Berta Soler And Ladies In White Cuba Dissidents Freed From Detention For Pope Visit Protest

Berta Soler, leader of the Cuban dissident group Ladies in White, arrives to the home of the late Laura Pollan after being freed from detention in Havana, Cuba, Monday March 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

HAVANA — One of Cuba's leading dissidents said Monday that she was released hours after being detained ahead of a weekly protest, but her husband was apparently still being held.

Bertha Soler, leader of the Ladies in White opposition group, said authorities have also warned her not to spoil Pope Benedict XVI's visit next week.

She said she and three dozen supporters were taken into custody early Sunday when they tried to reach a Havana church to protest. About 30 more who arrived at the church were detained when they tried to march down streets where they don't normally demonstrate.

Soler said most of the demonstrators were freed by late Sunday, but others were held overnight. She said she had not heard from her husband, Angel Moya, another anti-government activist who was arrested Sunday.

The detentions capped a tense week in which little-known government opponents occupied another Havana church for two days in an attempt to shine the spotlight on human rights ahead of the pope's March 26-28 trip.

The Ladies in White walk through a western Havana neighborhood each Sunday after Mass to press the government to free prisoners jailed for politically motivated crimes. They also demand political change on the island ruled for 53 years by Fidel and Raul Castro.

The Cuban government considers all dissidents to be common criminals and troublemakers financed by Washington to harm the communist-run government. Authorities have been quiet about the weekend arrests, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last spring, Cuba released the last of 75 government opponents imprisoned in a 2003 crackdown on dissent. Amnesty International no longer recognizes any inmates in Cuba as "prisoners of conscience," though some are behind bars for politically inspired crimes that were violent in nature.

Soler said authorities warned the Ladies to stay away from Benedict's public events in Havana and the eastern city of Santiago.

"Even if we are unable to meet with the Holy Father ... we will go to his Mass in Santiago de Cuba as well as the one here in Havana, whatever the cost," Soler said. Cuban dissidents have asked for an audience with the pontiff, but the Vatican has said Benedict has no plans to alter his schedule, which is limited due to his advanced age.

The Roman Catholic Church has usually mediated for Cuban dissidents, but tensions have risen since last week's occupation of the church in central Havana. The protesters demanded the pope raise their concerns with Cuban officials.

Police raided the church Thursday at the request of Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega. The protesters were not jailed, but received a stern warning.

More than 100 government opponents were briefly detained across the country over the weekend, according to Elizardo Sanchez, who monitors the human rights situation in Cuba and acts as a de facto spokesman for the opposition.

"The government is creating a climate not at all favorable for the visit by Benedict," Sanchez said. "I think it is having an impact. Vatican diplomacy will take note."

A church spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In Washington, the State Department called the detentions a "reprehensible" violation of democratic principles and urged Benedict to address human rights in conversations with Cuban authorities.

"One would hope and expect that this would be the kind of thing that would be raised in the context of such a visit," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

On Monday morning, Soler appeared at the home of the late Ladies in White co-founder Laura Pollan, which the group uses as a base of operations. She said the protesters were told the wide Havana thoroughfare where they hold their weekly post-Mass demonstrations would be off-limits. It was not clear, however, whether such a restriction would stretch past the pope's visit.

"They warned us that the space they had given us on Quinta Avenida was going to end, that we were not going to be able to go to (the church) any more," Soler said. "That is something we are not going to respect, because it is our right ... nobody can take that away."

Also Monday, an orchestra and choir rehearsed performances planned to accompany Benedict's Mass at Havana's sprawling Plaza of the Revolution.

Works by Handel, Mozart and Cuban composer Alfredo Levy are among those on the bill, choir director Jaquelin Ramirez said.

Construction is nearly complete on a giant stage brightly painted in the yellow and white of the Vatican.

"It is an honor to be here. We belong to a professional choir and opportunities like this come along only once in a lifetime," singer Eduardo Vega said.

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Follow Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter at . http://www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP

Comments

[zenos]

09:48 AM on 03/21/2012

Allegations of the Castro's supposed wealth first surfaced, as far as I'm aware, in Forbes magazine, where Fidel Castro was branded the richest man on the planet. He had accounts in Swiss banks apparently, although what purpose these alleged accounts served was never explained.

Dr Castro challenged his accusers to show that he had even one dollar in an account anywhere in the world. There followed a hush so profound you could have heard Malcolm 'CIA' Forbes break wind from a mile distant.

Yes, folks, it's complete and utter rubbish. Again.

[orixaguy]

04:34 PM on 03/20/2012

Interesting that the CARDINAL called the authorities to remove them from the church. I guess he's killing two catholics with one machete when he wears his RED. The masses ejected from the very opium dens that are supplying them! And what of the pope's brush-off tacked up to "age?" Peter denies the cause yet again! Seems a perfect time for one of his sermons on absolutes...Absolutely snubbed.

[raremar]

11:04 AM on 03/20/2012

Intimidation, terror, prison and death have kept the Castro family in power for 53 years and nobody will be able to change that. The Castros own that island and run it for what it is: a profitable source of income and power that enables them to have business enterprises all over the world. Meanwhile the majority of the Cuban people have been successfully brainwashed to believe there's nothing anybody can do against "the revolution". They will never revolt like the Egyptians beacause, after all, they have Miami.

[myth1958]

09:09 PM on 03/19/2012

Andrea Rodriquez relates the story of the few women activists in Cuba who dare to stand up to the regime. Their 'Ladies in White' group is unafraid of confrontation, in sharp contrast to the cowardly reaction by the authorities in arresting them all as they prepared to march yet again to raise awareness of Cuban activists who remain jailed. It must be a sign of maturity in a government if they can take a little criticism without flailing about: democracies across the globe are full of opposing political parties and individuals that talk directly to their fellow citizens on practically anything you could think of - yet aren't rounded up and jailed for their peaceful protests. Weak governments cannot abide dissent because they have no real authority from the people. They only have guns.