NETHERLANDS/CUBA: SOLIDARITY DAY OUTREACH

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000450 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KDEM KPAO PHUM NL CU SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/CUBA: SOLIDARITY DAY OUTREACH REF: A. SECSTATE 51536 ¶B. THE HAGUE 388 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Following up on reftels A and B, post placed an op-ed piece with a major Dutch paper (para 2) and hosted a coffee with a Dutch NGO (para 3) to draw attention to the human rights situation in Cuba. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) PLACEMENT OF OP-ED: On May 21, the Dutch dailQDe Volkskrant, web edition, posted "Day of Solidarity with the Cuban People" (in Dutch) under the byline of the Charge d'Affaires. De Volkskrant is the leading morning daily in the Netherlands, and its web edition is the leading newspaper website. ¶3. (SBU) MEETING WITH NGO: Post invited the outgoing Dutch ambassador to CUBA and six NGOs to a May 21 coffee with the Charge to discuss human rights in Cuba. Kees van Kortenhof, president of Glasnost in Cuba, was the only individual available to participate; he met with Charge, the Public Affairs Counselor, and poloff for 45 minutes. Charge shared U.S. views, and Van Kortenhof responded: -- Dissidents Divided: Van Kortenhof visited CUBA in March this year, when he found a "generation gap" between more senior dissidents (e.g. Ms. Roca) and youth. There is a wide range of views. Many dissidents are growing older, and there is a growing rivalry among dissident groups. Mr. Giovanni says he'll "give Raul no more than two months" to show he's reforming. Mr. Oscar Chepa, who happens to be very good with economic and statistical information on Cuba, is more optimistic. Ms. Roca is less optimistic. -- Reforms so far appear to be cosmetic: Although reforms announced so far by the GOC appear to be "for the stage," there may be something "deeper" under way. For example, this month the government permitted a protest by gays. The Dutch ambassador told Van Kortenhof that Raul Castro that he doesn't want "big problems" with Europe, so he permits Van Kortenhof to visit and meet with dissidents. The sign that true reforms are taking place would be the release of political prisoners. So far there's no sign that the government is easing pressure on dissidents. El Pais in Spain reported that CUBA would end the required tarjeta blanca for Cubans to leave the country. -- U.S. should downplay embargo but use it to leverage reform: Van Kortenhof supports the U.Q emphasis on political prisoners. He also believes governments should have conditions on dialogue with CUBA -- some positive action should be expected from the regime. Van Kortenhoff thinks discussions of the U.S. embargo are not effective. At the same time, the U.S. should not lift the embargo without conditions. -- Europe's reaction: Germany and the Czech Republic are more likely to be good partners to the U.S. approach. Spain is open to using the cosmetic changes in CUBA to support a change in EU policy, as is Belgium, where there are some groups willing to support Castro. In the Netherlands, some groups, and members of the foreign ministry, are willing to weaken restrictions on Cuba. However, FM Verhagen appears to take the right approach. The average Dutch person doesn't focus on Cuba, but Dutch tourists and NGOs do work to provide books to the independent libraries in Cuba. -- Van Kortenhof's personal history: He worked on Latin America issues for a Christian trade union for 15 years, during which time he followed the principle of "no interference" by the Soviet Union or the United States in domestic politics. In 1989, he visited CUBA and met with government officials, who promised reforms and openness along the lines of eastern Europe. However, he later learned that the Cuban government prohibited access to Moscow publications that reviewed perestroika initiatives. At that time, he founded "Glasnost in Cuba." His foundation tries to present a "range" of dissident viewpoints on its web site. Gallagher