VZCZCXRO6352
RR RUEHMC
DE RUEHUB #1638/01 2922247
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 192247Z OCT 06
FM USINT HAVANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8987
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0391
RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 0005
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 021638 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA 
 
AMEMBASSY MEXICO PASS AMCONSUL MONTERREY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2016 
TAGS: PHUM PREL SOCI CU
SUBJECT: CONFERENCE CALL TO MEXICO BRINGS CUBAN YOUTH 
TOGETHER 
 
 
HAVANA 00021638  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(d). 
 
¶1. (S) Summary: Leaders of two Cuban pro-democracy youth 
groups took part in a USG-facilitated teleconference October 
17 with university students in Monterrey, Mexico.  At the 
Havana end, at the PAO Residence, 25 young Cubans took part, 
mainly from the Marti Youth Coalition (CJM) but also from 
Young People Without Censorship (JSC).  At Consulate 
Monterrey were 10 students from Universidad Regiomontana and 
Tecnologico de Monterrey, at least one of whom had previously 
met with CJM members in Havana.  In a lively conference call 
that lasted 30 minutes (until the phone line somehow went 
dead), discussion covered such topics as the importance of 
peaceful activism, the lack of recreational facilities in 
Cuba and the unavailability of affordable books.  The 
gathering marked the first time in recent memory that Cuban 
youth groups had convened to address their counterparts 
off-island.  After the event, many of the Havana participants 
called for follow-up meetings between Cuban youth groups, and 
talk was buzzing of possible cooperation.  We have stepped up 
our interaction with opposition youth groups and are planning 
other events aimed at helping them find common ground.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Two dozen Cuban pro-democracy activists aged 18-38, 
from the CJM, JSC and other organizations, met at the PAO 
residence October 17 and participated in a teleconference 
with 10 Monterrey university students.  CJM Vice President 
Edgard Lopez led his group's delegation, while Ahmed 
Rodriguez Albacia represented the JSC.  Also present were 
young members of non-youth organizations, including the 
Democracy Party Pedro Luis Boitel and Opposition for a New 
Republic.  The CJM, whose stated goal is to "promote a space 
for alternative (civic) participation," thanked the Mexicans 
for their solidarity and told them the CJM is trying to fill 
the void created by an ideologically intolerant system. 
Other participants criticized GOC censorship, political 
incarcerations, high book prices, the lack of economic 
opportunities, and the paucity of recreational facilities. 
 
MARTI YOUTH COALITION 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) The Marti Youth Coalition (CJM), named after Cuban 
poet and patriot Jose Marti, was formed in March 2005 and 
claims to have 300 members across the island, and to be 
growing quickly.  (Note: USINT Havana is aware of dozens of 
active CJM members.  The group's founder, Marco de Miranda, 
now lives in Miami.  End Note.)  The CJM sees itself as an 
alternative to the older, what it sees as calcified 
pro-democracy groups and to the regime-controlled Communist 
Youth League (UJC).  "The Government and the opposition have 
gotten old," says Lopez, adding that many UJC members belong 
to that group not out of ideological fealty but for access to 
perks. 
 
YOUNG PEOPLE WITHOUT CENSORSHIP 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Young People Without Censorship (JSC), meanwhile, is a 
much smaller organization.  JSC, technically an independent 
news agency, is less than two years old and consists of 12 
core members, spread out across the island.  JSC focuses on 
such issues as prison conditions and homeless migrants who 
erect makeshift shacks.  The JSC claims to be growing 
quickly.  Its reputation got a boost in September when 
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders condemned Ahmed 
Rodriguez Albacia's detention. 
 
SEPARATE EVENT HELD OCTOBER 13 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (S) The JSC has warm ties with the Cuban Youth Movement 
for Democracy, headed by Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina.  On 
October 13, USINT organized a DVC between the Movement and 
the Miami-based Cuban Democratic Directory.  It was the first 
(virtual) face-to-face meeting between the youth group and 
some of its long-time supporters. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (S) USINT has stepped up its interaction with opposition 
youth groups and is planning further events, some with 
 
HAVANA 00021638  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
contemporaries overseas.  Pro-democracy youth groups have 
their share of differences, but nowhere near as many, or as 
serious, as in the larger, older human rights community, 
where ten-year-old grudges are common and as damaging as GOC 
penetration.  We will try to provide venues and opportunities 
at which key youth groups like the CJM, JSC and Movement can 
communicate and share ideas with each other and/or with 
sympathetic audiences in other cities in the region. 
PARMLY