COSTA RICA: MAY 21 DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBAN

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000432 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/PD AND WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL SOCI KDEM KPAO CU CS SUBJECT: COSTA RICA: MAY 21 DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBAN PEOPLE WRAP-UP REF: A. STATE 45792 ¶B. STATE 46997 ¶C. STATE 51536 ¶D. SAN JOSE 406 ¶1. The Costa Rican National Assembly, local media, Post and others observed the Day of Solidarity with Cuban People on May 20-21. Post contacted key representatives from each of these groups in the lead-up to May 21 and suggested possible commemorative activities and statements. Post also provided the communications director of the ruling PLN faction (Adriana Nunez) with guidance and talking points to use in preparing the interventions of the six parliamentarians. A wrap-up of activities follows: -- During the National Assembly's plenary session on May 21, six prominent Assembly members, including two heads of faction, called on the Castro regime to respect the Cuban people's human rights and freedom of speech. Public TV Channel 26 televised the remarks live. The six members were: Oscar Nunez Calvo, chief of the governing National Liberation Party (PLN) faction; Ovidio Aguero Acuna, head of the Libertarian Movement (ML); Federico Tinoco Carmona and Fernando Sanchez Campos, both of the PLN; and Independents Evita Arguedas and Jose Manuel Echandi Meza. -- Ex-president Luis Alberto Monge, on behalf of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba and along with the Costa Rican Committee for Solidarity with Democracy in Cuba, organized a forum on May 20 at the Journalists Association entitled, "Cuba, Current Reality, Freedom of Expression, Commitment of International Solidarity and Respect for Human Rights." Nine speakers including ex-president Monge, former Cuban political prisoner (and Miami resident) Ernesto Diaz, Assembly member Jose Manuel Echandi, a representative of the local Cuban community, and the Czechoslovakian Counselor urged democratic reforms. Representatives from Post attended. -- On May 21, the Libertarian Movement held another commemorative event with Ernesto Diaz and Cuban community representatives. -- Post successfully placed Jorge Olivera Castillo's op-ed "Compas de Espera" in the May 21 issue of Diario Extra, Costa Rica's leading daily with a circulation of 150,000. The editors placed it prominently in the Opinion Section, reported the author's email address, and noted that he was an independent journalist and former prisoner of conscience sentenced to 18 years in March 2003 and released in December 2004 for health reasons. -- On May 21, Ricardo Zamora, host of the leading radio talk show "In Focus" on Radio Eco, interviewed Libertarian Movement National Assembly member Mario Quiros. Quiros underscored Costa Rica's diplomatic efforts to nudge the Castro regime towards democracy. -- Post featured President Bush's and Secretary Rice's statements on Cuban Solidarity prominently on our website. ¶2. Additionally, various labor groups, among them the Independent Workers Movement of Cuba, paid homage to ex-president Monge at an event on May 15, praising him for his "work in defense of Cuban workers' rights." ¶3. Still planned is a May 27 observance of the theme by Jaime Ordonez, a prominent intellectual and regional democracy expert, on his Radio Universidad program "El Mundo en Contacto" (The World in Contact). ¶4. Alberto Salom, representative from the opposition Citizen Action Party (PAC),was the only legislator to denounce the U.S. embargo during the May 21 plenary session. He called for equally close scrutiny of human rights violations in other countries, "including the U.S." BRENNAN