POLICE BEAT DISSIDENTS IN CHURCH IN SANTIAGO DE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 001134

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2017
TAGS: CU PGOV PHUM PINR PREL
SUBJECT: POLICE BEAT DISSIDENTS IN CHURCH IN SANTIAGO DE
CUBA


Classified By: CDA: J. Williams : For reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (C) SUMMARY: Cuban police on 4 December entered the
church of St. Teresita in Santiago de Cuba and beat with
clubs and used pepper spray on about 25 dissidents who along
with other parishioners were awaiting the beginning of mass.
The dissidents had held a peaceful march to the church to
protest the detention in Havana of Gerardo Sanchez Ortega of
the Movement of Cuban Youth for Democracy (MCJD),who had
been taken into custody with two other members of this
organization that is demanding the opening of private
universities. Between fifteen to eighteen people were taken
into custody. The police continue to detain seven of these
people. End Summary.



2. (C) On 29 November Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina, Eliecer
Consuegra Rivas and Gerardo Sanchez Ortega were detained in
Havana for not having identity documents. Rodriguez and
Sanchez are members of the organization, Movement of Cuban
Youth for Democracy. This organization held a press
conference in Havana on 26 November to present a petition
with 5000 signatures to demand academic freedom and the
reopening of the Catholic University Santo Tomas de
Villanueva. In fact, all three along with MCJD's president,
Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, had attended an informal meeting of
members of youth organizations held at POL officer's house on
26 November. It is unclear whether the three were picked up
because of their participation in the organization's
activities or were caught up in the police sweeps of downtown
Havana neighborhoods reported for the past few months aimed
at expelling youths out of the city who are not from Havana.



3. (C) According to Enrique Reyes Fernandez, member of
Movement of Cuban Youth for Democracy from Havana, police on
4 December released without charges Consuegra and Sanchez and
boarded them with a police escort on a train intending to
drop Consuegra in her home town of Holguin and Sanchez in
Santiago. Rodriguez remains in custody in Havana but has
telephoned Reyes and expects to be shipped back to his home
in Guantanamo within the next few days. In the meantime in
Santiago, Yaquelin Hechavarria, the wife of Sanchez,
organized a protest against her husband's detention. Reyes
stated that the police learned the protesters planned to meet
the train so they let off Sanchez at another stop.
Hechavarria lead a march through the streets and then the
group gathered in the church of St. Teresita. The protesters
dressed in black and many had stickers on the clothing
saying, "I don't cooperate with the dictatorship". Reyes
said that the protesters choose to hear the mass because 4
December is the day of St. Barbara, a Catholic martyr who in
the Afro-Cuban religion is associated with the warrior god
Chango, and for many in Cuba is a symbol of rebellion. All
sources of information such as Reyes, Martha Beatriz Roque
and Elizardo Sanchez stated that the 25 to 30 protesters were
not causing any type of disturbance in the church. They also
said that there was crowd of onlookers around the church and
several churchgoers not involved in the protest were present
awaiting the mass. An estimated 15 police vehicles
surrounded the church.


4. (C) Father Jose Conrado Rodriguez has told the press that
he was dressing for mass when he heard a commotion. He said
that the police kicked open a door and entered the church
where they beat the activists with fists and clubs and used
pepper spray on some of the people in the church. Father
Conrado stated that the police did not respond to his calls
to stop the desecration of the church. According to Reyes
the police took 18 people into custody. Elizardo Sanchez of
the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National
Reconciliation states that fifteen were arrested. Eight have
been released.



5. (C) This incident has shocked most dissidents. Even
Reyes expressed surprise because he said that his
organization, many of whose members are devout Catholics,
have approached the Church in Cuba for support several times

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and were always refused. Reyes said that the Church
authorities very much would like to regain the right to have
private Catholic schools in Cuba but made it clear that they
want to avoid confrontation with the GOC. Reyes said that he
doesn't know why the police would risk a desecration of a
church. Reyes hopes that the Vatican will condemn the
incident as has the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cuba. He
stated that he feels that the GOC fears his organization
because the members are young and that many ordinary Cuban
parents do want the right to send their children to private
schools. Elizardo Sanchez stated that there has been a
marked increase in harassment of youth, including many young
people not involved in political activity. He estimates that
police forcibly ship out of Havana between 50 to 100 youths a
week found with identification giving some city other than
Havana as their place of residence. He is not sure whether
the Church incident was solely the result of decisions by the
Provincial police in Santiago or if it was coordinated with
the highest levels of state security. MBR has no doubts
saying that nothing happens in any part of the country
without the knowledge of the upper echelons of the security
apparatus. Elizardo thinks that the incident might be part
of a campaign to prevent demonstrations on 10 December,
International Human Rights Day.



6. (C) Comment: It is likely that the GOC does fear the
fact that youth groups have been increasingly active in
organizing protests. The police have been using very
forceful measures to keep peope from participating in
demonstrations and to break up protests. There has been a
notable change of pattern on the part of Cuban security
forces. For several months there has been a dramatic drop in
convictions for political offenses and acts of repudiation
against opposition figures by government recruited mobs.
However, there was been a huge increase in harassment of
younger people using short term detentions and forceful
expulsions from Havana. Despite years of indoctrination,
Cuban youth is largely completely disillusioned with the
regime and will probably continue to be the focus of
government repression.

WILLIAMS
PARMLY