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

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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
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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

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action against Rosello Gomez has everything to do with his
political activity.
PARMLY