CUBA: POLAND LIBERTAD ACT RESPONSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 000760 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2016 TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL SUBJECT: CUBA: POLAND LIBERTAD ACT RESPONSE REF: SECSTATE 57782 Classified By: Econ Counselor Richard Rorvig, for reasons 1.4b and d. -------------- Economic and Political Ties Limited -------------- ¶1. (U) As far as post is aware, there is no Polish investment in Cuba, and trade in goods is very small. In 2005 Poland exported $14.1 million in merchandise to and imported $6.5 million from Cuba. There are no government-sponsored exchange programs between Poland and Cuba. ¶2. (C) Successive Polish governments have worked to promote democracy and human rights in Cuba, both in international fora and through their own activities on the ground in Havana. Poland is among the most active proponents within the European Union of greater engagement with Cuba's democratic forces, and has resisted efforts by other member states to soften EU policy toward the Castro regime. Poland has consistently supported condemnations of Cuban human rights abuses in the UN, including through co-sponsorship of UNCHR resolutions. One recent sign of the Polish commitment to human rights in Cuba was the January videoconference between Cuban democracy activists in Havana and former President Lech Walesa in Warsaw, which we and the Polish government organized jointly. ¶3. (C) Post is unaware of any high-level diplomatic visits between Cuba and Poland in the past six months, or even in the past several years. The Polish MFA Americas director was very nearly barred from entry to Cuba last October because of Polish activism in support of democracy there. During his visit, he met only with dissidents, not government officials. ASHE