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DE RUEHSL #0097/01 0561610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251610Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2344
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000097 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/CE, EUR/PGI, G, DRL, H 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID, DOJ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM LO
 
SUBJECT: CODEL Cardin Advances Human Rights Agenda in Bratislava 
 
REF: 08 Bratislava 407 
 
BRATISLAVA 00000097  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: During a one-day trip to Bratislava, Chairman of the 
U.S. Helsinki Commission, Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) met with 
newly appointed Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, former Ambassador 
to the U.S. Martin Butora, and members of the Jewish and Roma 
communities.  Throughout his meetings, Senator Cardin reiterated 
U.S. concerns about the status of minorities in Slovakia, 
particularly Roma, and urged strong political leadership on the 
protection of human rights.  End Summary. 
 
Meeting with Foreign Minister Lajcak 
 
¶2.  Foreign Minister Lajcak told Senator Cardin that he is focused 
on the economic crisis, believes that Slovakia has achieved all of 
its strategic foreign policy goals and continues to prioritize its 
membership in the EU and NATO.  Slovakia has decided to make 
Afghanistan its largest development assistance recipient, and will 
double its presence there shortly.  Lajcak told Cardin that he made 
his first foreign trips as Minister to Prague and Budapest to 
underscore the broad cooperation with Slovakia's closest neighbors, 
despite tensions with the Hungarians. 
 
¶3.  Senator Cardin thanked Lajcak for Slovak contributions in 
Afghanistan, agreed that economic security is of utmost importance. 
He lamented bilateral tensions between Hungary and Slovakia, but 
expressed appreciation for the positive message Lajcak conveyed by 
making an early visit to Budapest.  In his capacity as Helsinki 
Commission Chairman, Cardin explained that the main focus of his 
agenda was human rights issues: the status of the Roma population, 
anti-Semitism, freedom of the press, and corruption. 
 
¶4.  Regarding the Roma population, Senator Cardin queried Slovak 
officials on the absence of any Roma in Parliament or the Cabinet. 
He said he hopes that Slovakia can be a leader in the region on 
improving integration of the Roma and political participation.  He 
also urged Lajcak to encourage Slovak authorities to disclose 
information about past incidents of forced sterilization of Roma 
women.  Lajcak asserted that the Roma are not united politically, 
which makes it difficult for them to effectively achieve higher 
positions in the government.  Lajcak acknowledged that serious 
challenges remain, but said the government is working with the NGO 
community, especially on Roma education.  Deputy Prime Minister for 
Human Rights and Minorities has developed a horizontal priority, by 
which one-quarter of all EU funds are devoted to Roma community from 
2007-2013.  Lajcak said the Roma issue needs to be addressed on a 
regional basis as well, and noted that he had discussed it with 
Hungarian FM Goncz. 
 
¶5.  Regarding anti-Semitism, Senator Cardin said political 
leadership is critically important, and he "would never understand" 
Minister of Justice Harabin's anti-Semitic comments in September 
2008 to Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) MP Daniel Lipsic in a 
session of Parliament (reftel).  Lajcak responded that the Slovak 
criminal code has zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, and said the 
government dissolved anti-Semitic organizations in attempts to 
eliminate extremism.  Cardin said that the OSCE is concerned about 
the legacy of corruption that continues to affect the post-communist 
countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and urged the Slovaks to 
take advantage of international community technical assistance 
before the problem affects Slovakia's business climate.  Lajcak 
agreed that the problem was difficult to eradicate, but said the 
Slovak Government is committed to prosecuting all known cases of 
corruption. 
 
¶6.  Senator Cardin conveyed disappointment regarding Slovakia's 
restrictive press law of 2008.  Cardin said the law could have a 
chilling effect on what is reported, and set a bad example for other 
emerging democracies that are following Slovakia's lead.  Lajcak 
said he does not believe the law has had a negative effect on press 
freedom, adding that it was necessary to address the "broader 
problem of vulgarization of the press." Nonetheless, he pledged to 
raise it in his introductory call with the Minister of Culture. 
Senator Cardin said that the extreme Slovak National Party (SNS)'s 
participation in the government, especially at the helm of the 
Ministries of Education and Culture, sends the wrong message about 
the government's commitment to the protection and promotion of 
minority rights.  Lajcak said the government is committed to 
maintaining the status quo for the Hungarian minority. 
 
