REPLY TO "MAY 21 - DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBAN

UNCLAS TUNIS 000443 SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM KPAO PHUM PREL SUBJECT: REPLY TO "MAY 21 - DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBAN PEOPLE FOLLOW-UP" REF: A. SECSTATE 46997 ¶B. SECSTATE 45792 ¶1. (U) We plan to distribute an IIP-prepared package of appropriate written materials on the topic to the local press and other key contacts. ¶2. (SBU) Tunisia has no known exiled Cuban community and the topic of Cuba in general has no resonance with the Tunisian public, except in the context of Guantanamo Bay. The Government of Tunisia tightly controls activities by foreign missions and would not permit a public event on the topic of Cuba. Tunisia was included with Cuba by the White House in its recent statement for Press Freedom Day. The tightly-controlled Tunisian print and broadcast media markets will provide few openings to raise awareness or initiate debate on the topic of Cuba, much less prison conditions, a sensitive subject here. Raising the topic would instead invite a renewed flurry of negative reports on U.S. practices in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, and none on Cuba. GODEC