ROQUE ON TENTATIVE COOPERATION WITH PAYA, OTHERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 016868 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2016 TAGS: PHUM KDEM SOCI CU SUBJECT: ROQUE ON TENTATIVE COOPERATION WITH PAYA, OTHERS REF: HAVANA 16698 HAVANA 00016868 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Leading Cuban activist Martha Beatriz Roque expressed optimism August 23 over what she described as her warming ties with Oswaldo Paya, the other heavyweight in the splintered dissident community. Roque said that at an August 17 event, she and Paya conversed and saw eye to eye on the need to seek the immediate liberation of political prisoners, and an end to harassment of activists. Referring to Raul Castro's stated desire for communication with the United States, Roque said she would be willing to serve as an intermediary, if the GOC met certain conditions. Roque also questioned the plan of a new Cuba-focused NGO, said a new slogan campaign out of Miami is "just for domestic consumption," and expressed interest in a proposal by a former Polish president to mediate talks between the Cuban government and Cuban opposition leaders. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Leading Cuban pro-democracy activist Martha Beatriz Roque met with COM August 23 and expressed optimism over what she described as her warming ties with Oswaldo Paya, the other heavyweight in the Cuban dissident community. Roque, of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society (APSC),said she and Paya, of the Christian Liberation Movement, "were of exactly the same mind" on the need to seek the immediate liberation of political prisoners, and an end to harassment of activists. She said the breakthrough (reftel) came on August 17, when she, Paya and activist Vladimiro Roca were invited by the Hungarian Charge d'Affaires -- along with the chiefs of the Czech, Polish and Slovak missions - to a dinner at a local restaurant. It was unclear if the four European nations would hold another such meeting; this marked the first time in recent years that the Hungarian Embassy had reached out to Cuban dissidents. (Note: We have yet to speak with Paya regarding his August 17 discussion with Roque. It remains to be seen if his enthusiasm for the Paya-Roque relationship equals Roque's. End Note.) ¶3. (C) Roque also told COM that if Raul Castro were to release Cuba's political prisoners, end harassment of dissidents and allow them a role in the political process, she would, if asked, serve as a liaison between the United States and Cuba for talks on reestablishing diplomatic relations. (Note: In an interview carried by state media, Raul Castro stated a highly conditioned willingness to establish communication with the United States. End Note.) She also scoffed at a foreign reference to Raul as "Fidel Lite," saying it would be more accurate to call him "Fidel Strong." ¶4. (C) Roque said a new NGO had been set up in Florida called "Together for Democracy," and that the group's aim was to attract and funnel funds to the APSC, Oscar Biscet's Lawton Foundation for Human Rights, and Vladimiro Roca's All United. However, she criticized the new group's plan to disburse the money to entities in the United States, rather than directly to the pro-democracy groups on the island. Roque, who has long received strong support from segments of the Miami exile community, also referred to a new campaign by the Florida-based group M.A.R. Por Cuba based on the slogans "I Don't Want a Succession" and "I Favor Change." "That campaign will have no impact on Cuba; it's just for domestic consumption in Miami," Roque said. ¶5. (C) Roque also expressed interest in a proposal by former Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski to mediate talks between the Cuban government and Cuba opposition leaders. "But there is no way negotiations can begin until the political prisoners are released, the harassment stops and dissidents are given a say in the political process," she said. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) Roque has for some time expressed a desire to establish closer ties with Paya, as well as others, to pursue a basic platform of demands from the Cuban Government. The August 17 gathering, however, is a promising sign. (Most other events at which Paya and Roque are present are national day receptions, where the two rarely speak to each other.) Paya recently told us he is skeptical of any kind of a unified front with Roque, due to a lack of trust. We will touch base with him in the days ahead. We have urged him, as we had Roque, to work on key, basic issues on which they do in fact share the same view - in particular, on the liberation of political prisoners. More unusual, but also HAVANA 00016868 002.2 OF 002 building over the past several weeks, has been Roque's impatience with Miami. We cautioned her in this conversation against drawing new lines of division. PARMLY