Non-Governmental Perspectives 
 
¶7.  At a working lunch with prominent think-tank analysts, Senator 
Cardin discussed the minority situation in Slovakia. Former Slovak 
Ambassador to the United States Martin Butora said that the current 
government does not see Slovakia's vibrant civil society as a 
resource, but instead as a threat, and has actively "blacklisted" 
some of Slovakia's most respected NGOs.  President of the Institute 
 
BRATISLAVA 00000097  002 OF 002 
 
 
for Public Affairs (IVO) Grigorij Meseznikov gave the delegation an 
overview of the Roma situation, and described the many factors (lack 
of community unity and political representation, segregation, and 
ineffectual government housing, education, and employment programs) 
which continue to hamper their equality of opportunity. 
 
¶8.  In a meeting with members of the Jewish Community, Senator 
Cardin said that the government has been quick to note that laws 
against anti-Semitism are strict, and that they have disbanded 
several anti-Semitic organizations.  He then asked representatives 
of the Jewish community what, if any, practical restrictions they 
experienced.  Jaro Franek, spokesman of the Union of Slovak Jews, 
said the situation in Slovakia is no longer dramatic, but they 
remain concerned about Minister Harabin's comments, which most 
members of Parliament did not consider anti-Semitic.  All members of 
the community agreed that while there were few examples of open 
anti-Semitism in Slovakia, most of the population is desensitized to 
Jewish concerns and does not realize what constitutes anti-Semitism. 
 Senator Cardin said that he found this disturbing and that the 
political leadership needs to be more actively engaged in combating 
anti-Semitism. 
 
¶9.  During a discussion with members of the Roma community, Senator 
Cardin explained the role of the Helsinki Commission, noting that 
the OSCE remains concerned about the education, healthcare, 
employment and housing of the Slovak Roma.  Cardin asked the group 
to provide its views of the government's efforts. Former Roma 
Plenipotentiary Klara Orgovanova welcomed Senator Cardin's interest, 
and said that since Slovakia's EU accession in 2004, external 
pressure on the government to address the plight of Slovakia's 
estimated 400,000 Roma has decreased.  Orgovanova also said while 
political participation of the Roma has decreased, there are now 
more Roma experts. Note: Per Orgovanova, in the first Czechoslovak 
Parliament there were Roma MPs, but now there are none in the Slovak 
Parliament, and the number of Roma political parties has decreased 
from 18 in 1990 to two relatively dysfunctional parties today. End 
Note. 
 
¶10.  Senator Cardin said that political leaders will not incorporate 
Roma issues into their agenda unless the Roma are a part of their 
consituencies, and asked what could be done to organize the Roma 
more effectively so that they are a viable political force. Zuzana 
Kumanova, a Roma community organizer, said that most of the Roma 
population is illiterate, under-aged, and poverty-stricken, and thus 
unable to focus on strategic issues. 
 
¶11.  Senator Cardin asked how the government could improve 
education.  Marek Hojsik, of the Roma Institute, said reform of the 
entire educational system is needed, as parents are expected to 
augment formal education, which is very difficult to guarantee in 
marginalized populations and regions. Senator Cardin said that a 
similar situation existed in the U.S., but was improved with the 
Head Start program, which targets vulnerable populations.  The 
activists said that such a program exists in Slovakia called "wide 
open schools" but suffers from poor implementation at the local 
level. 
 
¶12.  Senator Cardin asked if there was any integration of Roma 
issues into the platforms of any of the mainstream political parties 
or if any of the candidates in the upcoming Presidential election 
had reached out to Roma groups. The activists said that 
unfortunately, Roma issues are a very unpopular topic in Slovak 
society and as such, it would be a very risky campaign strategy for 
a mainstream politician.  Orgovanova said that some Roma are 
manipulated by majority politicians to serve as token advisors but 
do not effectively represent Roma needs. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶13.  Embassy Bratislava heard from several interlocutors in the NGO 
community that they were very pleased to have Senator Cardin address 
the human rights agenda with the Slovak Government.  In an era where 
many Slovak human rights and democracy NGOs feel like they have lost 
the international community's attention due to Slovakia's EU 
membership, continued high-level U.S. interest in minority issues is 
welcomed and respected. 
 
¶14.  This cable has been cleared by CODEL Cardin.