Prominent Cuban dissident seeks support in Europe

Posted on Tuesday, 03.12.13

Prominent Cuban dissident seeks support in Europe
By ALAN CLENDENNING
Associated Press

MADRID -- A well-known Cuban dissident urged support from Europe on
Tuesday for her group advocating democracy in Cuba, and wasn't fazed
when protesters disrupted her first appearance abroad by unfurling a
pro-government banner and yelling that she was lying about harsh
conditions for citizens of the island nation.

Berta Soler, the most prominent member of the Ladies in White group,
told a crowd of about 100 in Madrid that she was basking in her first
opportunity to say what she wants without fearing retribution. She had
never been allowed to leave Cuba before.

Soler alleged that Cuba keeps about 80 dissidents locked up in miserable
jails alongside convicted murderers and rapists and said the
communist-run government led by Raul Castro only offers Cubans
"repression, misery and lots of hunger."

Most of those inmates are not recognized as prisoners of conscience by
international human rights groups, however. Some were locked up for
nonpolitical crimes and became activists behind bars; others are in jail
for politically motivated but violent crimes like hijacking or sabotage.

Just before the event with Soler ended, about eight people in the crowd
snuck a banner out of a backpack reading "Long Live the Cuban
Revolution" and shouted that Soler was lying, scuffling with security
guards as they were shooed out of a conference hall in downtown Madrid.

Smiling, Soler told the audience that she welcomed the demonstration,
similar to a protest in Brazil last month when pro-Cuba protesters
halted an event featuring prominent Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez during
her first trip abroad in years.

"What has happened is normal because we are in a country where democracy
and liberty exist. If they want to talk, let them talk," Soler said to
applause from an audience that shouted "Cuba Yes!, Castro No!" in response.

The Ladies in White formed a decade ago and its members successfully
pressed for the release of their husbands imprisoned in a 2003
crackdown. The group is now demanding political change in Cuba, and
Soler said in an interview with The Associated Press that the country's
communist-run government remains in power because people fear losing
jobs from the main employer - the government.

Cubans "are afraid of losing the bread they take home to their
children," she said.

Soler was able to travel because the Cuban government recently relaxed
restrictions and granted her a visa. She said she wants to go to
Brussels to accept the European Union's top human rights award that
group members couldn't travel to receive after it was awarded in 2005.
But she said she won't go unless two other members of The Ladies in
White get permission to leave Cuba so they can accept it together.

The new travel law eliminated Cuba's exit permit requirement and eased
bureaucratic procedures for going abroad, but contains language
reserving the state's right to withhold passports for reasons of
national security, public interest and for people with pending legal cases.

Cuban authorities label dissidents like Soler as treasonous
"mercenaries" who accept foreign money to undermine the government. The
protesters in Madrid chanted that Soler's visit was being "subsidized"
by unnamed foreign powers. Many pro-Cuba supporters accuse the United
States of providing financial support to the dissidents.

The EU's Sakharov award comes with a (EURO)50,000 ($65,000) cash prize.
If Soler picks it up, she said the money would be deposited into a bank
account so small amounts can be sent periodically to Cuba to finance the
activities of the Ladies in White. She said she plans to stay in Europe
for about two weeks, and may also visit Poland.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/12/3280995/prominent-cuban-dissident-seeks.html#storylink=misearch