US embassy cable - 03ISTANBUL1710

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001710 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2013 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, TU, CU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH CONFIRMS CUBA TRAVEL PLANS 
 
REF: (A) ISTANBUL 1617 (B) SECSTATE 309834 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General David L. Arnett for reason 1.4 (d). 
 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew still plans 
to travel to Cuba in January, 2004, to attend the opening of 
an Orthodox church in Havana.  Bartholomew did not take USG 
and international concerns into account in deciding on this 
trip, focusing instead on competition with the Russian 
Orthodox church.  Action request para 8.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
2. (C) Consul General met with Ecumenical Patriarch 
Bartholomew on November 14 to discuss possible travel to 
Cuba.  Per Department instructions (reftel B), CG briefed 
Bartholomew on the USG concerns regarding his possible 
travel.  CG drew on talking points to demonstrate that Castro 
would use the Patriarch's visit to undermine the reform 
movement in Cuba.  Negative developments include: 75 human 
rights activists recently being arrested and sentenced to 28 
years in prison;  Castro's statement that he plans to remain 
President for life; many limits to religious freedom and 
human rights in Cuba; the probable exploitation of the 
Patriarch's trip by the Castro regime for propaganda purposes. 
 
 
3. (C) Bartholomew responded as follows: 
 
 
-USG opinion is important to Ecumenical Patriarchate and to 
me personally. 
 
 
-However, it would be difficult for me not to go to Cuba: the 
visit has been formally announced by Archbishop of Central 
America Athenogoras; the Cuban government gave us both land 
and material aid; and the Cuban government has recognized the 
Ecumenical Patriarchate's leadership of Orthodox believers in 
the Cuban state. 
 
 
-Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Kirill, director of their 
external affairs, had been working for some time to obtain 
such recognition from Cuba, without success. 
 
 
-Many Amcits plan to be in Cuba for the visit, including 
Archbishop Demetrios of the United States.  Such attendees 
must be going with the permission, or at least the knowledge, 
of the USG. 
 
 
-I can use this opportunity to raise the issue of human 
rights with Castro, and I will do so.  Though I understand 
your concerns about Castro's use of my visit for his own 
political ends, he did not do so with the visit of the Pope, 
who is a more widely-recognized personality than I am.  Why 
would he use me? 
 
 
4. (C) Consul General commented that the major change between 
the Pope's prior visit and the Patriarch's planned visit is 
the crack down on dissidents in 2003.  75 people are now in 
deplorable prison conditions, seen as prisoners of conscience 
by Amnesty International and many others.  Many countries 
have suspended high-level relations and cultural exchanges 
with the Castro regime.  We are trying to send the message to 
Castro that it is not just "business-as-usual" after this 
human rights violation.  (NOTE: the Patriarch did not appear 
aware that all of the 75 prisoners were still in prison and 
serving 28-year sentences.) 
 
 
5. (C) Bartholomew responded that he would undertake to bring 
the subject of these prisoners into conversations with Castro 
in private, and would urge that they be released. 
Bartholomew pointed out that he had done something similar in 
a prior visit to Libya, working closely with Bulgarian 
Ambassadors and MFA to push for the release of Bulgarian 
scholars.  "You can trust me to use this opportunity to bring 
up these issues," he said.  "I don't have the right to give 
up this opportunity for recognition of the Orthodox Church." 
 
 
6. (C) Consul General asked whether there was a possibility 
of downgrading the representation of the Ecumenical 
Patriarchate in Cuba, sending someone else in the place of 
the Patriarch.  Bartholomew replied that "the trip has 
already been decided upon and announced.  Metropolitan 
Athenogoras of Central America announced my planned travel to 
Cuba and Haiti (which I will be going to for one day). 
Athenogoras will soon be in Istanbul, and I will have him 
come to the U.S. Consulate General to discuss the background 
for this trip and his feelings on the Cuban government." 
 
 
7. (C) COMMENT: The driving force for this whole undertaking 
seems to be Bartholomew's interest in beating the Russian 
Orthodox Church to the punch.  Bartholomew's tone, however, 
seemed to indicate that he was pleading for our understanding 
with regard to the corner he had painted himself into (with 
the assistance of Metropolitan Athenogoras).  We recognize 
that intra-Orthodox competition with the Russians is key to 
the future of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.  However, in 
agreeing to make this trip,  Bartholomew has not taken into 
full account the political implications, especially as they 
relate to human rights in Cuba, or his relationship with the 
USG.  END COMMENT. 
 
 
8. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Post requests that Department confirm 
with Metropolitan Demetrios that he plans to travel to Cuba. 
If so, Post would appreciate a read-out of his thinking and 
information on any other high-level Greek-American leaders 
traveling with him. 
ARNETT