Michael Parmly (left), Washington's new top diplomat in Havana, greets dissidents and other guests at his residence in Havana on December 10. Parmly, 54, a career diplomat who worked to rebuild democracy in post-war Bosnia and Afghanistan, arrived in Havana three months ago as the new United States Interests Section Chief. - REUTERS
HAVANA (Reuters):
WASHINGTON'S NEW top diplomat in Havana sees mounting frustration and anger in Cuba and is preparing for rapid change on the communist-run island, but he cannot predict when - or how - that will happen.
United States Interests Section chief Michael Parmly believes Cubans have had their fill of President Fidel Castro's rule and will not wait for his demise to see change.
From his experience as a U.S. diplomat in Romania, where communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu was ousted in street protests, Parmly envisions revolt possibly spreading like wildfire in the streets and a dictator's authority crumbling when he is shouted at in the main square.
"You cannot predict these things, but you do try to prepare for them when you are pretty sure they are coming and I am pretty sure it is coming," Parmly said in an interview on Wednesday. "I wouldn't try to mark a date on the calendar, but I see an awful lot of signs of frustration, even anger. When the rubber band snaps is up to the Cuban people."
He pointed to Serbia as another example of people taking to the streets to change a regime against predictions. "Call me a foolish optimist. I think I have enough concrete data to be convinced that is the way it is going to play out," he said.
Parmly, 54, who worked to build democracy in post-war Bosnia and Afghanistan, arrived three months ago as head of the U.S. mission in Havana, the person Cuban authorities love to hate.
He succeeded James Cason, now U.S. ambassador to Paraguay, who was ridiculed in cartoons on Cuban television as 'Mr. Transition' for his blunt efforts to speed political change.
President Fidel Castro called Cason a "bully with diplomatic immunity" and accused him of violating the rules of diplomacy by openly consorting with his opponents. Parmly got off to a better start in his relations with Cuban authorities by offering to send a U.S. disaster assessment team to help Cuba deal with massive flooding caused by Hurricane Wilma in Havana in October.
