RENE GOMEZ MANZANO: PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 000239 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2017 TAGS: CU KDEM PHUM SOCI SUBJECT: RENE GOMEZ MANZANO: PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUPS INCREASINGLY ON SAME PAGE REF: A. HAVANA 106 ¶B. 136 HAVANA 00000239 001.3 OF 002 Classified By: COM Michael E. Parmly for Reason 1.4(d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Recently released political detainee Rene Gomez Manzano of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society (APSC) told COM Parmly and Emboff on March 6 that relations between Cuban pro-democracy groups are better than they have been in years. Gomez noted that all key opposition groups are united in viewing as their top priority the immediate release of political prisoners. Gomez, released on February 8 from 19 months in prison without charges (reftel),said he received a warm welcome from neighbors. Gomez is one of a number of high-profile detainees and prisoners released since Fidel Castro &delegated8 power to Raul Castro, but the GOC continues to repress dissidents through other means, including the increasing use of domestic &deportations8 against Havana-based activists originally from the East. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Gomez struck a relatively optimistic chord in a March 6 meeting with COM, saying pro-democracy organizations are increasingly on the same page, in terms of objectives. He noted that all key opposition groups view securing the release of political prisoners as the most important task. Gomez, an attorney, seemed open to the idea of groups working together on specific projects or events, but was lukewarm, at best, on any attempt at unifying dissident groups on a deeper level. He promised to get back to us with some specific ideas along those lines. ¶3. (C) Gomez said the Cuban people are gradually losing their fear of speaking out against the regime, although he did not believe that profound change would come from a popular uprising. He said change is very likely to come from the top down. Gomez also said there are indications that following the death of Fidel Castro, Raul Castro will attempt economic but not political reforms, akin to openings in China and Vietnam. While acknowledging sharp differences between Cuban culture and those of China and Vietnam, he said he is hopeful that economic reforms could bring about a softening of regime repression. ¶4. (C) Gomez also said that he and APSC leader Martha Beatriz Roque are considering holding an event in late June to mark the 10th anniversary of the signing of &The Homeland Belongs to All,8 a key human rights document written in response to a Communist Party manifesto on Cuba,s &genuinely democratic system.8 (Gomez was incarcerated for four years for being one of the four signers of this document.) Details of the proposed event were not provided. ¶5. (C) Asked what USINT could do to further support the human rights community, Gomez said the need for medicine is a constant concern. He said books and reading material are helpful in keeping the opposition informed, but dismissed the idea of direct financial aid, and said all assistance must be unconditional. COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Gomez is one of a number of high-profile political detainees and prisoners released since the July 31, 2006 &proclamation8 that &delegated8 power to Raul. Other activists have since been convicted, but the number of documented political prisoners still exceeds 280. The regime continues to favor other measures to keep dissidents in line, including short-term detentions, warnings and interrogations. The GOC is also stepping up its use of domestic &deportations,8 in which activists who reside in Havana without formal GOC permission (like many Havana residents originally from the eastern provinces) are detained and forcibly sent back to their home provinces by train, with the warning that if they return they will be imprisoned for four years. Such is the case with grass-roots activist Antonio Vladimir Rosello Gomez, a carpenter and former political prisoner who took part in a recent human rights meeting. Shortly thereafter, the GOC took him into custody and held him at a Havana police station, ostensibly for residing illegally in the capital. Rosello Gomez was informed he would be forcibly sent home to Oriente on March 9. The HAVANA 00000239 002.3 OF 002 action against Rosello Gomez has everything to do with his political activity. PARMLY