CUBA: WHA DAS MADISON'S APRIL 10 CONSULTATIONS

S E C R E T BERN 000273 SIPDIS DEPTH FOR WHA (DAS MADISON),DRL, AND EUR/AGS (Y.SAINT-ANDRE) E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2018 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM CU SZ SUBJECT: CUBA: WHA DAS MADISON'S APRIL 10 CONSULTATIONS WITH SENIOR SWISS MFA OFFICIALS REF: A. BERN 244 B. BERN 94 C. 07 BERN 1146 D. 07 BERN 1125 Classified By: Poloff Chris Buck; reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (S) Summary: DAS Madison expressed appreciation for Switzerland's engagement as Protecting Power on behalf of the U.S. Interest Section in Havana (USINT). Ambassador Yvonne Baumann, Head of the MFA's Americas Division, said that this role was "an honor and a priority" for the Swiss government, and that she had emphasized to the Cubans that they need to provide appropriate-level access to USINT. DAS Madison observed that, while there had been some interesting developments in Cuba recently, nothing that the Cuban government had done so far had begun to de-construct the repressive state. Baumann explained that the GOS had initiated a bilateral "political dialogue" with Cuba in January 2006, and that this dialogue included human rights issues. She said that Switzerland expects to continue this dialogue with Cuba, probably with a visit by a Cuban delegation to Switzerland later in the year. Ambassador Rudolf Knoblauch, MFA Special Envoy for Human Rights, emphasized that Switzerland will want to see "concrete progress" from Cuba on human rights, saying that the future of the dialogue would depend on seeing such progress. Baumann said that it appears that Raul Castro has surrounded himself with "old, reliable party members -- perhaps to shield himself from the 'real hard-liners' and to give himself room" to maneuver. Knoblauch reported that the Cubans were looking to Vietnam for ideas on how to make a transition. Baumann said that she thinks that the importance of Venezuela to Cuba is often under-estimated. Notwithstanding the imbalance in economic relations between Cuban and Venezuela, Baumann said she believes that Fidel Castro had the capacity to exercise a "moderating influence" on Hugo Chavez. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) WHA DAS Madison met April 10 with Ambassador Yvonne Baumann, Head of the MFA's Americas Division, to discuss Cuban human rights problems and the prospects for democratic transition. Ambassador Rudolf Knoblauch, MFA Special Envoy for Human Rights, joined Baumann in the meeting. Poloff accompanied DAS Madison. -------------- Swiss Protecting Power Mandate in Cuba -------------- ¶3. (C) DAS Madison thanked Ambassador Baumann for Switzerland's engagement as Protecting Power on behalf of the U.S. Interest Section in Havana (USINT). Baumann said that performing this role was "an honor and a priority" for the Swiss government. She noted that the Cubans had deflected Swiss efforts in this regard, asserting that they "do not need a postman" to communicate with the United States. Baumann said that she had emphasized to the Cubans that they need to provide appropriate-level access to USINT (reftel C). -------------- Swiss-Cuban "Political Dialogue" -------------- ¶4. (C) DAS Madison observed that, while there had been some interesting developments in Cuba recently, nothing that the Cuban government had done so far had begun to de-construct the repressive state. She emphasized the importance of the international community insisting that Cuba make real reforms that deliver to the Cuban people true human rights and democratic institutions. Baumann explained that the GOS had initiated a bilateral "political dialogue" with Cuba in January 2006. She said that, initially, the Cubans were not willing to discuss human rights issues. However, the Swiss continued to press to include human rights topics, and eventually the Cuban government showed a willingness to talk about human rights. Baumann noted that she had co-led a delegation to Cuba in November 2007, to continue the "political dialogue" (reftel D). She said that, in the course of those talks, the Cubans did not demonstrate any fundamental changes in attitudes, but that the Swiss delegation had detected "some willingness to reform." According to Baumann, during those talks, the Swiss MFA delegation raised with Cuban officials Swiss concerns about Cuban political prisoners, the lack of access to Cuba by ICRC officials and UN Special Rapporteurs, and Cuban accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, as well as to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. ¶5. (C) Knoblauch said that, in pursuing its dialogue with Cuba, Switzerland has close cooperation with Spain, "but does not follow exactly the same policy." He indicated that Swiss cooperation with the Norwegians on such matters was closer, referring to Norway as "Switzerland's 'strategic partner' on human rights issues." Knoblauch said that, together with Spain and Norway, Switzerland had offered to assist Cuba with implementation of the international human rights covenants the Cuban government recently had signed. He further commented that he believed the UN Human Rights Council had served to "open up the human rights dialogue" with Cuban officials. ¶6. (S) Knoblauch remarked that he has met with Cuban dissidents, and they do not appear to present a "common front" or a "monolithic view" -- for example, "some are favorably inclined toward the United States, and some are not." Baumann underlined that part of Swiss development assistance is geared toward promoting local decision-making, civil society, and "grass roots" community participation in projects, with the hope that this will support a peaceful transition in Cuba. Knoblauch and Baumann said they expect that Switzerland will continue its dialogue with Cuba, probably with a visit by a Cuban delegation to Switzerland later in the year. Knoblauch emphasized, however, that Switzerland will want to see "concrete progress" from Cuba on human rights, saying that the future of the dialogue would depend on seeing such progress. -------------- Raul Castro: Transition? Reform? -------------- ¶7. (C) Baumann said that it appears that Raul Castro has surrounded himself with "old, reliable party members -- perhaps to shield himself from the 'real hard-liners' and to give himself room" to maneuver. She speculated that, "perhaps as a second step, a younger generation of Cuban leaders might be given a chance." Knoblauch observed that Raul Castro is elderly, so his "horizon is somewhat limited, even if true transition does not occur" during his time. ¶8. (C) Turning to the question of reform, Baumann said that the Cuban government recently had held public forums to collect extensive information and input intended to inform policy-making. According to Baumann, the Cuban government is studying this information to try to determine what to do next. She added that she expects this to be a "trial and error" process, but one that should be encouraged. Knoblauch reported that the Cubans were looking to Vietnam for ideas on how to make a transition, and that Cuban delegations had been making trips to Vietnam since mid-2006. DAS Madison emphasized the importance of pressing for real democratic transition in Cuba, and that rewarding anything other than true reforms would only reinforce the Cuban status quo. -------------- Influence of Venezuela -------------- ¶9. (C) Baumann said that she thinks that the importance of Venezuela to Cuba is often under-estimated. She commented that, if Venezuela were to end its assistance ("$3 billion per year") to Cuba, "the regime would not collapse, but it would really change the picture." Baumann said that she had gotten the impression during meetings in Cuba that many Cubans are not happy about Cuba's dependence on Venezuela, and feared the consequences of the potential loss of their Venezuelan benefactor, recalling the impact on Cuba of the loss of Soviet assistance following the demise of the USSR. Notwithstanding the imbalance in economic relations between Cuban and Venezuela, Baumann said she believes that Fidel Castro had the capacity to exercise a "moderating influence" on Hugo Chavez, and that Fidel Castro had used this influence to some effect during the recent crisis between Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. CONEWAY