(C) UK INTERESTED IN CUBAN HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 004126

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2017
TAGS: PHUM UNGA ETRD UN CU EU AR UK
SUBJECT: (C) UK INTERESTED IN CUBAN HUMAN RIGHTS
APPROACHES; SEES NO IMPACT ON FALKLANDS FROM KIRCHNER
VICTORY

REF: A) STATE 148506 B) STATE 147620 C) LONDON 2586

Classified By: Charge Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary. Chris Wood, Head of the Foreign Office's
Americas Directorate, told the Charge that the UK shares the
goal of promoting democratic change in Cuba and is interested
in several of the U.S. proposals for cooperation in Cuba (ref
B),but it will take more U.S. lobbying in EU capitals to
gain EU backing. Wood cautioned that, in pressing the EU,
Washington should not suggest that the proposals reflected a
U.S.-UK approach as that would backfire with certain EU
members (read Spain). According to Matthew Forbes, head of
the Foreign Office's Central American and Cuba Section, Raul
Castro has the reins of power "in hand" and there is little
reason to expect top-down political change post Fidel,
although Raul appears willing to pursue economic reform "at
the margins." Wood requested more information on the Freedom
Fund for Cuba, announced in the President's October 24th
speech. Although the UK joined the EU vote in favor of the
Cuba Embargo resolution at the UN (ref A),Wood and Forbes
pointed to the EU Explanation of Vote that they claimed had
strongly condemned human rights abuses in Cuba. Turning to
Argentina, Wood said Kirchner's election would not affect
UK-Argentine relations; the question was whether Kirchner
would take steps to persuade Falklands residents of the
benefits of closer ties to Argentina. End Summary.

Cuba Human Rights: Lobby in the EU, But Don't Name Us
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2. (C) Wood told the Charge on November 1 that the UK shared
the U.S. goal of supporting democracy and democratic
activists during the post-Fidel Castro transition period.
The UK wanted to encourage democratic change and was engaging
with dissidents inside Cuba, Wood assured us. The UK and its
EU partners were studying ref B's proposals for cooperative
approaches to promote human rights in Cuba. "As a matter of
broad principle" London would be interested in working with
the U.S. Government on several, but, Wood stressed, the
Foreign Office was not yet in a position to provide a
detailed response. Achieving EU buy-in for working on the
U.S. proposals would "not be easy," Wood warned, and will
require serious lobbying in other EU capitals, in particular
Madrid and perhaps Rome, which was favorable to Madrid's
views on Cuba. Wood also cautioned against framing the
proposals as reflecting a U.S-UK approach: in the EU "that
will work against you."


3. (C) As evidence of the UK's bona fides as a supporter of
Cuban democracy, Wood pointed to the EU's Explanation of Vote
following passage of the Cuban Embargo Resolution this week.
Ref A's message pressing the UK to vote against the
resolution had been conveyed earlier to Wood and Forbes, and
Wood noted that, although the UK had again joined with the EU
in voting for the resolution, the EU had delivered an
explanation of its vote that condemned Cuba's human rights
record and emphasized the need for democratic change.


4. (C) The Charge asked Wood about HMG and EU reaction to
the President's October 24th speech on Cuba. Wood said the
Freedom Fund for Cuba announced in the speech had been of
most interest to HMG; he asked for further information on the
Fund, including the timing of its establishment. (Embassy
note. Embassy has been in contact with Cuba Desk at State
for further information to provide Wood. End note.) Wood
had not picked up any broader EU reaction to the speech.

Inside Cuba
--------------


5. (C) In response to the Charge's query, Forbes said it
appeared Raul Castro was interested in economic reforms "at
the margins," but there was no evidence that fundamental
political reform from the top was likely post-Fidel. There
were enough senior officials around Raul "with no interest in
reform." Acknowledging that it was difficult for HMG to
gather much information on senior-level thinking in Havana,
Forbes said it appeared that there were not any challengers
circling Raul on the question of succession; Raul had picked
up the reins "fairly seamlessly."


6. (C) Forbes said that the President's October 24 speech
had been spun inside Cuba as evidence of the U.S. effort to

LONDON 00004126 002 OF 002


incite counter-revolutionary activity and espionage. The
speech has clearly provoked the Cuban regime, as evidenced by
the fact Foreign Minister Perez Roque delivered the
government's official reply, Forbes noted.

New Argentinean President
--------------


7. (C) Turning to the election of Christina Kirchner as
Argentine President, the Charge asked Wood if her victory
would affect UK-Argentine relations. Wood said that Kirchner
had not made the Falklands an issue during her campaign and
he did not see her victory making any immediate difference in
London's relationship with Buenos Aires. The UK position on
the future of the Falklands remains based on the principle of
self-determination -- the question, Wood said, is whether
Kirchner will initiate actions to win over Falkland residents
to the view that closer relations with Argentina is in their
interest.


8. (C) The past year -- the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
Falklands War -- had been a sensitive one, Wood noted, and
the UK had tried to keep the commemorative events modest.
London had also taken steps to encourage cooperation on
issues related to the Falklands, but the Argentines had not
shown interest and had, in fact, backed away from several
previously agreed areas of cooperation (Embassy note: For
more on UK views of the status of Falklands and Argentine
actions over the past year see ref C. End note.) Wood said
that overall the two countries had excellent relations and
cooperated on a lot of important issues, including counter
terrorism, despite what the Argentines considered "the big
issue in the room."

Comment
--------------


9. (C) Cuba remains an issue on which the UK acts strictly
within an EU framework. Any UK interest in following up on
several of ref B's proposals will be in the context of EU
buy-in, as Wood's comments on the need to lobby other EU
capitals suggested. Wood and Forbes both indicated that the
U.S. proposals are currently under discussion at the EU
working group level and will likely be taken up at the
ministerial level, perhaps at the next GAERC meeting.

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