VZCZCXRO7258
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHLE #0313/01 3071327
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031327Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6788
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LUXEMBOURG 000313 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ELAB PGOV EAGR EFIN PHUM LU
SUBJECT: LUXEMBOURG: DISPATCHES FROM THE DUCHY-OCTOBER 2009 
 
LUXEMBOURG 00000313  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (U)  Embassy Luxembourg is pleased to present the October 
2009 edition of "Dispatches from the Duchy" to capture 
highlights from the local press, diplomatic and international 
communities, and news not otherwise reported during the 
month. Prepared by (acting) POL/ECON Chief Adam Center. This 
month's topics include: 
 
- spouses of "Cuba 5" visit MFA; 
- dairy farmers protest EU Agriculture Ministerial; 
- Luxembourg candidate for the European Central Bank; 
- Luxembourg Green Party unhappy with H1N1 progress; 
- Press freedom conference in Luxembourg; 
- shenanigans at Villeroy & Boch; 
- further shenanigans on the tennis court. 
 
----------------------------------- 
"CUBA 5" SPOUSES COME TO LUXEMBOURG 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Wives of two of the famed "Cuba 5" prisoners 
confined in Florida visited Luxembourg in mid-October.  Olga 
Salanueva and Adriana Perez, wives of Rene Gonzalez and 
Gerardo Hernandez, respectively, met with MFA representatives 
and parliamentarians during their brief visit to the Grand 
Duchy.  The two women traveled to other countries in the 
region as well, spreading the gospel about their husbands' 
plight.  Luxembourg officials tend toward reticence on most 
issues related to Cuba, as the Grand Duchess, Maria Teresa, 
is a native Cuban.  Any conversation linking Luxembourg and 
Cuba tends to default into speculation of what role the Grand 
Duchess may or may not play, even as the Palace purports to 
be above political dialogue.  The fact that the MFA granted 
an audience to Senoras Salanueva and Perez therefore raises 
eyebrows.  MFA's Latin America coordinator told Poloff that 
the women lamented the baseless denial of visas to them to 
visit their husbands and reaffirmed the readiness of the 
Cuban government to directly negotiate the case of the "Cuba 
5" with U.S. authorities.  Reports of the visit were 
noticeably absent from Luxembourg press.  Post picked up on 
the story purely by chance as a Google alert on the word 
"Luxembourg" returned the story from a Cuban press outlet. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
MILK DOES DO A BODY GOOD - TO THE TUNE OF 280 MILLION EUROS 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  Dairy farmers besieged the site of European Union 
Agricultural Ministers meetings on 19 October, causing minor, 
but expected, paralysis of Luxembourg's traffic pattern for 
hours.  The protests were planned well in advance and 
Luxembourg police amply prepared to manage the situation. 
Official figures indicate that more than 2000 farmers and 
nearly 500 tractors picketed the meeting site.  The 
well-organized protesters ignited bundles of straw, tires, 
and even a felled tree, but caused minimal damage.  Press 
reports indicated, as well, the hurling of several Molotov 
cocktails, but no injuries were reported.  During the course 
of meetings, the European Commission acknowledged the 
farmers' concerns, proposing a 280 million euro fund to ease 
the dairy sector's troubles.  EU Agriculture Commission 
representative Mariann Fischer Boel commented that the 
protests have followed the agriculture ministers all over the 
continent in recent months, and she was "emptying" EU pockets 
for other agricultural sectors that may encounter troubles of 
their own in the future. Fischer Boel indicated that, for 21 
of the 27 EU governments, securing this aid for the dairy 
sector was a priority. 
 
------------------------------------ 
EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK VICE PRESIDENT 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (U)  The government of Luxembourg nominated its central 
bank governor, Yves Mersch, to succeed Greek incumbent  Lucas 
Papademos as Vice President of the European Central Bank. 
Reuters quotes Prime Minister Juncker as saying Mersch would 
make an excellent candidate and that he would do all in his 
power to ensure Mersch ascends to the VP position.  PolAsst, 
however, was present at the Juncker press brief and indicated 
Reuters did not accurately report Juncker's comments. 
Juncker did endorse Mersch's candidacy, but the endorsement 
was tepid - Juncker and Mersch are known to harbor a dislike 
of each other.  PolAsst reported that Juncker made no such 
emphatic statements and certainly made no assertion that he 
would "do everything within (his) possibilities so that 
Mersch can become vice president of the ECB," as the Reuters 
story reports. Mersch has served as Luxembourg's central bank 
director since 1998. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
H1N1 UPDATE: GREENS QUESTION LACK OF INFORMATION 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
 
