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R 181955Z AUG 06
FM USINT HAVANA
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RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 016609 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2016 
TAGS: PHUM KDEM SOCI CU
SUBJECT: CUBA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP AUGUST 18, 2006 
 
REF: A. HAVANA 15931 
 
     ¶B. HAVANA 15860 
 
HAVANA 00016609  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: The Catholic Church's senior official in 
Cuba, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, celebrated a mass for recently 
deceased pro-democracy activist Gustavo Arcos on August 17, 
with diplomats, activists and journalists in attendance.  For 
an hour, at least, Arcos got his dying wish of a unified 
opposition.  Dissident doctor Darsi Ferrer remained out of 
jail, eight days after publicly calling on Cubans to defy the 
regime.  He is hoping the "Ladies in White" and others in the 
opposition will sign a statement calling for the release of 
political prisoners.  Independent journalist Albert Dubochet 
Hernandez provides a harrowing account of his past 12 months 
in a maximum-security prison.  Veteran activist Elizardo 
Sanchez is out of commission, dealing with unspecified health 
problems.  The political situation has sent a jolt of fear 
through the dissident community.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the top Catholic official in 
Cuba, held a mass August 17 at a Havana church for Gustavo 
Arcos, the grandfather of Cuba's human rights movement, who 
died of natural causes August 9.  Journalists covered the 
event, which was attended by more than 100 people, including 
USINT COM and diplomats from Britain, Canada, the Czech 
Republic, Germany and Poland.  A Who's Who of dissidents was 
present, including Oswaldo Paya, Martha Beatriz Roque, 
Vladimiro Roca and various "Ladies in White."  Plainclothes 
State Security agents and Communist militants were on standby 
outside, though their services were not needed.  The mass was 
uneventful, with Cardinal Ortega addressing Arcos' death but 
not delving into his Revolutionary past or dissident 
activities, which spanned half a century.  For an hour, at 
least, Arcos got his dying wish: the unification of Cuba's 
dissident community.  Most of the pro-democracy activists 
left hurriedly after the service. 
 
¶3. (C) Cardinal Ortega, who had been criticized in some 
quarters for recently praying for Fidel Castro's recovery, 
performed the mass at the request of Roque, who along with 
fellow dissident Miguel Valdez Tamayo met with the Cardinal 
for three and a half hours on August 14.  Roque tells us that 
discussion was combative, with the Cardinal addressing her as 
if she were a USG official: "If, during the transition, any 
properties are returned, the Church will oppose this!" 
Roque, for her part, says she challenged Ortega on his recent 
statement that the Church would oppose any US intervention in 
Cuba, asking what prompted him to make the assertion. 
 
OUTSPOKEN FERRER STILL FREE 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4. (S) As of August 17, dissident doctor Darsi Ferrer 
(protect) remained out of jail, eight days after publicly 
calling on Cubans not to cooperate with the regime (reftel 
A).  Ferrer met with Laura Pollan, a unifying figure in the 
Ladies in White, on August 17 to discuss his proposal to come 
up with a statement calling on the GOC to release political 
prisoners by a certain date (perhaps September 10, a day 
before the Non-Aligned Movement starts its Havana meetings). 
Pollan seemed open to the idea and said she would raise the 
matter August 18 at the Ladies' monthly tea at her house. 
Ferrer envisioned approaching other activists, including Paya 
and possibly Roque.  (Note: Pollan and Ferrer wrestled 
slightly over how exactly to define "political prisoners"; 
Pollan wants to avoid seeking the liberation of anyone with 
blood on his hands.  End Note.) 
 
