REPRESSION IN CUBA WORSE UNDER RAUL, SAY ACTIVISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 020774

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2016
TAGS: PHUM KDEM SOCI CU
SUBJECT: REPRESSION IN CUBA WORSE UNDER RAUL, SAY ACTIVISTS


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


1. (C) Summary: Many Cuban human rights activists believe
that repression has worsened on the island since the July 31
"proclamation" that Raul Castro had assumed temporary
control. Between October 2 and 5, we asked ten leading human
rights and pro-democracy advocates - a majority of them
former political prisoners -- whether the level of repression
has increased since the announcement. Seven said yes, one
said no and two were ambivalent. Several of the activists
reported increased Cuban Government monitoring of dissidents.
They described the GOC leadership as disoriented, fearful,
dangerous and desperate. End Summary.


2. (SBU/NF) A USINT Havana survey of ten human rights
activists between October 2 and 5 found that a majority feel
that repression in Cuba has intensified since the Cuban
Government announced Fidel Castro's temporary handover of
power to his brother, General Raul Castro, on July 31.
Details are as follows:


3. (C) Miguel Valdes Tamayo, of the Assembly to Promote Civil
Society (APSC) and one of the 75 peaceful activists jailed in
2003 (but subsequently freed on health grounds),said yes,
repression has increased. Authorities have stepped up their
monitoring of dissidents, Valdes said, and are continuing to
deploy militant Rapid Response Brigades. He added that the
police presence on the streets has increased, and that
occasional beatings of activists are occurring. Valdes was
briefly detained by police on October 2 and 4, following
visits to a USINT Internet center.


4. (C) Elizardo Sanchez, former political prisoner and head
of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National
Reconciliation, said there is no clear answer to the
repression question. "The numbers tell us that in August and
September, there was a small decrease in the number of
documented political prisoners and detainees, compared with
the same months last year." However, he said, State Security
vigilance of dissidents has sharply increased. "It may be
premature to say this, but Raul (Castro) may be saying,
'Maintain the police controls, but without much noise'."


5. (C) Eliezer Consuegra Rivas, a Holguin native and head of
the Eastern Democratic Alliance, said yes, repression has
gotten worse, and that control against dissidents in eastern
Cuba has tightened. "Now we can't even travel freely from
town to town. The situation is particularly bad in Holguin,
Granma, Las Tunas and Santiago."


6. (C) Darsi Ferrer, dissident physician, said yes, things
have worsened. "Now there is repression against the whole
population, not just against dissidents." As evidence, he
cited the call-up of Army reservists, and new deployments of
members of the Communist Youth League. "Raul, while trying
to give the impression of a tranquillity that doesn't exist,
has bought enough time to consolidate his power."


7. (C) Jorge Olivera, a freed 75er and dissident author, said
no, repression has not increased. "It's the same as it was
before Fidel got sick. The acts of repudiation are
continuing." He added, however, that verbal aggression
against dissidents is increasing. He said Cuba was going
through a phase of great uncertainty because Fidel, while
diminished, is still alive and dangerously powerful. "If
Fidel does come back, he will clearly be nowhere near the man
he used to be. I'm not convinced he'll be coming back at
all."


8. (C) Alejandrina Garcia de la Riva, a Matanzas native, Lady
in White, and wife of imprisoned 75er Diosdado Gonzalez
Marrero, said the answer is yes, repression has risen. "The
government is disoriented and fearful. While (officials)
still have power, they want to terrorize the population into
submission." Garcia, who was subjected to an act of
repudiation on September 24, said Gonzalez is currently held
in a punishment cell at Kilo 5.5 prison in Pinar del Rio,
apparently for writing a message critical of the undemocratic
transfer of power in Havana.


9. (C) Elsa Morejon, of the Lawton Human Rights Foundation
and wife of 75er Oscar Elias Biscet, said yes, repression has
worsened. She said there is more pressure now, and a greater
police presence. "There have been more arrests, more
citations, more fines, against ordinary people who, for
example, sell soft drinks without a permit or rent out a car
without government permission." Morejon said Cubans see a
power vacuum and are hopeful for change, but have seen no
progress. "If anything, people live in more fear now than

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before the announcement." She gave the example of Communist
Party members and others going door to door in various Havana
neighborhoods during the NAM meetings, finding out who lives
where and whether all residents are legally entitled to live
there.


10. (C) Roberto de Miranda, freed 75er and head of the Cuban
Independent Educators College, said yes, repression has
increased. He said there is "constant vigilance," and that
the police on his block station themselves near the front of
his residence. In addition, he said, mobs frequently block
dissidents' homes, particularly in Camaguey. De Miranda,
slowly recovering from dengue fever, joked that although
justice was not always fair in the political world,
mosquitoes were another matter, and that the local police
chief in his neighborhood had also contracted dengue.


11. (C) Martha Beatriz Roque, freed 75er and APSC President,
said yes, repression has worsened since the end of July. She
commented that activist "Oswaldo Paya said the order to kill
us (in the event of Fidel's death) has already been issued,
and I believe him." However, she noted, the frequent acts of
repudiation outside her house have abated. Roque's
organization plans to hold a series of gatherings she calls
an independent librarians' "Congress," running from October
10 to February 24. Operators of 152 participating
independent libraries will hold meetings in small groups at
many of the libraries, she explained. (Note: The Dutch
Government has provided considerable support in the form of
office supplies, she said. End Note.)


12. (C) Felix Bonne Carcassas, freed 75er and APSC official,
says the repression question can't be answered with a simple
yes or no. "Whether the level of repression has increased
depends on who you're talking about, and where in Cuba they
live." He said that on the eastern half of the island,
things are now much worse than before, but that repression
has not increased out west. "There's not only more
repression in the east, there's more impunity." Bonne said
some pro-democracy and human rights groups are facing more
GOC pressure than others. "The ones that aren't doing
anything get left alone. But the government hits APSC pretty
hard. Our people down in Santiago can barely leave their
homes."

COMMENT
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13. (C) We share the view that repression has intensified in
Cuba following the July 31 "proclamation." Some of this
increase is visible, such as the greater number of uniformed
police and State Security officers on the streets, and the
Reservist call-up. But much of it is subtle, including the
apparent tightening of travel restrictions on dissidents and,
we suspect, the use of GOC-directed Communist militants to
heckle the "Ladies in White." We have also received credible
reports that GOC authorities are stepping up confiscations of
unauthorized literature held by pro-democracy activists. The
regime's actions are indicative of a government that is
interested above all in maintaining tight control over any
and all political activity on the island.
PARMLY