CUBA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP AUGUST 11, 2006

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 016023

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STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/11/2016
TAGS: PHUM KDEM SOCI CU
SUBJECT: CUBA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP AUGUST 11, 2006

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Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(d).


1. (C) Summary: Cuba's "Ladies in White" expressed concern
that their weekly march outside Havana's Santa Rita church on
Sunday, April 13, will be their most dangerous ever, as it
coincides with the 80th birthday of Fidel Castro and could
prompt a counter-protest by regime supporters. Elsewhere in
Havana, Oswaldo Paya passed on a "credible" rumor that Fidel
had undergone a colostomy. With Poloff in attendance,
members of the Marti Youth Coalition in a meeting and agreed
that most Cubans oppose the elevation of Raul. Communist
militants held an "act of repudiation" against Lady in White
Katia Martin. A police officer threatened to beat up
independent journalist Carlos Serpa Maceira. State Security
searched the home of labor leader Aurelio Bachiller without a
warrant. A crackdown on watchers of US television is
underway. End Summary.


2. (C) A leading member of Cuba's "Ladies in White" -
relatives of political prisoners -- expressed concern that
their weekly march outside Santa Rita church on August 13
could spark a counter-protest, as it falls on Fidel Castro's
80th birthday. Laura Pollan, wife of political prisoner
Hector Maseda Gutierrez, told Poloff August 11 that she had
heard from a number of Ladies in outlying areas that the GOC
is taking steps to prevent them from entering the capital to
take part in the march. Pollan noted that the GOC has, in
the past, mobilized female regime supporters to confront the
Ladies, and feared that this might be the case for the coming
march.

FIDEL COLOSTOMY RUMORED
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3. (C) Oswaldo Paya of the Christian Liberation Movement told
Poloff August 11 that he had received "credible" information
from someone "very close to the operating room" that Fidel
Castro's operation had been a colostomy, carried out at
Havana's CIMEQ hospital. Paya said this was suggestive of
colon cancer, adding that the dictator's long-term health
prospects did not look good. Paya also addressed what he
called the "power vaccuum" with Fidel off his feet. "Raul
doesn't have sufficient support within the government, and
this means danger." He added: "The regime knows it has no
future, and now is not the time to provoke it." Paya added
that in due time, he will "present our program to the people."


4. (C) In Havana's inland Boyeros neighborhood, around 12
members of the Marti Youth Coalition -- a democratic
counterpart to the Union of Young Communists -- held a
90-minute meeting August 11 with Poloff in attendance. The
participants expressed their rejection of Raul Castro as
Cuba's leader and stated their determination to push forward
with peaceful democratic activity, even in the face of
reprisals. One participant said militants were gathering
near her house for an "act of repudiation" in the evening.
Another said local militants rousted him out of bed for
laughs on August 7.

"DOWN WITH IMPERIALISM!"
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5. (C) Around 50 Communist militants staged an "act of
repudiation" August 9 in front of the Havana home of Lady in
White Katia Martin, whose husband, Orthodox priest Ricardo
Medina Salabarria, has been held for more than a year without
formal charges. The act was nonviolent and featured a sound
system and predictable chants: "Down with Imperialism!" "Long
Live the Revolution!" Earlier in the day, Martin and her
twin daughters visited Salabarria at Taco Taco prison in
Pinar del Rio, where Martin said celebrations broke out after
the July 31 succession announcement was made on TV.
Salabarria's attorney said the prosecution's dossier
indicates that her client will be charged with "Law 88": acts
against the state's independence or territorial integrity.
The sentence carries a term of two to 20 years.

POLICE OFFICER THREATENS BEATING
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6. (C) A police officer outside of USINT Havana approached
independent journalist and frequent USINT visitor Carlos
Serpa Maceira August 4 and told him that if he continued to
visit the Interests Section, he would be kicked in the head.
Serpa, of Lux Info Press, responded August 7 to a summons by
the Civil Registry, where he was told that he was staying in
Havana illegally and could be fined 3,000 pesos ($125).
Serpa conceded to Poloff that he did not have official
permission to reside in the capital, but asked, "How can you

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be illegal in your own homeland?" Serpa speculated that the
move was intended to disrupt his dissident activities.

WARRANT-LESS SEARCH OF DISSIDENT'S HOUSE
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7. (C) Without a warrant, State Security officials on August
10 carried out a search at the home of Aurelio Bachiller,
Secretary General of the National Confederation of

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Independent Workers of Cuba (CONIC). The officials told
Bachiller they knew he was planning to hold a dissident
event; Bachiller told us he had no such plans. The officials
left without confiscating anything.

SATELLITE TV CRACKDOWN
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8. (C) The GOC's August 9 announcement of a crackdown on
those who watch US satellite TV programming generated
concern. Novelist and freed 75er Jorge Olivera told Poloff
that many of his neighbors have expressed uneasiness over the
announcement and its provision of up to three years in jail
for those connect to a satellite receiver. Olivera added
that the neighborhood should be OK, because one of the
residents has a relative in the police would will tip him off
ahead of any raids. Olivera also said the crackdown could be
a distraction from developments in the political arena.

COMMENT
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9. (C) Human rights abusers have not taken a vacation because
of the July 31 announcement of Fidel Castro's incapacitation.
Even if Raul Castro is temporarily wearing his big brother's
hat as head of regime, he still wears his old hat as Minister
of Defense, in charge of Interior Ministry State Security
elements as well. There is nothing in Raul's biography or
experiences as Defense Minister that would lead us to believe
that he would oversee a softening of regime pressure on
dissidents.
PARMLY