JOURNALIST RECOUNTS YEAR BEHIND BARS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) Less than a fortnight after Albert Dubochet 
Hernandez's release from a maximum-security prison, where he 
spent one year for crimes he says he did not commit, the 
independent journalist was back to his usual routine of 
visiting the USINT Internet center.  Dubochet, 46, of Habana 
Press, described his ordeal to Poloff on August 18.  On July 
28, 2005, a coworker informed him that Radio Marti had called 
for him, hoping to confirm a news story.  Dubochet went to 
his rural home in Artemisa, Havana Province, took a call from 
Radio Marti and confirmed that a home-made bomb had exploded 
at the local People's Power office, causing structural damage 
but no casualties.  The following day, a group of police 
officers arrived at his house, arrested Dubochet and hauled 
him away.  Six days later, a court sentenced him to one year 
for resisting arrest and disrespect (of GOC officials). 
Dubochet says he offered no resistance and calls the 
 
HAVANA 00016609  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
disrespect charge a fabrication.  From August 5, 2005 until 
August 5, 2006, Dubochet was incarcerated, first at Melena 
prison and then at Quivican, both in Havana Province.  The 
experience was not without its horrors. 
 
"THE FOOD DOES NOT SUSTAIN LIFE" 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Dubochet, a dissident since 1999, earned the wrath of 
police through his investigative reporting on police 
aggression against dissidents.  In 2001, he caused 
embarrassment by exposing the disappearance from a museum of 
a priceless, 17th Century artwork.  (The "national treasure" 
was likely pilfered for private resale, he says.)  Dubochet 
says that although prison food has improved in recent years, 
"It does not sustain human life, and inmates rely on care 
packages from relatives to survive."  Preventable ailments 
like beri-beri are common, he says, adding that his cell, 
home to 150 men, was about the length of a bowling lane and 
three times as wide.  Violence is common, he says, much of it 
unprovoked.  "There were two suicides at Quivican while I was 
there," a hanging and an overdose.  He says hygiene is awful, 
although daily showers are the norm.  There is no library 
access and no sports gear.  The TV is turned on at night, and 
50 packs of cigarettes will buy you a session with a visiting 
(female) prostitute, with the guard's cooperation.  The only 
drugs available are pills, and the only inmates able to get 
them, from guards, are snitches who watch political prisoners. 
 
"SHOCK" OVER HANDOVER OF POWER 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (C) Dubochet, who pledges to continue his dissident 
activities, describes a scene of "shock and commotion" at 
Quivican after inmates viewed the TV announcement on Fidel's 
temporarily handover of power.  Hours later, he says, a 
number of additional guards appeared at the prison, equipped 
with dogs.  "They carried out a thorough search.  You could 
tell they were nervous." 
 
ELIZARDO SANCHEZ AILING 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Dissident Gerardo Sanchez, brother of Elizardo Sanchez 
of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National 
Reconciliation, told us August 15 that his brother is 
convalescing outside of Havana and dealing with unspecified 
health problems.  Gerardo hints that tobacco and alcohol have 
taken their toll.  On the political situation, Gerardo 
describes the Cuban Government as "paralyzed" but says the 
people will accept Raul, because they have no choice. 
Regarding the opposition, Gerardo says: "The capital sin of 
the dissidents is too much fear.  There can never be a 
million people if there's not one first." 
 
PERVASIVE FEAR 
-------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Independent journalist Aimee Cabrera told us August 16 
that there is "major confusion" surrounding the political 
situation.  "Everything seems to indicate that the Government 
wants no change.  Among (independent) journalists, there is 
fear of a new crackdown."  Laura Pollan, the leading Lady in 
White, agrees.  "There is much fear among the Ladies," she 
told us August 17.  "Raul is a military repressor, not a 
political animal," and he could set in motion a brutal wave 
of repression against the opposition, she says. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (C) Cardinal Ortega deserves some credit for performing 
the mass as a gesture to Cuba's activists, after having made 
a very public call for Fidel's recovery.  On the other hand, 
Arcos still had a level of prestige and respect in the GOC, 
owing to his revolutionary credentials.  A young Castro 
sister (either Emma or Augustina) visited Arcos' widow last 
week.  At a time of profound political uncertainty, the 
activists showed courage in attending the mass.  We only wish 
this courage extended to bridge-building within the dissident 
community.  This is precisely what Darsi Ferrer is trying to 
achieve, but given the myriad fissures in relations among 
activists, he has his work cut out for him. 
PARMLY