Cuban dissident says she accepts unconditional help

Cuban dissident says she accepts unconditional helpHavana - Laura Pollan, a member of the Cuban dissident movement Ladies in White, who allegedly received funds from a Miami- based anti-Castro foundation with mediation of US diplomats, said Tuesday that she accepts help "without conditions."

"We accept the help, the support, from the far right to the left, without conditions, because our only objective is to achieve the release of political prisoners," Pollan told reporters.

She is a co-founder of the organization Ladies in White, which brings together the relatives of the 75 dissidents condemned to jail terms in 2003.

On Monday, Cuban authorities said Pollan received funds from anti- Castro activist Santiago, who is currently in prison in the United States for illegal possession of firearms and has been labelled a "terrorist" by Cuban authorities.

From Monday, Cuban media have shown emails, bills and videos, which according to Cuban officials constitute "irrefutable evidence" of the ties between internal dissidents and Miami-based anti-Castro activists.

The allegations point to the US Interests Section (USINT) in Havana, and specifically to its head Michael Parmly, as a "vulgar courier" to funnel the funds to the dissidents.

The main object of the allegations, dissident leader Martha Beatriz Roque, said she will wait till "the show" is over before commenting on the charges.

Authorities constantly harass without allowing a person to defend themselves, she told foreign media. "They follow me anywhere they want, they listen to my phone conversations and they have cancelled my three Internet (email) accounts."

Roque was the only woman among 75 dissidents jailed in 2003 and has since been released for health reasons. She stressed that she expects "anything" in the current setting. (dpa)

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