Three Cuban women have started hunger strikes to protest recent moves by the Castro dictatorship against the Damas De Blanco, or "Ladies In White," according to Diario de Cuba.
The women — Maritza Castro Martínez, Ivonne Mayeza Galano and Blanca Rosa Hernández — are members of Damas De Apoyo, or "Ladies In Support," a group that has formed recently to support the Ladies In White, which is made up of the family members of Cuban political prisoners.
The hunger strikers are asking Pope Benedict XVI to intervene with the dictatorship to ensure that the Damas De Blanco are allowed to freely attend Mass as a group and march peacefully to demand the release of their imprisoned loved ones.
For the third week in a row, Castroite mobs and police yesterday blocked the Damas from what had become their Sunday ritual.The authorities have also upped the pressure on Cuban women who have mobilized to support the Damas. For instance, independent journalist/blogger Dania Virgen García last week was sentenced to 20 months in prison on unspecified charges.
Dissidents said they think Virgen García was targeted because of her support of the Damas De Blanco.
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