Cuba Detains Dissidents Ahead Of Papal Visit

Last updated on: March 18, 2012 at 6:01 pm by

Cuba Detains Dissidents Ahead Of Papal Visit 2012-03-18T18:01:40-07:00

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HAVANA (AP) — Cuban authorities detained a prominent dissident and dozens of her colleagues early Sunday, while others held a weekly protest march through Havana.

Police detained Bertha Soler and three dozen supporters of the Ladies in White dissident group hours before they were to take part in a regular march down Quinta Avenida in the leafy Miramar neighborhood of Havana. About 20 other Ladies supporters did make it to the march, which got off to a peaceful start.

The detentions were confirmed by Angel Moya, Soler’s husband and a former political prisoner himself. Soler was also detained briefly on Saturday evening, he said. The Ladies in White formed in 2003, shortly after authorities jailed 75 intellectuals, activists and social commentators in a notorious crackdown on dissent, sentencing them to long prison terms. All have since been freed, and many have gone into exile.

It was not clear where Soler was or how long she would be detained. Cuba has cleared its jails of most political prisoners, but human rights groups say the government of President Raul Castro has stepped up short-term detentions and other forms of harassment against the island’s tiny opposition.

Cuba denies it holds any political prisoners, and says the dissidents are nothing more than common criminals and mercenaries paid by Washington to stir up trouble. The government had no immediate comment.

Sunday’s detentions came just over a week ahead of a March 26-28 visit by Pope Benedict XVI, who is likely to encourage the government to adopt increased religious, political and human rights during his tour, at least privately. It also comes days after Cuban Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega asked police to remove a group of 13 opposition members who had occupied a church in Central Havana for two days.

While the church won assurances that the group members would not be prosecuted, the church-sanctioned raid and its hardline stance throughout the standoff was derided by many dissidents, even those who had opposed the initial occupation.

While many praise Ortega for mediating the release of political prisoners in 2010 and occasionally speaking out in favor of greater economic and political freedom on this Communist-run island, others say he has not done enough.

Even as members of the Ladies in White were being detained, Ortega was performing Mass at the grand Cathedral in Old Havana. His sermon inside the baroque, stone edifice before several hundred worshippers did not mention the week’s drama, nor did he say anything about human rights in general. Instead, he kept his comments focused on religion and the pontiff’s imminent arrival.

“With a sense of gratitude, enjoyment and profound spiritual peace, and with the gifts that God has given us we prepare to receive the Pope,” said the 75-year-old Ortega. “Let God grant us a truly warm reception for the Holy Father, and let his visit bear abundant fruit.”

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Associated Press writers Anne-Marie Garcia and Andrea Rodriguez contributed to this report.

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