento político.

Durante el último mes, las Damas de Blanco y sus simpatizantes han afrontado repetidamente agresiones y detención arbitraria al protagonizar protestas en varias localidades de la región.

“El acoso constante a estas mujeres valientes tiene que parar. Las autoridades cubanas deben permitirles marchar pacíficamente y asistir a servicios religiosos si lo desean” manifestó Javier Zúñiga, asesor especial de Amnistía Internacional.

Las últimas detenciones se llevaron a cabo cuando las Damas de Blanco se concentraron en varios lugares para iniciar la marcha prevista hacia la Catedral de Santiago de Cuba.

Once de estas mujeres se reunieron ayer por la mañana en el domicilio de un simpatizante en la localidad de Palma Soriano. Una multitud de alrededor de un centenar de personas, formada por agentes de policía, autoridades y simpatizantes del gobierno, mantuvieron la casa rodeada durante varias horas.

Cuando las mujeres intentaron salir, la policía las empujó y les tiró del pelo antes de obligarlas a subir a autobuses. A unos kilómetros de allí las cambiaron a vehículos policiales y luego las abandonaron cerca de sus ciudades natales, en las provincias de Santiago de Cuba y Holguín.

Ayer, la policía también rodeó durante varias horas la vivienda de Tania Montoya Vázquez, otra mujer de las Damas de Blanco de Palma Soriano, evitando que salieran ella y otras dos manifestantes.

Otras cinco integrantes de las Damas de Blanco que viven en la ciudad de Santiago fueron detenidas antes de que pudieran llegar a la catedral y estuvieron varias horas privadas de libertad en comisarías de policía. Se piensa que todas han sido liberadas ya.

Desde el 17 de julio, grupos de Damas de Blanco se han concentrado los domingos para celebrar protestas silenciosas y asistir a misa en Santiago de Cuba y varias localidades cercanas.

Las Damas de Blanco y las Damas de Apoyo forman una red nacional de activistas en Cuba que recientemente ha intensificado sus protestas pacíficas en las provincias orientales.

En La Habana y otros lugares, los informes recibidos indican que han sufrido hostigamiento repetidamente por parte de las autoridades cubanas a causa de sus protestas pacíficas.

El 18 de agosto de 2011, en el centro de La Habana, se impidió a 49 mujeres de las Damas de Blanco y a sus simpatizantes que celebraran una protesta para apoyar a las mujeres del grupo en Santiago de Cuba y otras provincias del este.

En 2003, las autoridades cubanas detuvieron a 75 familiares de mujeres del grupo por su implicación en críticas pacíficas al gobierno.

Los 75 disidentes fueron objeto de juicios sumarios y condenados a penas de hasta 28 años de cárcel.

Amnistía Internacional consideró que todos eran presos de conciencia; finalmente, en mayo de 2011 fue liberada la última persona de este grupo. Las Damas de Blanco y las Damas de Apoyo siguen protestando pacíficamente para que se libere a otras personas que, en su opinión, han sido encarceladas por sus actividades disidentes.

“Es inaceptable que el gobierno dirigido por Raúl Castro perpetúe un clima de miedo y represión para silenciar a los ciudadanos corrientes de Cuba que se atreven a expresar su opinión” manifestó Javier Zúñiga.

http://www.amnesty.org/es/news-and-updates/damas-blanco-cuba-detencion-arbitraria-intimidacion-2011-08-22

Cuban women are at the cutting edge of Cuba's freedom

Congratulations to all women! I dream that the world & Cuba be carried away more by skirts and less by military uniforms. - Yoani Sanchez, March 8, 2011



Over the past year Cuban women have demonstrated their courage and persistence in confronting a brutal totalitarian regime both inside and outside of Cuba.



The Ladies in White, founded in March of 2003 after fathers, brothers, husbands and sons were unjustly imprisoned, they risked their lives and freedom marching through the streets of Cuba and petitioning the dictatorship to release their loved ones.

Sonia Garro

They were brutalized, beaten, detained and some even had bones broken from the beatings by agents and mobs organized and sent by the dictatorship.

Mercedes Fresneda

Nevertheless they continued on in their struggle for justice. Some of them went on hunger strike to demand their loved one's freedom and in the end obtained their goal. Despite many having achieved their objective they maintain in solidarity with those whose loved ones are still imprisoned and carry on against great odds.

Outrage over this violence against these Cuban women led Gloria Estefan to organize a march in Miami, FL were over 100,000 dressed in white in Solidarity with the Ladies in White. In her call to action she cited the words of Cuba's independence hero stating:

In the words of our illustrious poet, Jose Marti, "The campaigns of a people are only weak when in them is not enlisted the heart of a woman; but when a woman is shaken and helps, when a woman, timid and quiet in her nature, cheers and applauds, when a woman cultured and virtuous anoints a deed with the honey of her love, the deed is invincible".

