CUBA: SWISS FM CALMY-REY'S MARCH 23 MEETING WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BERN 000716 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2016 TAGS: PHUM PREL ASEC CU SZ SUBJECT: CUBA: SWISS FM CALMY-REY'S MARCH 23 MEETING WITH FM PEREZ-ROCQUE BERN 00000716 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Poloff Eric Lundberg, Reasons 1.4 b/d 1.(C) Summary: Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey received visiting Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez-Rocque for a brief meeting on March 23. According to Swiss DFA desk officer Stefano Vescovi, the meeting lasted one hour, with three issues on the agenda: Switzerland's "double mandate" as protecting power for the United States and CUBA in each's capital; humanitarian aid; and human rights, where Vescovi hinted the Swiss were pushing for a postive gesture on a particular dissident. Perez-Rocque asked for Swiss support for its membership on the new UN Human Rights Council, but received no response. Vescovi offered a somewhat optimistic assessment of the influence that a relatively open Venezuela might have on Cuban expectations for their own government. End summary. 2.(C) Vescovi told Poloff that Calmy-Rey had twice recently -- in 2004 and 2005 -- declined meetings with the Cuban Foreign Minister, but that this time felt obliged to accept the direct request from Perez-Rocque issued to visiting Political Director (and future Swiss Ambassador to Washington) Urs Ziswiler in January. With Switzerland serving as protecting power for the United States in Havana -- as well as CUBA in Washington -- the Swiss DFA felt duty bound to meet with the Cuban FM. Vescovi revealed no details on which "double mandate" issues were discussed, except to quip that the U.S. Interest Section's billboard was not one of them. As an aside, Vescovi mentioned that he had read the USG accepted the prolongation of the maritime boundary agreement, about which the Cubans had expressed concerned. 3.(C) On humanitarian aid, Vescovi said that the two ministers briefly reviewed the Swiss Development Agency's programs with Cuban local governments on food security, environment, and medicine (total Swiss bilateral aid this year is budgeted at a little over $3 million). On human rights, Vescovi refused to go into details, except to say that Switzerland is testing Havana's desire for closer relations. Asked if the Swiss were discussing the Cuban opposition, Vescovi nodded, adding only that Bern planned to "see if CUBA responds." 4.(C) Vescovi acknowledged that Perez-Rocque asked for Swiss support to join the new UN Human Rights Council. According to Vescovi, Calmy-Rey only "took notice" of the Cuban request, without any comment. On the HRC issue, Vescovi confessed that Switzerland was trying to keep CUBA as close and constructive as possible, out of concern that Havana could use its role as president of the Non-Aligned Movement to torpedo the HRC as the body formulated its internal procedures. Poloff said it was dubious that CUBA could be persuaded to be constructive at all on the issue, to which Vescovi expressed satisfaction that Havana had voted for the HRC. He noted that Cuba, during its last NAM presidency in 1979, had used its influence to shift the UNGA's agenda toward anti-colonialism and other "north-south" issues, a trend Switzerland hoped could be avoided this year. Poloff reiterated that CUBA -- or Venezuela for that matter -- would only use its presence in any UN body to cause problems. 5.(C) Asked his general impression of Perez-Rocque, Vescovi demurred, but noted that the Cuban FM's image among the Cubans was a cross between "young shark" and "elitist intellectual." Vescovi agreed that Perez-Rocque had no prospect of succeeding Fidel Castro. Vescovi agreed that brother Raoul Castro had the inside track on succession, since "no non-revolutionary would have credibility among the Cuban population." The best hope for CUBA to transition into a democracy would be for the next generation of leaders to divide into two, albeit left-wing, groups, with gradual evolution into social-democracy. Vescovi observed that it BERN 00000716 002.2 OF 002 was interesting for him to observe the Cuban reaction to the few hours of Venezuelan Telesur broadcast on Cuban television during his recent visit to the island. Yes, the Telesur dialogue was entirely left-wing, but it was a broader spectrum of left-wing than what Cuban programming usually allowed. Vescovi understood that a growing number of Cubans -- particularly among the rural intellectuals -- were taking note of the relative freedom in Venezuela -- and asking why this could not be possible in Cuba. 6.(C) Vescovi and Poloff both expressed hope that the hemisphere's growing number of left-wing governments would not follow Cuba's lead into dictatorship. Vescovi regretted that the Venezuelan opposition had boycotted the last elections, asserting that even a one-third to 40 percent presence in the legislature could have had a positive influence. He held out hope that the Roman Catholic Church could still play a positive role there. Willeford