US embassy cable - 03STATE75175

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 075175 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/20/08 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, UNHCR-1, CU 
SUBJECT: CUBA LAUNCHES CRACKDOWN AGAINST OPPOSITION - MORE 
THAN 70 ARRESTED 
 
REF: A) STATE 10182; B) 02 STATE 185884 
 
(U) CLASSIFIED BY WHA AA/S J. CURTIS STRUBLE FOR REASONS 
1.5 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (U) THIS IS AN ACTION MESSAGE. 
 
2. (C) SUMMARY. THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT IS IN THE PROCESS OF 
CARRYING OUT ITS MOST SIGNIFICANT CRACKDOWN AGAINST THE 
OPPOSITION IN YEARS; SO FAR OVER 70 HAVE BEEN ARRESTED. 
POSTS ARE ASKED TO REQUEST HOST GOVERNMENTS TO JOIN US IN 
CALLING FOR THE RELEASE OF THESE PRISONERS. END SUMMARY. 
 
3. (C) THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT HAS INSTITUTED THE MOST 
SIGNIFICANT CRACKDOWN AGAINST THE OPPOSITION MOVEMENT IN 
YEARS, BEGINNING ON MARCH 18. BY THE MORNING OF MARCH 21, 
MORE THAN 70 OPPOSITION MEMBERS HAD BEEN ARRESTED. WE ARE 
DISTURBED AT THE GOVERNMENT'S THREAT TO PROSECUTE THOSE 
ARRESTED UNDER "LAW 88," WHICH CARRIES SENTENCES OF 7 TO 
20 YEARS FOR ANYONE RECEIVING ASSISTANCE FROM THE USG. 
THE CRACKDOWN COINCIDED WITH UNCONTROLLED VERBAL ATTACKS 
AGAINST USINT FOR SEEKING TO ENCOURAGE NORMAL DEMOCRATIC 
DEVELOPMENT.  THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE ARRESTS 
STATED THAT THOSE WHO HAD MET WITH USINT OFFICERS WOULD BE 
SUBJECT TO ARREST.   THAT CUBA CHOSE TO MAKE THESE ARRESTS 
THE WEEK THE UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OPENED IS 
ESPECIALLY APPALLING. 
 
4. (C) POSTS ARE ASKED TO SHARE THE FOLLOWING TALKING 
POINTS WITH THE APPROPRIATE FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS. 
BESIDES THE TALKING POINTS, WE HAVE ALSO INCLUDED THE 
DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN'S REMARKS ON THE ISSUE, MADE ON MARCH 
19. POSTS MAY WISH TO REFER TO REFTELS FOR BACKGROUND ON 
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN CUBA. GENEVA MAY DRAW FROM POINTS 
AS APPROPRIATE. 
 
5. (C) FOR LONDON, THE HAGUE, STOCKHOLM, DUBLIN, 
COPENHAGEN, VIENNA, AND BERLIN: SEPTEL WILL ASK YOU TO 
SPECIFICALLY RAISE QUESTION OF CUBAN MEMBERSHIP IN 
COTONOU. YOU MAY WISH TO MAKE THIS DEMARCHE 
SIMULTANEOUSLY. 
 
 
TALKING POINTS 
 
-- AT LEAST 70 CUBANS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED BY STATE SECURITY 
FROM MARCH 18-21, SIMPLY FOR SEEKING THEIR FUNDAMENTAL 
RIGHTS. THAT NUMBER COULD RISE. 
 
--THIS IS NOW THE MOST EGREGIOUS ACT OF POLITICAL 
REPRESSION IN CUBA IN YEARS. 
 
--AMONG THOSE DETAINED INCLUDE MARTHA BEATRIZ ROQUE, RENE 
GOMEZ MANZANO, AND FELIX BONNE. THESE THREE LEADERS OF 
THE CUBAN OPPOSITION WERE CONDUCTING A PEACEFUL FAST 
PROTESTING THE DETENTION OF ANOTHER DISSIDENT (DR. OSCAR 
ELIAS BISCET) WHEN THEIR EVENT WAS BROKEN UP BY STATE 
SECURITY. 
 
--AMONG THE DOZENS OF CUBANS ARRESTED INCLUDE THE 
FOLLOWING LEADERS OF THE OPPOSITION: 
TODOS UNIDOS LEADERS PEDRO PABLO ALVAREZ RAMOS, OSVALDO 
ALFONSO, FELIX NAVARRO, AND VICTOR ROLANDO ARROYO; 
MEMBERS OF OSWALDO PAYA'S CHRISTIAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT 
JOSE DANIEL FERRER CASTILLO AND LUIS ENRIQUE FERRER 
CASTILLO; THE LEADER OF THE INDEPENDENT LIBRARY MOVEMENT, 
JISELLE DELGADO; AND, INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS RAUL RIVERO, 
OSCAR ESPINOSA CHEPE, RICARDO GONZALEZ ALFONSO, AND JOSE 
LUIS GARCIA PANEQUE. 
 