In the end the dictatorship pledged to release all the prisoners by November 6, 2010 then failed to do so when some of them refused to go into exile in exchange for their freedom.



Amnesty International had to request that the dictatorship to end the harassment of Reina Luisa Tamayo Danger who wanted to visit her son's grave. Her son, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, had died in the Castro regime's custody on February 23, 2010 and was an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience and human rights defender. Despite Amnesty's public request the beatings and harassment continued.

Reina Luisa Tamayo Danger with photo of her son Orlando Zapata Tamayo

These women's courage speaks for itself:

"Things in Cuba are not well at all, but I am going to continue this struggle to the death or until whatever they want happens; I will continue to support the Ladies in White, even if they continue to beat us, because what they want is for us to be afraid and we are not going to allow that to happen." -Dania Virgen García (blogger, independent journalist sentenced to 20 months in prison)

"They can either kills us, put us in jail or release them. We will never stop marching no matter what happens." - Laura Pollán, Lady in White, Cuba March 2010

Tribute to Cuba's Ladies in White as they walk on for freedom

They can either kills us, put us in jail or release them. We will never stop marching no matter what happens. - Laura Pollán, Lady in White, Cuba March 2010



A tribute to Cuba's Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) and their husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons imprisoned for exercising their fundamental human rights. Most of the prisoners of conscience pictured in the video have been imprisoned since the Cuban Black Spring which began on March 18, 2003 over 7 years ago.

Black Spring Prisoners Who Remain in Prison:

Pedro Argüelles Morán, Victor Arroyo Carmona, Mijail Bárzaga Lugo, Oscar Elias Biscet, Marcelo Cano Rodríguez, Antonio Díaz Sánchez, Eduardo Diaz Fleitas, Alfredo Domínguez Batista, Adolfo Fernández Saínz, Efren Fernández Fernández, José Ferrer García, Luis Ferrer García, Alfredo Felipe Fuentes, Próspero Gaínza Agüero, Miguel Galván Gutiérrez, Julio Gálvez Rodríguez, José García Paneque, Diosdado González Marrero, Jorge González Tanquero, Lester González Pentón, Ricardo González Alfonso, Leonel Grave de Peralta Almenares, Iván Hernández Carrillo, Normando Hernández González, Juan Herrera Acosta, Régis Iglesias Ramírez, José Izquierdo Hernández, Librado Linares García, José Martínez Hernández, Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, Luis Milán Fernández, Nelson Molinet Espino, Angel Moya Acosta, Jesús Felipe Mustafá, Félix Navarro Rodríguez, Pablo Pacheco Ávila, Arturo Pérez de Alejo Rodríguez, Horacio Piña Borrego, Fabio Prieto Llorente, Alfredo Pulido López, Arnaldo Ramos Lauzerique, Blas Reyes Rodríguez, Alexis Rodríguez Fernández, Omar Rodríguez Saludes, Omar Ruíz Hernández, Claro Sánchez Altarriba, Ariel Sigler Amaya, Guido Sigler Amaya, Ricardo Silva Gual, Fidel Suarez Cruz, Manuel Ubals González, Héctor Valle Hernández, Antonio Villarreal Acosta.

Demonstrations of Solidarity with the Ladies in White today in Madrid, New York City, & Los Angeles

Demonstrations for the Ladies in White "Las Damas de Blanco" and supporting their demand for the immediate release of all of Cuba's prisoners of conscience.

Below are video excerpts. None are mine, but I found them searching through youtube and thought them worthwhile to post here to give an idea about today's events:


WSVN's Channel 7 coverage of demonstration in Los Angeles



Telemundo Channel 51 coverage of demonstrations in Madrid, New York City, & Los Angeles in Spanish



From youtube images from the demonstration in New York City

Gloria Estefan Announces March 'In Support of Freedom'

MARCH IN SUPPORT OF THE 'DAMAS DE BLANCO' AND FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS FOR CUBA

Acts of Repudiation from Mariel 1980 through International Human Rights Day 2009: Government Run and Organized Operations

Havana 1980 "Mariel"

Havana 2009 "Human Rights Day"

"Tolerance and human rights require each other." - Simon Wiesenthal

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil." - Hannah Arendt




It is understandable at a time when newspapers are in crisis and suffering cutbacks that professionals could get a story wrong, but the coverage of the attacks against the Ladies in White and other dissidents on International Human Rights Day save some notable exceptions swallowed the regime line of "pro-government mobs and government supporters" that in reality does not exist without even a question. The history of the creation and development of "acts of repudiation" has been well documented.

