DISSIDENTS: UN MEETING SHOWS CUBAN GOVERNMENT'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HAVANA 000110

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2018
TAGS: CU PGOV PHUM PINR PREL
SUBJECT: DISSIDENTS: UN MEETING SHOWS CUBAN GOVERNMENT'S
ABILITY TO MANIPULATE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Classified By: COM: Jonathan Farrar: For reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (C) Summary: Several leading dissidents commented that
the GOC successfully used its good relations with nations in
the developing world to minimize criticism during the
Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council held
on February 5 in Geneva. The official Cuban press reported
that Cuba received wide support in the council and that the
vast majority of countries who spoke at the meeting praised
Cuba. However, the GOC also sent out an official statement
castigating the Western press for distorting the results of
the meeting by dwelling on criticisms from Israel and other
Western nations. Leading dissidents said that the GOC was so
confident of the support of its allies, that it had no
compunctions about make totally false statements during the
Council meeting about freedom of expression and freedom of
movement in Cuba. The dissidents do not believe that the
recommendations of the Council will substantially improve the
human rights situation in Cuba. Nevertheless, the dissidents
thought that it is a positive development that the GOC engage
in international forums on human rights and be concerned
about its international image. Dissidents feel that any
reforms the GOC is compelled to make, even if only to placate
international opinion, are still welcome. The dissidents
said that the strength of the GOC's propaganda machine will
not deter them from continuing to inform the global community
about the dire state of human rights in Cuba. End Summary.


2. (SBU) On Feb. 6, the official Cuban newspapers Granma
and Juventud Rebelde both proclaimed that Cuba had received
broad support and praise from 51 countries that spoke at the
meeting of the Human Rights Council The articles cited
praise given Cuba for success in advancing equality and
fighting discrimination, as well as for the assistance it
provides to other developing countries. Reacting to the more
substantive recommendations of some countries, on February
10, the government issued a strongly worded official
statement from Vice Minister of Foreign Relations, Bruno
Rodriguez Parrilla, stating that the Western media had
manipulated the news from Geneva by focusing on the
criticisms of 9 countries, while "hiding the fact" that 51
countries "recognized Cuba's notable advances in the field of
human rights". Most of the offending articles of the Western
media led off with the fact that the Cuban government refused
a recommendation for the release of political prisoners. The
Cuban press has not reported any of the statements
criticizing GOC's human rights record nor has it specified
what recommendations had been made at the meeting. Rodriguez
further stated that the Geneva meeting had removed the
pretext for the US embargo, explaining that first the US
justified the embargo because of nationalizations of American
businesses, then with the Soviet threat, then the exportation
of the Revolution, then the Cuba military presence in Africa,
and now it cites supposed violations of human rights, which
Rodriguez said now has been taken off the table by the HRC.



3. (C) In comments to USINT officers following the HRC
presentation, dissident economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe stated
that the Cuba government was very skilled at lining up allies
for the Council meeting. He stated that the report submitted
by Cuba to the Council showed "a complete lack of respect for
any intelligent person". He said that it was astounding to
see the figure of two hundred "NGO's" that the GOC had
"consulted" in preparing the report. He said that most of the
"NGO's" either don't exist or are controlled by the GOC. He
commented that, even if it was only in passing, it was
heartening to hear Latin American countries such as Mexico,
Brazil and Chile mention issues of major concern to Cubans
such as freedom of movement, and prison conditions. He
stated that the Minister of Justice, Maria Esther Reus, gave
a very polished performance, especially since she without
blinking an eye was able to make such complete
misrepresentations of fact as that there is freedom of
movement for Cubans and there is freedom of expression in
Cuba. Espinosa Chepe said he doubts any of the
recommendations accepted by the government of Cuba will
result in any substantive improvements for human rights on
the island. However, as did other dissidents Pol/off met

HAVANA 00000110 002 OF 003


with, Espinosa Chepe thought that it was a positive
development that Cuba felt some pressure to improve its
international image.


4. (C) Dissident lawyer Rene Gomez Manzano said that he is
in the process of examining the recommendations of the
Council that the GOV either accepted or stated that they
would continue to study. Of the 80 recommendations made at
the council meeting, the GOC accepted 60, held 17 for further
study and refused three. Gomez stated that several are
simply boilerplate from developing countries that Cuba share
"best practices" in health and education. Others that
involve changes in law or procedure, the government can
probably manage to implement without any substantive changes
to the system. He stated that, for example, the GOC could
establish an office of an ombudsman and ensure that the
office had no genuine power. He also said that Cuba could
agree to changes in the law, but the government has many ways
to accomplish the same goals. He cited the example of
Italy's recommendation to reduce the number of offenses
subject to the death penalty. He said that the GOC could
reduce the 15 offenses that now carry a potential death
sentence to 3 and still easily convict anyone it feels
warrants capital punishment. He said that Cuba is expert at
buying off criticism. Gomez, too, believes that in the long
run, it is a positive development that Cuba feels some
pressure to polish up its image in international forums.


5. (C) Elizardo Sanchez of the Cuban Commission for Human
Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) said he thought
there would be little impact from the meeting in Geneva, but
that it did open the door for further scrutiny of the human
rights situation that could spin out of control by the GOC.
He stated that although the GOC has a keen sense of how to
stage manage official visits, past experience shows that
events sometimes proceed in an unanticipated manner. He said
that it will be interesting to see if Cuba agrees to
recommendations for a visit from the International Red Cross.
His sources indicated that after the last visit by the Red
Cross in 1989, despite the GOC's extensive efforts to guide
the visits of the delegates, Fidel Castro was furious to see
in the final confidential report a lengthy description of
serious problems in the prison system. He said that likewise
the last visit in 1988 of the former UN Human Rights
Commission, which was packed with Soviet bloc and third world
sympathizers of the regime, proved to be a public relations
disaster when hundreds of people lined up around the hotel
where the Commission members were staying, but were able to
speak to them about human rights abuses. Sanchez is sure
that the GOC thinks Geneva was a foreign relations triumph.
He, however, said he believes that the results will not
discourage activists in Cuba, and that they will increase
their efforts to publicize the actual situation on the
island. Prisoners have told Sanchez's organizations that in
several prisons within the last two weeks authorities have
been doing painting and repairs as well as establishing new
educational classes. In addition, authorities are preparing
a site in Sancti Spiritus to serve as a model prison.
Sanchez feels that these improvements are likely to be
cosmetic and done only to impress foreign delegations.
However, it has been a long time since the GOC has done
anything at all to improve the appalling conditions in the
nation's prisons. Sanchez said he has already contacted
Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur for Torture, and is
seeking to provide him with detailed, verifiable information
about cases of systematic brutality and degrading treatment
inflicted on prisoners. Sanchez said that dissidents never
underestimate the capacity of the Cuba government's
propaganda machine, but the fact that the Cuba government
allows any scrutiny by the international community will give
increased motivation to their attempts to expose the abuses
in Cuba.


6. (C) Comment: Our dissident contacts were disappointed
but not surprised by the GOC's ability to manipulate the HRC
proceedings. But as Cubans are wont to do, they are looking
at ways to make the best of a bad situation. We agree with
them that, for all of its faults, the HRC periodic review
chipped away some of the facade the GOC puts up for world

HAVANA 00000110 003 OF 003


consumption.
FARRAR