A Cuban opposition group whose members are wives and relatives of jailed dissidents received a major human rights award Thursday from the US State Department. The Ladies in White group - known in Cuba as "Las Damas de Blanco" - received the Human Rights Defender Award for "exceptional valor and leadership in advocating the protection of human rights and democracy in the face of government repression."
"We are very pleased and moved to know that our peaceful actions to free political prisoners have been recognised," Berta Soler, one of the leaders of the group, told AFP in Havana.
A member of the Ladies in White was on hand in Washington to receive the award at a State Department ceremony. Founded after the arrest and imprisonment of 75 Cuban dissidents in 2003, the women march peacefully in Havana every Sunday in white clothing, a colour they say is intended to symbolise peace. "For us, it is very important that our work be recognised, even though we don't do it for an award," Soler added.
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