VZCZCXRO0093
OO RUEHGR
DE RUEHPO #0081 0591721
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281721Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0007
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 1639
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0019
UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000081
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EU CU NS
SUBJECT: PARAMARIBO FOLLOW-UP: ADVANCING THE U.S. POSITION
FOR CHANGE IN CUBA
REF: A. (A) 08 STATE 18320
B. (B) 08 PARAMARIBO 74
1. (SBU) With regret, Post advises that GOS policy with
respect to Cuba has not changed. As confirmed in the
Ambassador's February 28 follow-up telcon with MFA Permanent
Secretary Jane Aarland-Nanhu, Suriname continues to enjoy
SIPDIS
friendly relations with the GOC. Aarland-Nanhu advised that
the GOS had already transmitting a congratulatory note to
incoming Cuban Leader Raul Castro. In response to the
Ambassador's query whether Suriname's message to Raul even
mentioned "democracy" (reftel B, paragraph 1), the Permanent
Secretary indicated that it did not.
SIPDIS
2. (SBU) Comment: In spite of the disappointing message, the
fact that the MFA Permanent Secretary made the time and
effort to follow up on Post's request is heartening and
represents an improvement over previous years. Although the
USG and GOS may disagree on some fundamental issues of
Western Hemisphere foreign policy, Post is working hard to
build a foundation for friendlier people-to-people relations.
Eventually, Post hopes that friendly relations at the grass
roots will engender greater GOS support for policy issues,
such as democracy in Cuba, that are of fundamental importance
to the United States. End Comment.
SCHREIBER HUGHES