--WE ARE PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONNECTION MADE 
BY CUBAN STATE MEDIA BETWEEN THESE ARRESTS AND MEETINGS 
HELD BETWEEN MANY OF THOSE ARRESTED AND U.S. DIPLOMATS. 
 
--THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT HAS THREATENED TO PROSECUTE THOSE 
ARRESTED UNDER "LAW 88," WHICH CARRIES SENTENCES OF 7 TO 
20 YEARS FOR ANYONE RECEIVING ASSISTANCE FROM THE USG. 
 
--THE ARRESTS INCLUDED EXTENSIVE SEARCHES OF OPPOSITION 
MEMBERS' HOMES. A WIFE OF ONE LEADER TOLD OUR DIPLOMATS 
THAT STATE SECURITY HAD CARRIED OUT A FIVE-HOUR SEARCH OF 
HER SMALL HOME, DESTROYING BEDDING, REMOVING NEARLY ALL OF 
HER BOOKS AND MAGAZINES, AND EVEN SEARCHING THE STRUCTURE 
OF THE HOUSE. WHILE CARRYING OUT THE SEARCH, THEY TURNED 
ON HER TELEVISION AND INSTRUCTED HER TO WATCH THE 
GOVERNMENT PROGRAM DENOUNCING U.S. DIPLOMATS' TIES TO 
"COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY TRAITORS" WHILE THEY DISASSEMBLED 
HER HOME. OTHER FAMILIES REPORTED EVEN LONGER AND MORE 
INTRUSIVE SEARCHES, SOME LASTING ALMOST TEN HOURS, WHICH 
FORCED THE OPPOSITION MEMBERS' SPOUSES AND CHILDREN TO 
LEAVE DURING THE NIGHT. 
 
--THE UNITED STATES IS OUTRAGED AT THESE ARRESTS AND 
CONTINUED REPRESSION OF CUBANS WHO ARE SEEKING FREEDOM AND 
DEMOCRATIC CHANGE IN CUBA. 
 
--WE HAVE CALLED UPON THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE 
THESE PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY. 
 
--WE ASK YOUR GOVERNMENT TO JOIN US IN DEMANDING THEIR 
RELEASE. THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE 
THESE STEPS WITH IMPUNITY. 
 
(FOR COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS) 
--THAT THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT TOOK THIS ACTION AS THE UN 
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OPENED IN GENEVA IS ESPECIALLY 
EGREGIOUS. THE COMMISSION MUST RESPOND TO THIS ACTION. 
 
(FOR EU MEMBERS) 
--WE HOPE THE EU WILL TAKE THIS ACTION INTO ACCOUNT WHEN 
CONSIDERING CUBA'S APPLICATION TO JOIN COTONOU. 
 
 
PRESS STATEMENT - MARCH 19 
-------------------------- 
 
STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN 
 
U.S. OUTRAGED BY CUBAN CRACKDOWN ON DISSIDENTS 
 
THE UNITED STATES IS OUTRAGED BY THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT'S 
ANNOUNCED ARREST OF DOZENS OF OPPOSITION MEMBERS YESTERDAY 
EVENING. THIS IS AN APPALLING ACT OF INTIMIDATION AGAINST 
THOSE WHO SEEK FREEDOM AND DEMOCRATIC CHANGE IN CUBA. 
THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ARRESTED FOR SIMPLY SPEAKING OUT, 
ONE OF THE MOST BASIC INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN 
RIGHTS. WE CALL ON THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE THEM 
IMMEDIATELY AND FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO JOIN US 
IN DEMANDING THEIR RELEASE. 
 
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF ARRESTS FOLLOWED A GOVERNMENT RADIO 
BROADCAST ATTACKING THE HEAD OF OUR INTERESTS SECTION AND 
THE OUTREACH EFFORTS OF OUR DIPLOMATS IN CUBA. THE CUBAN 
GOVERNMENT SUGGESTED THAT MANY OF THE DETAINEES WERE 
ARRESTED FOR MEETING WITH OUR DIPLOMATS. WE ALSO NOTE 
THAT THESE EVENTS COINCIDE WITH THE OPENING OF THE UN 
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN GENEVA, OF WHICH CUBA IS A 
MEMBER. THE UNITED STATES CALLS ON THE COMMISSION TO 
CONDEMN THIS ACTION IN THE STRONGEST TERMS. CUBA HAS 
AGAIN DEMONSTRATED THAT IT IS NOT FIT TO SIT ON THIS 
COMMISSION. 
 
WHILE THESE ARRESTS ARE INTENDED TO DEAL A BLOW AGAINST 
THE OPPOSITION MOVEMENT, THEY WILL NOT QUELL THE CUBAN'S 
PEOPLE'S DESIRE FOR FREEDOM AND THEY ONLY SERVE TO EXPOSE 
THE WEAKNESS AND DESPERATION OF THE REGIME AS IT REALIZES 
THAT IT IS NEARING ITS END. 
 
 
POWELL