Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06HAVANA10271
2006-05-15 21:01:00
CONFIDENTIAL
US Interests Section Havana
Cable title:  

MOTHER OF ALL MARCHES BY CUBA'S "LADIES IN WHITE"

Tags:  PHUM KDEM SOCI CU 
pdf how-to read a cable
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R 152101Z MAY 06
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 010271 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2016
TAGS: PHUM KDEM SOCI CU
SUBJECT: MOTHER OF ALL MARCHES BY CUBA'S "LADIES IN WHITE"


HAVANA 00010271 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 010271

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2016
TAGS: PHUM KDEM SOCI CU
SUBJECT: MOTHER OF ALL MARCHES BY CUBA'S "LADIES IN WHITE"


HAVANA 00010271 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(d).


1. (C) Summary: Cuba's "Ladies in White," relatives of
political prisoners, held a successful protest march in
Havana on May 13. Seventeen Ladies marched from the house of
leading member Laura Pollan to a monument honoring Leonor
Diaz, the mother of national hero Jose Marti, and laid
flowers to mark Mother's Day. Although Cuban authorities did
not block the march, at least six Ladies were prevented from
traveling to the capital to take part in the event. The
Ladies who marched reported strong support from onlookers.
Pollan told us her group has no action planned on May 20, the
anniversary of Cuba's independence from Spain. However,
Martha Beatriz Roque told us she and other members of the
Assembly to Promote Civil Society plan to mark that day with
a meeting at either a Havana park, a monument or the
waterfront. (Roque also said she received a phone call May
15 from Mario and Lincoln Diaz Balart, expressing
Congressional solidarity with Cuban dissidents.) Fellow
released 75er Roberto de Miranda plans to mark May 20 with an
academic conference, while Oscar Espinosa Chepe plans to send
a letter to President Bush. End Summary.


2. (C) The "Ladies in White," joint recipients of the
European Parliament's 2005 Sakharov Prize, held a peaceful
protest march on the eve of Mother's Day (May 13) and laid
flowers at a monument to Leonor Diaz, the mother of Jose
Marti. Seventeen Ladies took part and were not interrupted
by GOC authorities or GOC-directed counter-protestors, as was
the case last year. The group convened at the home of
leading member Laura Pollan and then walked to the monument,
wearing their characteristic white clothing and holding
gladiolas. Pollan and other Ladies told us on May 14 and 15
that support from onlookers was robust. At one point, the
group marched past a pharmacy and, according to Pollan, "The
place emptied out," with workers and shoppers all expressing
support for the marchers. Also during the march, Pollan
said, the group walked by an Interior Ministry vehicle, and
the two officers inside said "congratulations." Regardless

of the sincerity of the remark, said Pollan, "There are lots
of police and other members of the regime who are in favor of
change." The successful march was tempered by the
realization that the GOC prevented at least six other Ladies,
many from the provinces, from traveling to Havana for one of
their biggest events of the year.

MAY 20 PLANS
--------------


3. (C) Pollan told us the Ladies in White have planned no
specific action on May 20, the anniversary of Cuba's
independence from Spain, but plan to stage a
longer-than-usual march the following day, after attending
Sunday mass at Santa Rita church. (Note: COM attended mass
at Santa Rita on May 14 and passed out bunches of roses to
the approximately 15 Ladies in attendance. End note.)


4. (C) Meanwhile, Martha Beatriz Roque and fellow dissident
Miguel Valdez Tamayo told us May 15 that they and other
officials of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society, including
Felix Bonne, plan to mark May 20 with a meeting at either a
Havana park, a monument or the waterfront. Roque also told
us that GOC authorities are continuing to intimidate Bonne,
whose backyard hosted last year's May 20 dissident meeting
organized by the Assembly. Roque said the authorities, who
have already started turning the backyard into a public park,
are now threatening to strip Bonne of possession of the
house, which has been in the possession of his family since
before 1959.


5. (C) Roque also told us she received a phone call May 15
from Florida Representatives Mario and Lincoln Diaz Balart,
expressing Congressional solidarity with Cuban dissidents.
She said the Congressmen told her that other Members would
call her in the coming days.

OTHER ACTIVITIES
--------------


6. (C) Probationed 75er Roberto de Miranda told us May 15
that he plans to mark May 20 by hosting an academic
conference at his house, attended by an estimated 10 to 15
educators. Fellow 75er Oscar Espinosa Chepe told the COM May
14 he hopes to send a letter to President Bush, addressing
the human rights situation here and outlining steps for
progress. Two other self-described dissidents, Orlando
Fundora and Hugo Leon Azcuy, planned to hold a five-day
hunger strike starting on May 20. The end of the hunger
strike would coincide with the death anniversary of Pedro

HAVANA 00010271 002.2 OF 002


Luis Boitel, a Cuban hunger striker who died in prison and
remains a symbol of resistance to the Castro regime.
Dissident labor leaders are holding a training seminar on May

24. Leading activist Oswaldo Paya, the Christian Liberation
Movement (MCL) chief who last week released a draft of a
democratic transition plan and Constitution, has said he has
no specific plans to mark May 20.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) In a community where Government infiltration is the
rule rather than the exception, it is unsurprising that most
pro-democracy activists are keeping quiet about their May 20
plans. We do not anticipate any dissident event nearly as
large or organized as last year's Assembly, held at Bonne's
home.
PARMLY