BY LARISSA RUIZ CAMPO

  Even as Cuban authorities seemed to ease up on a crackdown of government opponents, dissidents on the island expressed fear Monday that the level of repression will continue to intensify.

  ''There were no arrests over the weekend, but we have to be prepared for more waves of repression,'' said human-rights activist Elizardo Sánchez, who was reached by phone.

  ``Until this moment, all of the detainees are in police custody and out of communication.''

  Sánchez also expressed concern about the fate of high-profile dissidents who also remained in prison Monday, including longtime critic Martha Beatriz Roque, prominent independent journalist Raúl Rivero and Héctor Palacios, a leader of the Democratic Solidarity Party.

  Sánchez, of the Havana-based Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, confirmed a total of 75 arrests.

  It was not clear if five other dissidents, who also were picked up by police, were taken to jail or allowed to return home.

  The Cuban government has said that those in custody were being held for ''provocations'' and ``subversive activities.''

  Even as government opponents and their families remained emotionally distraught by the arrests, they also said they were pleased at support received from others in Cuba not affiliated with the dissident movement.

  ''Despite the fact that this has been the most intense and threatening crackdown in recent years, nondissidents have approached the families of dissidents offering their help to keep things in their houses or warning them when they were under surveillance,'' Sánchez said.

  ``This is an awakening of the Cuban people.''

  Also on Monday, Cuba's Roman Catholic Church condemned the government's crackdown and urged Cuban authorities to accept differing political opinions.

  ''We lament the inappropriate methods being used to arrest people for thinking and acting differently from the official ideology,'' said a statement from the Conference of Cuban Catholic Bishops.

  Meanwhile, in Washington, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., filed a resolution condemning the arrests and urging the Bush administration ``to take all appropriate steps to secure their immediate release.''

  Herald staff writer Nancy San Martin contributed to this report, which was supplemented with material from The Associated Press.