Late dissident's daughter breaks with head of 'Ladies'

Cuba: Late dissident's daughter breaks with head of 'Ladies'
BY ANDREA RODRIGUEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
03/19/2015 9:53 PM 03/19/2015 9:53 PM

HAVANA
The daughter of a founding member of Cuba's Ladies in White publicly
split with their current leader Thursday in the latest sign of division
within the dissident group, which a decade ago was awarded the European
Union's top human rights prize.

Laura Maria Labrada, whose mother, Laura Pollan, was the Ladies' leader
and public face before her death in 2011, criticized Berta Soler's
management and the expulsion of group members.

"I have decided going forward to withdraw authorization for Berta Soler
to use my mother's name or associate it with behavior that goes against
the principles she always defended," Labrada said at a news conference
in her mother and stepfather's home.

She added that Soler is no longer welcome at the house, which
traditionally has been the Ladies' meeting place and headquarters.

Calls to Soler's cellphone rang unanswered Thursday. Her husband and
fellow dissident, Angel Moya, said she was in Miami.

The split came weeks after video surfaced online showing group members
allied to Soler shouting down another longtime member, Alejandrina
Garcia, during a December gathering at the home.

"Down with traitors!" "She should leave!" and "We don't want to hear
her!" they yelled at Garcia, who had also disagreed with Soler's leadership.

The scene resembled the "acts of repudiation" in which pro-government
counter-protesters sometimes accost Cuba's dissidents, yelling
revolutionary slogans and personal epithets.

"As long as I am alive I will never allow another situation like the one
that happened here," said Hector Maseda, Pollan's widower.

Some Ladies in White living overseas had called for Soler's resignation
in response to the incident. Soler announced she would submit her
leadership to a referendum among members still on the island, a vote
which she survived last week.

Labrada alleged that since Soler took over in 2011, members have been
mistreated and unfairly expelled. Like Garcia, who was at the news
conference, she also criticized the inclusion of men in their protests.

Labrada said she welcomes ongoing U.S.-Cuba negotiations on restoring
diplomatic relations and reopening embassies in each other's countries,
in contrast to Soler's harsh criticism of President Barack Obama after
the December announcement.

Labrada said she has the support of 100 Ladies in White who are calling
for an election, rather than a referendum, and the reincorporation of
ousted members.

She also said she intends to start a nonprofit foundation named after
her mother to help needy children, abused women and the elderly.

Wives and mothers of 75 activists jailed in a 2003 crackdown on dissent
formed the Ladies in White over a decade ago to press for their loved
ones' release.

They became known for weekly marches along Havana's leafy 5th Avenue on
Sundays after Mass, wearing white and carrying gladiolas.

The last of the 75 prisoners were released in recent years, and nearly
all the original Ladies have left the group.

With mostly new membership, they now protest to demand freedom for
others they consider political prisoners and for democratic reform.

The government accuses dissidents of being traitors and "mercenaries"
who accept money from abroad to undermine the revolution and Cuba's
Communist system.

In 2005 the European Union awarded its Sakharov human rights prize to
the group.

Source: Cuba: Late dissident's daughter breaks with head of 'Ladies' |
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