Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06HAVANA23564
2006-12-04 20:33:00
CONFIDENTIAL
US Interests Section Havana
Cable title:  

RAUL DELIVERS CASTRO BIRTHDAY SPEECH

Tags:  CU PGOV PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
O 042033Z DEC 06
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AMEMBASSY BERN IMMEDIATE 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 023564 


"NOTE PROCESSED AS IS PER EAP BARBARA BARTSCH-ALLEN"

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2016
TAGS: CU PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: RAUL DELIVERS CASTRO BIRTHDAY SPEECH

REF: A) HAVANA 23548 B) HAVANA 23552

Classified By: COM MICHAEL E. PARMLY, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 023564


"NOTE PROCESSED AS IS PER EAP BARBARA BARTSCH-ALLEN"

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2016
TAGS: CU PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: RAUL DELIVERS CASTRO BIRTHDAY SPEECH

REF: A) HAVANA 23548 B) HAVANA 23552

Classified By: COM MICHAEL E. PARMLY, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

1.(C) Summary: Raul Castro's speech before the December 2
military parade marking Fidel Castro's 80th birthday and the
50th anniversary of the 1956 Granma invasion was a missed
opportunity on two fronts: to start to turn the page on the
Fidel era; and to make a sincere overture to the United
States, if that was his intent. Raul proffered no obituary
for Fidel nor commented on his brother,s absence, but also
did not fully assert his own authority, perpetuating the
state of limbo that has hung over Cuba since July 31.
Nowhere does he address the Cuban people or speak to their
concerns. Instead, he expends the bulk of his speech in a
caustic anti-U.S. diatribe. The press has focused on one
paragraph of the speech where Raul, repeating language from
his August 18th "Granma" interview, calls for improved
relations with the U.S.

2.(C) Summary continued: An estimated 300,000 people
participated in the military parade along with and array of
missile launchers and MIG flyovers. Largely a command
performance, USINT observers noted a lack of revolutionary
fervor though many in the crowd expressed personal sentiments
for Fidel and turned to see whether he had appeared on the
reviewing stand. End Summary.

FIDEL A NO SHOW

3.(C) Fidel Castro was too ill to appear at his own
mega-birthday party, which was delayed almost four months to
begin with. Raul Castro's speech hardly talks about his
brother, nor offers any explanation for his absence from the
long anticipated 80th birthday celebration. Fidel's own
apology for not appearing, read to a TV audience Wednesday
evening, was a non-sequitur that emphasized energy-saving
measures (ref b). After a perfunctory homage to the elder
Castro at the beginning of the speech, Raul turned backwards
in history to the 1956 Granma invasion, and quoted Fidel's
remarks 31 years earlier to the first Communist Party
Congress.

4.(C) At the same time, Raul did not use this critical
opportunity to speak directly to the Cuban people in his own
right as the new leader of Cuba. All he came up with was an
appeal for unity of the people, armed forces and Communist
party. He avoided any talk about the future or about the

economic concerns of most ordinary Cubans. This performance
is consistent with Raul Castro's previous public appearances
which demonstrated no new direction since Fidel Castro's
incapacitation was announced on July 31st.

FOCUS ON THE U.S.

5.(C) Raul Castro made most of his speech an acerbic and
puerile tirade against the U.S. He said since the fall of
the Soviet Union, the United States has exercised
"unprecedented hostility and aggression" to asphyxiate Cuba
economically and undermine the Revolution. Yet Cuba, he
continued, "defied those who suggested that generations of
Cubans would abandon the ideals of the Revolution." He
lauded the "maturity and confidence in the Revolution the
Cuban people have demonstrated during the last four months."
"Despite maneuvers and pressure from the United States,"
Raul continued, "Cuba has enhanced its prestige
internationally as leader of the NAM and in the UN General
Assembly with the vote against the embargo." He condemned
U.S. "neo-liberal" policies in Latin America "that popular
majorities have rejected" in Venezuela and elsewhere.


6. (C) Raul reviewed the "U.S. administration,s
adventurism in the international arena" and described our
November 7 mid-term election as a rejection of these
policies. He denounced in lurid detail the war in Iraq, and
concluded that in the eyes of the world the "so-called" war
on terrorism "has been a humiliating failure for the U.S."
Raul called upon the U.S. government to learn the lesson that
"power based on intimidation and terror brings terrible
consequences."

OLIVE BRANCH?


7. (C) Following this tirade and almost in the same
breath, Raul repeated his offer to the U.S. to improve
relations. Cuba would agree to "resolve prolonged
differences on the negotiating table" with the United States
through direct dialogue. However, as stated in his August 18
"Granma" interview, Cuba would insist on relations based on
"equality, reciprocity, non-interference and mutual
respect." Raul then added that the Cuban government is
"ready to wait patiently for common sense to take hold in
circles of power in Washington." In the meantime, Raul
concluded, "Cuba will continue to consolidate all levels of
its national defense structure."

MASSES PARTICIPATE IN THE SPECTACLE

8.(C) As with all official parades, the 300,000 or so Cubans
who turned out for the celebration were obliged to
demonstrate support for the regime. Arrayed in red shirts,
the crowd spilled over into the Plaza de la Revolution.
While they chanted "Viva Fidel, Viva Raul, Down with
Imperialism" at appropriate times during the speech, there
was a demonstrable lack of revolutionary fervor. The parade
took on the guise of a social event with megaphone-led
chanting and much chatter that no one seemed to take
seriously. As the marchers passed the reviewing stand all
eyes turned to see if Fidel was present. Many in the crowd
held up hand-made posters wishing him a happy birthday or
expressing personal sentiments about the man. The only thing
that mattered to most ordinary Cubans present or watching
from home, was whether Fidel appeared or not. The reaction
among the crowd to Raul's speech was disengagement. The
military flyovers were the only source of genuine excitement.

9.(C) French and Canadian diplomats who were invited to
participate in the ceremony said they took note of the
preponderance of military hardware on display. The French
Military attach reported that the Cubans did a good job to
keep the old Soviet era equipment running, not unlike Cuban
mechanics keeping 1950s era U.S.-model cars running. One
tank apparently stalled or ran out of gas, which was not
shown on TV; others drove for a short distance, then parked
on the side of the parade route, perhaps paying homage to
2006 being Cuba,s "year of energy efficiency."

10.(C) Comment: The December 2 activities made clear that
Fidel cannot return to center stage. Yet Raul presented
himself as second-in command and head of the armed forces,
rather than as the new leader of Cuba. He chose to make this
speech, arguably his most important public appearance since
assuming power, about the U.S. rather than about the Cuban
people or their future. His rhetoric castigating the U.S.
administration demonstrated a lack of sincerity in calling
for better relations. The media and diplomatic community
want to create a buzz about this, missing the point that
Raul's conditions are a non-starter. The stage-managed
parade and homage to Fidel were trademark totalitarian
performances, and should call into question the key issue in
Cuba,s upcoming transition: How do they get from here to
legitimacy? Raul, who personifies illegitimacy (in every
sense),cannot take them there.


PARMLY