Ladies in White Ask Martha Beatriz Roque to End Her Hunger Strike

HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban political opposition group “Ladies in White” asked dissident leader Martha Beatriz Roque to end the hunger strike that she began eight days ago along with 26 other activists on the island, AFP reported.

“We need men and women to preserve their lives, because it’s not the same to continue the legacy (of a martyr) as it is to have people on the ground who are able to give the government headaches,” said Berta Soler, the leader of the women’s group.

Soler said that while her group disapproves of the hunger strike, they are giving “moral and spiritual support” to those opponents who have appealed to “that resource of struggle,” a weapon used by Cuban dissidents and that has cost the lives of Orlando Zapata (2010) and Wilman Villar (2012).