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

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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

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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