FROM
CUBA
Power blackouts spark protests in central
Cuba
SANTA CLARA, Cuba - July 6 (María
Elena Alpízar Ariosa, Grupo Decoro/Niurvys
Díaz Remond/Félix Reyes Gutiérrez,
Cubanacán Press / www.cubanet.org)
- Power blackouts in several municipalities
in central Cuba have touched off protests
by residents.
Several people were injured in Placetas
on Sunday night when customers of the "Centro
Cuba" cabaret protested the loss of
light. The customers, mainly youths, poured
into the street, shouting anti-government
remarks and hurling bottles and rocks through
storefront plate-glass windows.
At the same time, others took advantage
of the protests to throw fliers with anti-Castro
slogans in an area near the National Revolutionary
Police headquarters.
Before dawn on Saturday, protesters went
to the facilities of the Provincial Electric
Company of Villa Clara in Santa Clara to
complain about power blackouts. About 30
persons, including women and children, shouted
demands for an explanation for the shortages
of electrical power.
One protester named Tina told a policeman
trying to calm down the protesters, "Many
of us are workers who have to get up at
6 o'clock and the person in charge of the
office has given us no explanation."
A truck belonging to the Electric Company
of the municipality of Ranchuelo was stoned
on Friday by residents protesting power
outages. A headlight was broken and the
truck's body dented.
Versión
original en español
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