US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA1018

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 001018 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, CU, CA, UNCHR-1, Cuba 
SUBJECT: CANADA-CUBA: FOREIGN MINISTER STRONGLY PROTESTS 
TRIALS OF CUBAN OPPOSITION MEMBERS 
 
REF: A. OTTAWA 00964 B. STATE 86002 C. OTTAWA 00897 
 
     D. STATE 75175 
 
Classified By: Pol MC Brian Flora for reasons 1.5(b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) On April 7, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bill 
Graham called in Cuba's ambassador to Canada to formally 
protest the recent arrests and trials of Cuban opposition 
members.  According to Louise Branch, DFAIT's Deputy Director 
for Central America and Cuba, who was present at the meeting, 
Minister Graham told Ambassador Fernandez de Cossio Dominguez 
that the prison sentences imposed on opposition members were 
beyond comprehension, and that the government of Cuba was 
making a colossal error. Minister Graham also gave the 
ambassador a letter for Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations 
Felipe Roque in which Graham expressed Canada's extreme 
concern about the curtailment of human rights and freedom of 
expression in Cuba. 
 
2. (C) Branch told poloff on April 8th that Canada's 
ambassador in Havana had made an official request to the 
government of Cuba, before the trials began, for a list of 
those arrested, the charges against them, and the rationale 
behind the charges.  The Canadian ambassador also asked that 
a Canadian embassy representative be allowed to attend the 
trials.  The Cuban government refused these requests on the 
basis that the persons on trial were not Canadian citizens, 
and further explained that no diplomatic representatives 
would be allowed to attend the trials. In his letter to the 
Cuban foreign minister, Minister Graham expressed profound 
disappointment in this decision by the Cuban government. 
 
3. (C) Branch said that Ambassador Dominguez defended his 
government's actions during the meeting, asserting that 
opposition members were not arrested for exercising their 
freedom of expression, but because they were 
counter-revolutionaries working with the U.S. The ambassador 
referred to the arrests and trials as a national security 
matter for Cuba.  Minister Graham specifically mentioned a 
prison sentence of 25 years imposed on one of the opposition 
members, saying this was more in line with a sentence for 
murder. According to Branch, the Cuban ambassador responded 
that, no, 30 years was the usual sentence imposed for murder 
in Cuba. Branch said that Ambassador Dominguez complained 
about Principal Officer Cason during the meeting, stating 
that Cason is openly encouraging dissent but Cuba can't expel 
him because it would mean the loss of the migratory agreement. 
 
4. (C) With reference to the Cuba resolution in the U.N. 
Human Rights Commission (which Canada intends to co-sponsor), 
Branch confirmed that Canada's delegation wants tougher 
language, and wants the arrests mentioned specifically. She 
further indicated that Canada has begun promoting the idea of 
a stronger resolution with other UNCHR delegations, 
particularly the Latin American delegations. 
 
 
KELLY