14ymedio, Havana, 9 December 2015 – December 10, Human Rights Day, in Cuba has become a framework for various opposition activities and countless arrests. This year, several independent civil society groups have planned public activities, despite the possible repression. The Ladies in White have issued a call for a peaceful demonstration at the centrally located corner of 23rd and L, in Havana, at one in the afternoon.
Last Sunday, after ending their usual march along Fifth Avenue, Berta Soler told 14ymedio that the activity will promote “the exercise of freedom of association, of expression and of peaceful protest… If we don’t get there, it will be because we have been arrested or because when trying to leave our homes or on our way there they have blocked us from reaching the site,” she said.
With regards to the organizational details, she pointed out, “We are expecting Ladies in White from other places, although we will concentrate in the capital.” The activist and leader of the movement said that, “this call is not only to the women of our organization, but it is an invitation extended to other human rights activists and citizens in general.”
Other organizations and activists have also proposed activities to celebrate the date. The dissident and blogger Agustin Lopez announced that he will repeat his action of last year, consisting of distributing flyers with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a central location in Havana.
On that occasion, Lopez was brutally repressed and the moment of his arrest was captured in a photo that was widely disseminated through social networks.
The celebration of Human Rights Day last year resulted in the arrests of more than 240 activists around the country, according to figures provided by opposition groups. Several independent journalists, including two reporters from this newspaper, were also arrested.
