VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMD #0567 1440643
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230643Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4812
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0275

UNCLAS MADRID 000567 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/CCA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PHUM PREL EUN CU SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN:  MAY 21 EXPRESSIONS OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA 
 
REF: A. STATE 51536 
 
     ¶B. MADRID 493 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  (U) In observance of the May 21 "Day of Solidarity with 
the Cuban People," conservative daily ABC published 
Ambassador Aguirre's aptly entitled op-ed "Solidarity with 
the Cuban People."  The paper took heat in response from the 
Cuban Ambassador to Spain, who said in a letter to the editor 
May 22 that ABC once again "serves the U.S. empire in its 
anti-Cuban maneuvers."  ABC's editorial board, defending its 
decision to publish Ambassador Aguirre's commentary, insisted 
the Cuban ambassador's "lack of arguments" were nothing new, 
and felt "honored by this diplomatic invective."  All the 
Spanish dailies reported May 22 on President Bush's 
authorization to send cell phones to Cuba, with some calling 
the announcement "a small opening in the embargo." 
 
¶2.  (U) At Post's suggestion, Mission contacts in the Cuban 
community posted their event in observance of the Day of 
Solidarity to the interactive world map on 
www.solidaridadcuba.org.  Their ceremony, hosted by the 
Hispano-Cuban Foundation, featured a presentation by the 
Secretary General of the Federation of Cuban Associations 
(FECU) and honored three released political prisoners who 
arrived in Spain the weekend of February 17:  Jose Gabriel 
Ramon Castillo, Omar Pernet, and Alejandro Gonzalez Raga. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) These same Cuban dissidents were also invited to a 
coffee hosted by the Deputy Chief of Mission in observance of 
Cuban Solidarity Day for a number of their supporters the 
afternoon of May 21.  The well attended session brought 
together a wide swathe of the Cuban community in Spain, human 
rights activists, two former political prisoners, 
journalists, an opposition leader, and a Spanish official. 
The spirited conversation went well over two hours.  Invitees 
expressed universal appreciation to the U.S. Mission for 
hosting such an event. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The DCM opened the Solidarity Day discussion by 
reiterating the U.S. call for the release of all 240 Cuban 
prisoners of conscience.  Subsequent interventions expressed 
solidarity with those prisoners.  Carlos Paya, the Spanish 
representative of the Christian Liberation Movement and 
brother of dissident Osvaldo Paya, noted that just mentioning 
the name of a prisoner could be life-saving.  Raul Rivero, in 
Madrid since 2006, and Alejandro Gonzalez Raga affirmed the 
importance of keeping the spotlight on all prisoners and 
spoke from their personal experiences about the powerful 
messages that diplomatic actions convey to those still behind 
bars.  Gonzalez Raga described the perceived legitimization 
of the Cuban regime and the demoralizing impact on political 
prisoners of Spanish FM Moratinos's April 2007 visit to 
Havana.  Several participants agreed there was no such thing 
as an "ex-prisoner," noting those prisoners who had been 
released were immediately exiled to Spain and elsewhere and 
were, in effect, still imprisoned. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Jaume Segura Socias, Assistant Deputy Director for 
Mexican, Central American, and Caribbean Affairs at the 
Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, echoed the theme of 
solidarity and maintained the GOS had not forgotten Cuba's 
prisoners.  Nonetheless, he reiterated the Spanish position 
that diplomatic relations are carried out with a government 
rather than with dissidents.  He expressed optimism that 
things were changing for the better in Cuba, calling Castro's 
measures "small and modest, but advances."  In a room full of 
would-be critics of Spanish policy toward Cuba, he fought 
hard for common ground while defending the importance of 
different approaches:  "to each one a role to play."  The 
self-styled spokeswoman for Cuban dissident groups, Elena 
Larrinaga, picked up on the unpopular theme, acknowledging 
"someone has to talk to (the Cuban government)."  Though it 
was an opportunity for many to air their differences in terms 
of approaching the Cuban government, in the end attendees 
shared common ground in their expressions of solidarity with 
the Cuban people and their concerns over the plight of 
political prisoners.  The forum also provided a good lead-in 
to the Spanish Cuban community's participation in upcoming 
events in Brussels the week of May 26 and in preparation for 
the EU's review of the suspended restrictive measures. 
Aguirre