Acts of repudiation were first seen in 1980 during the Mariel crisis when Cubans who simply wanted to leave the country were brutally assaulted and forty lost their lives in lynchings. A refugee at the time of Mariel Mirta Ojito, now a journalist and author, described what she had seen and experienced in an opinion piece for the New York Times:

Mariel marked the first time socialist Cuba turned against itself. Thegovernment staged riots called actos de repudio -- street rallies inwhich neighbors turned against neighbors, harassing and tormenting those who wanted to leave the country. The victims were often pelted with rocks, tomatoes and eggs. Windows were shattered. Doors were knocked down. Some people were killed, dragged through the streets as trophies to intolerance and hate. Sometimes people trapped inside their homes chose to kill themselves rather than face their tormentors.

Both Amnesty International (AI) and the Office of the High Commissioner for the UN Human Rights Commission recognized that the individuals taking part in the acts of repudiation are "organized by
the authorities." AI has defined this form of state sponsored intimidation as follows:

Acts of repudiation [Actos de repudio] these are meetings or demonstrations organized by government officials or mass organizations supporting the government at which the person or persons concerned are
subjected to criticism and abuse, sometimes physical, because of their so-called counter-revolutionary views or activities.

The Cuban government is not static. Repression and the tactics change and evolve over time with one aim maintaining absolute power. When Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union began to transition to democracy in the late 1980s culminating in the peaceful dissolution of the USSR in 1991 the dictatorship in Cuba responded through a number of different initiatives one of them was to further refine "acts of repudiation" with the creation of the Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida "Rapid Response Brigades" to prepare for potential unrest and stepped-up dissident activity under the direction of the MININT (Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior). According to AI the:

Rapid Response Brigades, [Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida] were set up in 1991 to defend the country, the Revolution and socialism in all circumstances, by confronting and liquidating any sign of counter-revolution or crime and were subsequently involved in numerous violent confrontations with dissidents.

These are not spontaneous "pro-government mobs" but individuals transported by the dictatorship and instructed to attack those who dissent from the government line as was seen on International Human Rights Day where the violence was surgically directed against women standing up for their husbands who are Amnesty International prisoners of conscience and demonstrators and observers at a second demonstration. These individuals are not neighbors or supporters of the government who spontaneously appear to counter the demonstration. They are part of a “unified system of vigilance and protection (SUVP)” that comprise members of Committees in Defense of the Revolution (CDRs), mass organizations, and in some cases taken from their workplaces and obligated to participate to keep their jobs and are organized and directed by Cuban State Security. According to Human Rights Watch the Cuban government "employs so-called repudiation meetings (mitines de repudio), or acts of repudiation, to humiliate and intimidate dissidents publicly, sometimes violently." A more detailed description emerges in a 1998 report by Douglas Payne:

Their principle mission is to carry out acts of repudiation, which entail violent mob actions against dissidents or suspected dissidents, their homes, and any public demonstration of dissent. The mobs can involve up to hundreds of people who wield chains, bats and lengths of pipe. They shout slogans and threats, throw rocks and other crude missiles, deface homes with graffiti and otherwise damage property. The mobs are frequently invasive, breaking down doors and windows to carry out physical attacks against the occupants.

The participants in these neo-fascist attacks are probably taking part in this violent propaganda exercise in the Cuban dictatorship's version of Orwell's 2 minutes hate to avoid being on the receiving end of such an action themselves. For example during an act of repudiation on August 24, 2005 against Bertha Antunez the mob stopped the action when Bertha began to play Willy Chirino's "Ya Viene Llegando" and began to dance in the street. These are not regime supporters driven into an ideological frenzy to attack dissidents. They are people, in many cases brought by bus often times from work, and obligated by the government to attack other Cubans. It is the height of cowardice both for the Cuban government and the individuals taking part in the attacks and it is not a sign of regime strength but of fear that they will lose control.

Damas de Blanco: Un documental del Ciro Díaz y Claudio Fuentes

Damas de Blanco
Un documental del Ciro Díaz y Claudio Fuentes
Música: Eric Sánchez

This short documentary has a cinema verite quality which interviews the Ladies in White in the midst of their weekly walk to Santa Rita Church in which they call for their loved one's freedom from unjust imprisonment. Clocking in at 10 minutes 54 seconds there is no fluff or padding but direct interviews in real time as the action takes place, and filming the surrounding environment.

Although not a political film but rather a human rights film it documents a slice of life and is worthy of a larger audience.