CONFERENCE CALL TO MEXICO BRINGS CUBAN YOUTH

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 021638

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

AMEMBASSY MEXICO PASS AMCONSUL MONTERREY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL SOCI CU
SUBJECT: CONFERENCE CALL TO MEXICO BRINGS CUBAN YOUTH
TOGETHER


HAVANA 00021638 001.3 OF 002


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


1. (S) Summary: Leaders of two Cuban pro-democracy youth
groups took part in a USG-facilitated teleconference October
17 with university students in Monterrey, Mexico. At the
Havana end, at the PAO Residence, 25 young Cubans took part,
mainly from the Marti Youth Coalition (CJM) but also from
Young People Without Censorship (JSC). At Consulate
Monterrey were 10 students from Universidad Regiomontana and
Tecnologico de Monterrey, at least one of whom had previously
met with CJM members in Havana. In a lively conference call
that lasted 30 minutes (until the phone line somehow went
dead),discussion covered such topics as the importance of
peaceful activism, the lack of recreational facilities in
Cuba and the unavailability of affordable books. The
gathering marked the first time in recent memory that Cuban
youth groups had convened to address their counterparts
off-island. After the event, many of the Havana participants
called for follow-up meetings between Cuban youth groups, and
talk was buzzing of possible cooperation. We have stepped up
our interaction with opposition youth groups and are planning
other events aimed at helping them find common ground. End
Summary.


2. (C) Two dozen Cuban pro-democracy activists aged 18-38,
from the CJM, JSC and other organizations, met at the PAO
residence October 17 and participated in a teleconference
with 10 Monterrey university students. CJM Vice President
Edgard Lopez led his group's delegation, while Ahmed
Rodriguez Albacia represented the JSC. Also present were
young members of non-youth organizations, including the
Democracy Party Pedro Luis Boitel and Opposition for a New
Republic. The CJM, whose stated goal is to "promote a space
for alternative (civic) participation," thanked the Mexicans
for their solidarity and told them the CJM is trying to fill
the void created by an ideologically intolerant system.
Other participants criticized GOC censorship, political
incarcerations, high book prices, the lack of economic
opportunities, and the paucity of recreational facilities.

MARTI YOUTH COALITION
--------------


3. (C) The Marti Youth Coalition (CJM),named after Cuban
poet and patriot Jose Marti, was formed in March 2005 and
claims to have 300 members across the island, and to be
growing quickly. (Note: USINT Havana is aware of dozens of
active CJM members. The group's founder, Marco de Miranda,
now lives in Miami. End Note.) The CJM sees itself as an
alternative to the older, what it sees as calcified
pro-democracy groups and to the regime-controlled Communist
Youth League (UJC). "The Government and the opposition have
gotten old," says Lopez, adding that many UJC members belong
to that group not out of ideological fealty but for access to
perks.

YOUNG PEOPLE WITHOUT CENSORSHIP
--------------


4. (C) Young People Without Censorship (JSC),meanwhile, is a
much smaller organization. JSC, technically an independent
news agency, is less than two years old and consists of 12
core members, spread out across the island. JSC focuses on
such issues as prison conditions and homeless migrants who
erect makeshift shacks. The JSC claims to be growing
quickly. Its reputation got a boost in September when
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders condemned Ahmed
Rodriguez Albacia's detention.

SEPARATE EVENT HELD OCTOBER 13
--------------


5. (S) The JSC has warm ties with the Cuban Youth Movement
for Democracy, headed by Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina. On
October 13, USINT organized a DVC between the Movement and
the Miami-based Cuban Democratic Directory. It was the first
(virtual) face-to-face meeting between the youth group and
some of its long-time supporters.

COMMENT
--------------


6. (S) USINT has stepped up its interaction with opposition
youth groups and is planning further events, some with

HAVANA 00021638 002.3 OF 002


contemporaries overseas. Pro-democracy youth groups have
their share of differences, but nowhere near as many, or as
serious, as in the larger, older human rights community,
where ten-year-old grudges are common and as damaging as GOC
penetration. We will try to provide venues and opportunities
at which key youth groups like the CJM, JSC and Movement can
communicate and share ideas with each other and/or with
sympathetic audiences in other cities in the region.
PARMLY