May 14, 1997

FROM CUBA

VIOLENT POLICE ACTIONS MARK MAY 1ST

HAVANA, May.- The International Workers' Day was a bitter day for the dissident movement in Cuba. Dawn on May 1st found streets filled by police agents and officers from State Security, in a repressive display against government opposition members, while the Plaza of the Revolution served as the stage for a mass rally in support for the government.

While some enjoyed the freedom to express their support for the socialist system, others were being violently repressed in open violation of their rights as citizens and of their option to think freely.

Well known incidents were those of the president of the Nationalist Action Party, Aguileo Cancio Chong, who was detained along with other opposition members and kept in the dungeons at Villa Marista, general offices for the State Security apparatus in Havana. The reasons for his detention are still unknown.

Another act of police brutality was the detention of Mrs Ana Maria Agramonte, Cuban civic leader, who was violently beaten by police agents while in her home, before being transferred to the Tenth Station (police) in Havana.

This May 1st turned into a vivid example of how far repression, against the internal dissident movement, can reach. Each violent act became a signal that Cuban intolerance continues, there will be no political opening towards dialogue and understanding.

Translated for CubaNet by Lourdes Arriete