MESSAGE FROM THE LADIES IN WHITE

Letter to the Summit of the Americas, April 17-19, 2009 in Trinidad & Tobago
By the Ladies in White ( Damas de Blanco), Cuba
TO: Presidents, Prime Ministers or Representatives of the Nations of the Americas

Excellencies:

The Ladies in White ( Damas de Blanco) of Cuba respectfully salute that assembly, which is taking place at a moment of great significance for the American continent.

We hope that the gathering will transpire in an environment of reasoned debate, within a reflective and balanced analysis of issues, and devoid of the fatal demagoguery that tends to afflict the political discourse of some populist leaders of this hemisphere.

There is no room in any of the countries of the region for dictatorships that oppress and bury democratic values and human rights.   No egocentric belief in absolute power can be above the sufferings of our peoples.

We pray that your lucidity and honesty will not allow the principles of true democracy and pluralism, or civil and human rights, to be violated.

We are not ghosts. We are human beings, despite the fact that several presidents and legislators that have visited our country have decided to ignore our existence. We are women of Cuba who suffer repression and hostility because we defend our rights, because we ask for freedom for political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.

We seek your support so that, united, we can call for the unconditional release of our loved ones that have been locked up for six years simply because they do not share the ideas of a group that has entrenched itself in power by force for over 50 years.

Today it is us, but tomorrow it could be representatives of your own countries that suffer this horrible fate oftentimes covered up by indifference and silence.

We wish you success in your meeting. May God bless and guide all!

Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco)

CUBA