Women for Democracy in Cuba met in Buenos Aires

The ''Day in Support of Democracy and Woman in Cuba'' was held in Buenos Aires, with the aim of supporting the freedom claims for all the Cuban prisoners of conscience and for the democratic opening in the Island.

During August 5 and 6, 2005, the "Day in Support of Democracy and Woman in Cuba" was held in Buenos Aires, with the aim of supporting the freedom claims for all the Cuban prisoners of conscience and for the democratic opening in the Island. Organized locally by the Center for the Opening and the Development of Latin America (CADAL) and Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the event was a success with the participation of former and current women public officials, women leaders from regional and international organizations, intellectuals, academic women, journalists, human rights activists and from non governmental organizations, legislators from Europe and Latin America and deputies of the Cuban civic movement, who founded the "International Committee of Women for Democracy in Cuba".

Some of the most important assistants were the Chilean former Minister of Education, Mariana Aylwin; the Chilean DC representative María Eugenia Mella; the delegate from the International Center Democrat at the UN, the Italian Anna María Cervonne; the Dutch human rights activist, Liduine Zumpolle; Adriana González, chairwoman of the international relations commission of the federal Mexican congress; and Elizabeth Canales, major of the Peruan city Lunahuaná. Also, the Committee received the adhesion from Dagmar Havlová, Václav Havel's wife; Elena Bonner, widow to the Russian dissident Andrei Sajarov; Tat'ána Fischerová, member of the Czech Parliament; Lurdes Flores, former presidential candidate of Peru; and Pavlína Buveníková Wolfová, journalist and wife of Jan Bubeník, former member of the Czech Parliament who was in prison in Cuba for a whole month.

The "Buenos Aires Memorandum"

The participants in this event, coming from Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Argentinean cities such as Buenos Aires, Rosario, Mendoza and Salta, wrote the "Buenos Aires Memorandum", where the women gathered at the capital city of the Argentinean Republic expressed that "the international democratic community cannot stay in silence in front of these abuses and event less the governments from those countries that have suffered terrible systematic violations of human rights". And added, "we call the democratic countries to make their human rights defense sincere and, regarding the Cuban case, we claim the following:

-We ask our governments to demand the Fidel Castro regime to set free all the political prisoners, following the international agreements that Cuba have signed, to promote democracy and the defense of human rights.

-Make an official diplomatic link of our embassies at Havana, with the families of Cuban political prisoners and open the doors of the embassies, specially Latin American embassies, to the Ladies in White and to the pacific dissidence, following the actions taken by European countries.

-We sustain that the free women in the world must listen and join together with the Ladies in White and with all the Cuban human rights activist women, inviting them to our international forums to give them voice and to support them in their challenges and fights to succeed.

-Ask our governments to demand the presence of international organizations and human rights organizations to verify the situation of political prisoners and the reality in Cuba.

-Build a conscience among investors in Cuba about the social responsibility with the promotion of democracy, the development of the Cuban people and the eradication of sexual tourism.

-Impel a worldwide campaign of adoption of Cuban political prisoners and their families, giving them support and making the follow up and the diffusion of their situation.

-Start a campaign of signatures recollection from the democratic leaders of our countries advocating the general amnesty of Cuban political prisoners."

Solidarity with "The Ladies in White"

On the morning of Saturday, August 6, the participants of the "Day in Support of Democracy and Woman in Cuba", took part in a special mass at the Church of Santa Rita, in the district of San Isidro, Buenos Aires. This activity had the aim of joining together with "The Ladies in White", that is to say, the families of the Cuban prisoners of conscience who every Sunday go to a mass, dressed in white and with a black scarf, to the church of Santa Rita in Cuba and then they march in silence through the Havana neighborhood, El Vedado.