FM MITCHELL AND AMBASSADOR DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L NASSAU 000862 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR WBENT CCGDSEVEN FOR DR/DRE/DRMC E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM MARR KUNR CU BF SUBJECT: FM MITCHELL AND AMBASSADOR DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS, AUTEC, OPBAT AND WHTI Classified by CDA D. BRENT HARDT; REASONS 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell asked to meet with the Ambassador May 24 to coordinate management of mounting public concerns about sonar testing at the Atlantic Undersea Testing and Evaluation Center (AUTEC). During the meeting Mitchell also sought to defend The Bahamas' vote for Cuba on the UN Human Rights Council, suggesting it was part of a "package" of votes recommended by his UN mission. Mitchell raised potential threats to U.S. Army support for Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) and expressed concern about this vital counter-drug operation. Mitchell had also heard of possible changes to the implementation date of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and reiterated his governmentQs desire to prevent any unfair advantage to the cruise industry over long-stay visitors to Caribbean countries. END SUMMARY. -------------- Lowering the Volume on Sonar Testing at AUTEC -------------- ¶2. (C) Foreign Minister Mitchell called in the Ambassador to coordinate a response to media and public concern arising from recent whale beachings in The Bahamas attributed by local environmental activists to U.S. Navy sonar testing at AUTEC. Mitchell was concerned by the steady drumbeat of negative stories and wanted to work with us to defuse them. The Ambassador explained public diplomacy efforts to counter misinformation, and expressed appreciation for the constructive approac taken by the Ministers of Fisheries and Environment when they visited the testing facility last month. He informed Mitchell of a planned "media day" at the AUTEC facility on June 8 that will address outstanding questions and highlight the U.S. commitment to protecting marine mammals. COMMENT: Five whales have beached themselves since lat March on two islands. Tissue samples from one whale have been sent to analyze the cause of the beaching, though no results have yet been received. END COMMENT. ¶3. (C) Mitchell welcomed these steps and agreed with the Ambassador on the importance of outreach to local residents and Bahamian employees on the base. The Ambassador suggested he visit nearby communities with th Minister and the local MP to ease concerns. Mitchell noted that with elections on the horizon, this might be difficult to coordinate, but said the MFA would welcome the chance to be involved in public outreach on the issue. -------------- Defending Human Rights Council Vote for Cuba -------------- ¶4. (C) The Ambassador took the opportunity of his call to register U.S. disappointment that, despite its strong democratic traditions and respect for human rights, The Bahamas would support Cuba for a seat on the Human Rights Council. Mitchell said the vote was part of a "package" of votes that had been worked out by his mission at the UN. The Ambassador questioned the response, noting that voting was country specific, not regional, and that CARICOM countries had agreed not to vote as a bloc. Mitchell acknowledged that voting was done country by country, but said his UN mission had recommended a package of votes (most likely a G-77 recommendation),and he had accepted most of these recommendations. He did draw the line at Iran and Iraq, which he noted had been on the list presented to him. He did not explain why he would not draw a similar line for Cuba. ¶5. (C) Mitchell lamented that this vote had entered the domestic political debate -- the opposition FNM party has sharply criticized the vote for Cuba -- and said that The Bahamas was the only Caribbean country where the UN vote was in the public domain. The Ambassador outlined why he, personally, and the United States felt so strongly about this issue and why he had elected to highlight our concerns both privately and publicly. The Ambassador noted that he has been clear in drawing a distinction between disagreement over how best to promote change in Cuba and whether a country Cuba should be on the HRC. -------------- Bahamian Concerns for U.S. Support for OPBAT -------------- ¶6. (C) Minister Mitchell noted that he had heard suggestions that U.S. support for OPBAT was at risk and wanted to register his government's concern that a pullback in U.S. resources for the mission would inevitably lead to a resurgence in drug flows through The Bahamas to th U.S. He indicated that he would likely write to Secretary Rice on this matter to seek support for maintaining OPBAT's operational capabilities -------------- Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Concerns -------------- ¶7. (C) Mitchell asked the Ambassador for an update on Congressional action regarding implementation of WHTI. The Head of the Caribbean Tourism Organization had wriiten to the region's Foreign Ministers as a result of recent Senate legislation potentially impacting the Caribbean by providing different implementation dates for air and sea travel. Th Ambassador assured Mitchell that there was nothing in the new legislation that would make such a change or give the cruise industry a unfair competitive advantage. He pledged to keep Mitchell appraised of legislative developments. -------------- Follow-Up on Detention Center Incident -------------- ¶8. (C) The Ambassador reminded Mitchell that we were still waiting for results of the Government's inquiry into the alleged beating of a Cuban-American journalist by a Carmichael Road Detention Center guard. He noted we had expressed confidence at the time of the incident that the issue would be investigated and appropriate action taken by the Government. Mitchell said that unless the journalist pressed charges, the government could not respond. The Ambassador said it did not appea the journalist intended to press charges, but that the television station had approached the Embassy seeking follow-up on the matter. Mitchell asked the Ambassador to pass along this request in writing to elicit a formal reply. -------------- Future of Freeport Pre-Clearance -------------- ¶9. (C) The Ambassador reiterated his concerns about the continued viability of the Freeport Pre-Clearance operation. With the closure of one of Freeport's major hotels following a 2004 hurricane, passenger volume has declined significantly, making it harder to justify maintaining the facility. Mitchell said he had shared this concern wit the Ministry of Tourism, which was doing its best to promote visitor arrivals to the island. The Ambassador indicated that should CBP seek to close the facility, he would prefer it be suspended so that it could be restarted once visitor arrivals returned to more sustainable levels. -------------- Enhancing Boating Safety Laws -------------- ¶10. (C) The Ambassador shared a letter he received from Coast Guard District 7 Commander, Admiral Peterman, concerning the need for the Bahamas to enforce existing boat safety laws and take steps to strengthen them. He noted extensive Coast Guard Search and Rescue operations in Bahamian waters, often as a result of poorly prepared Bahamian boaters or fishermen. Given the many pressures on the Coast Guard, the Bahamas needed to do more to ensure such cases were kept to minimum through adequate marine regulation. Mitchell agreed to take up the issue with his Cabinet colleagues. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) Mitchell has taken a beating in the media for his support for Cuba's membership on the Human Rights Council and for his related statement about Cuba that: "no other country, unsolicited, has offered the level of assistance to [The Bahamas], assistance that is not of direct benefit to the country offering the assistance." Mitchell lamented that the opposition was choosing to portray him as anti-American and position themselves as pro-American. DCM noted to a smiling Mitchell that if being pro-U.S. was a winning position, he should actively join the competition. Mitchell's effort to work with Post to defuse controversy surrounding AUTEC is no doubt part of his desire to portray himself as working with us on issues of concern and burnish his pro-U.S. credentials. His concern about OPBAT is genuine, and reflective of broader Bahamian government concern about maintaining the capability of the mission. He will likely convey his concerns on OPBAT to the Secretary directly in the near future. HARDT