Late Cuban Activist Laura Pollan To Be Honored at Capitol Hill Event

Late Cuban Activist Laura Pollan To Be Honored at Capitol Hill Event
December 14
By National Endowment for Democracy
Published: Friday, Dec. 9, 2011 - 8:11 am

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2011 -- National Endowment for Democracy will
recognize Ladies in White leader with Democracy Service Medal

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Laura Pollan, the
late founder of Cuba's Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) , will be
honored by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on Wednesday,
December 14, 2011 at a Capitol Hill event with a posthumous presentation
of NED's Democracy Service Medal. Pollan died on October 14 of this year.

The presentation will take place at 5:30 pm in the House Foreign
Affairs Committee Room (Rayburn HOB 2172) and both the committee
chairman, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and ranking member Rep. Howard
Berman (D-CA) will make remarks, as well as several other members of
Congress, including Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Sen. Robert Menendez
(D-NJ), Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ), and Rep. David Rivera (R-FL).

The Medal will be accepted on behalf of the Ladies in White by Yolanda
Huerga, a representative of the group who is based in Miami. Another
event highlight will be a performance by Latin Grammy award winner
Amaury Gutierrez, who will sing his beautiful tribute ballad to Laura
Pollan.

"Laura is gone, but her memory lives on in the hearts of Cubans," said
NED president Carl Gershman. " Her example of dedication to justice
inspires others to fight on. The purity of her motives, the strength of
her character, the depth of her integrity, and the force of her
fearlessness will light the way forward. Her legacy will help Cubans
build a new morality after more than half a century of political
bondage, poisonous hatred, and dehumanizing lies."

The medal presentation will be preceded by a panel discussion at 4:00
pm.: The Legacy of Laura Pollan: the Struggle for Democracy and Human
Rights in Cuba. Panelists include: Jose Luis Garcia Paneque, Yesinia
Alvarez, Pablo Diaz, Janisset Rivera and Barbara Joe, and will be
moderated by NED's Miriam Kornblith.

The Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy created
its Democracy Service Medal to recognize individuals who have made
significant contributions to the progress of democracy around the world.
Past awardees include Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel, Congressman Tom
Lantos and the Dalai Lama.

This event is open to the media. Interested journalists should register
with Jane Riley Jacobsen by email jane@ned.org or 202-378-9700.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/09/4111694/late-cuban-activist-laura-pollan.html