Political Quotes

“I came to the Senate floor because over the weekend a very noble lady in Cuba passed away of a heart attack, and I want to tell you about her. Her name is Laura Pollan. She founded the group Ladies in White, Damas de Blanco. She did so to protest the brutal Castro regime in Cuba, and her protest was specifically the jailing of 75 people in a crackdown on dissidents in 2003, one of which was her husband. Many of those who were imprisoned were married to the ones who became known as the Ladies in White, including Senora Pollan's own husband, Hector Maseda. Since 2003, Laura had gathered the group on most weekends in central Havana after church. Everybody would wear white and they would hold gladiolas, a flower that is typical in warm climates. They would stage their marches, and they would demand the release of their loved ones, since 2003 when their husbands were jailed. Damas de Blanco defied this brutal dictatorship, the Castro regime. For its human rights work, the European Parliament awarded the group the 2005 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Just this year, the U.S. Government gave Damas de Blanco the Human Rights Defender Award for ``exceptional valor in protecting human rights in the face of government repression.'' Damas de Blanco succeeded earlier this year--succeeded. In the face of this brutal dictatorship, it succeeded when the last of the 75 imprisoned were finally released, including Laura's husband.…”