WOMEN IN CUBAN OPPOSITION EXPRESS DEFIANCE, HOPE

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000228

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2017
TAGS: PHUM KWMN KDEM SOCI CU
SUBJECT: WOMEN IN CUBAN OPPOSITION EXPRESS DEFIANCE, HOPE


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


1. (C) Summary: Women in the Cuban opposition expressed
defiance to the regime and hope for the future in a meeting
with COM Parmly on March 7, the eve of International Women's
Day. Twenty-two women discussed the emergence of the "Ladies
in White" as a powerful force within the opposition, as well
as such issues as violence in society, the lack of
fundamental rights and the Cuban Government's failure to meet
its prison-visit commitments. Female Cuban activists, like
their male counterparts, face a barrage of regime-directed
abuse, from "acts of repudiation" to physical assaults to
petty harassment. But all Cuban women are affected, since
repression in Cuba is not limited to the opposition. End
Summary.


2. (C) Leading women within the pro-democracy movement met
with COM Parmly at the PAOR on March 7 and expressed defiance
to the regime and hope for a better future. Among the
participants were four key "Ladies in White," Liberal Party
President Julia Cecilia Delgado Gonzalez, Independent Library
Project coordinator Gisela Delgado Sablon and veteran
activist Marcela Sanchez. Delgado Gonzalez hailed the Ladies
in White, saying the GOC never imagined that the group would
become the voice of the opposition. Leading Lady Laura
Pollan responded by saying that if the group has managed to
connect with the people, it is because the Ladies believe in
self-respect and engage in democratic practices. COM Parmly
read aloud the Secretary's tribute to women of courage, and
said he had only to look around the room to find examples of
extraordinary valor.


3. (C) Participants thanked the United States for its
steadfast support of human rights in Cuba, and expressed
concern over the high level of violence in Cuban society,
including domestic violence. They condemned the denial of
fundamental rights, including the right to legally hold
protests, and slammed the GOC for failing to honor its own
regulations on visits to imprisoned family members. (Lady
Julia Nunez, wife of 75er Adolfo Fernandez Sainz, noted that
earlier in the day, authorities at Canaleta prison in Sancti
Spiritus kept her waiting for two hours before she could
visit her husband, as a form of petty harassment.)
Nevertheless, the activists expressed confidence that their
cause was just, and that democracy would one day prevail on
the island.

COMMENT
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4. (C) Women in the Cuban opposition, like their male
counterparts, face a barrage of regime-directed abuse. Some,
like human rights activist Maria de los Angeles Borrego Mir,
are in prison for peaceful political activity. Others are
assaulted; Nancy Gonzalez Garcia of Villa Clara province says
that since communist militants beat her savagely last
October, her house has become a late-night target range for
airborne bottles and rocks. Other women in the opposition
lose their jobs, endure "acts of repudiation," or suffer
other mistreatment. Lady in White Barbara Rojo Arias, wife
of 75er Omar Ruiz Hernandez, told us March 7 that at 6 pm
each evening, the regime vindictively cuts off the supply of
water and electricity to her home. None of her neighbors has
any such problem.


5. (C) A Cuban woman need not belong to the opposition to
suffer from repression. The regime insists that Cuban women
enjoy full equality, and in a sense we agree. Their right to
change their government, to obtain a fair trial, or to speak,
assemble or move freely, are regrettably as trampled as the
rights of Cuban men.
PARMLY