LUXEMBOURG 00000313  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶5.  (U)  Luxembourg's Green Party criticized the Government 
of Luxembourg for lack of transparency in its efforts to 
address the H1N1 flu spread in the Grand Duchy.  Party leader 
Jean Huss held a press conference on 26 October, during which 
he accused the government of withholding information about 
side effects from the H1N1 vaccine.  The GOL has announced 
that it will open sites around the country to administer the 
vaccine, and that there will be more than adequate reserves 
to meet the needs of the entire country.  The Greens also 
suggested that those who the government dispatches to 
administer the vaccine may not be properly trained and 
informed about the medication or its potential side effects. 
 
------------------------------- 
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS ROUNDTABLE 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U)  The Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies spearheaded a 
project which brought a media freedom and protection of 
journalists' sources conference to Luxembourg, held 26 
October. The conference was organized by the Council of 
Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Subcommittee for Media, 
and the GOL parliamentarians successfully lobbied for it to 
take place in the Grand Duchy.  European journalists and 
media-related NGOs participated in the roundtable, alongside 
members of the CoE's Parliamentary Assembly.  Presided over 
by former UK Minister for Media and Heritage Andrew McIntosh 
and former BBC senior correspondent William Horsley, the PACE 
subcommittee presented a country-by-country report indicating 
the Council of Europe has suffered a "marked setback" in the 
overall level of press freedom in the past three years, 
citing a minimum of twenty journalist murders, apparently 
linked to their work, since 2007, a huge increase over the 
previous three year period.  McIntosh labeled the lack of 
media freedom in Europe as a "running sore" which will not go 
away. 
 
--------------------------------- 
"BOSS-NAPPING" AT VILLEROY & BOCH 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U)  Disgruntled staff at historic and 
internationally-renowned household goods furnisher Villeroy & 
Boch held the company's Luxembourg plant director, 
Charles-Antoine de Theux, hostage for several hours on 21 
October.  While there was no dramatic denouement to the 
situation (the police waited patiently outside; what was 
reported as "hours" of heavy drama appears to have really 
only been minutes), the incident is symbolic of dissent among 
the ranks.  The V&B house is a Luxembourg institution and, 
for many, is the country's pride and joy.  Yet the company 
will shutter its Luxembourg operations in June 2010, 
eliminating hundreds of jobs.  One German news outlet ran a 
story on 24 October lamenting the spread of "boss-napping" to 
Luxembourg, claiming that German far left political parties 
are calling for use of this tactic in industrial disputes in 
that country. 
 
-------------------------- 
LUXEMBOURG AT CENTRE COURT 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U)  The Grand Duchy played host this month to the 
professional Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour's annual 
Luxembourg Open.  The tournament lacks the cachet of major 
international stars such as the Williams sisters, but this 
year boasted both the U.S. Open champ, Belgian Kim Clijsters, 
and runner-up, Dane Caroline Wozniacki.  The tourney was 
eventually won by the Swiss Timea Bacsinsky, but controversy 
swirled from day one following Wozniacki's untimely 
withdrawal.  Ahead 7-5, 5-0 and one game away from victory, 
Wozniacki - the number six ranked woman in the world - 
withdrew, citing an injury, giving the victory to her 
opponent, Luxembourg native Anne Kremer.  Courtside 
microphones picked up on the player's father advising her to 
retire before winning the match, sparking a major swing in 
betting parlors to her opponent and igniting speculation of a 
fix.  Wozniacki continues to deny any wrongdoing, citing a 
leg injury and saying that she knew she would not be able to 
perform in the second round and chose "the sporting option" 
to allow her opponent that opportunity.  She remains under 
WTA investigation for possible match-fixing and 
unsports(wo-)manlike conduct. 
 
¶9. (U)  Luxembourg struggles to make international sports 
headlines.  Unheralded pro Gilles Muller made a surprise run 
to the quarterfinals of the 2008 U.S. Open, including a 
defeat of the highest-ranked American player, Andy Roddick. 
The famed Schleck brothers - Andy and Frank - pedaled their 
way to top five finishes in this year's Tour de France (NOTE: 
 Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn is a noted cycling 
enthusiast and often shares this past-time with fellow 
minister, Frank-walter Steinmeier, the German Foreign 
 
LUXEMBOURG 00000313  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Minister.).  However, Luxembourg's sports headlines tend to 
skew toward the negative.  The national soccer team has won 
only one international match in the last dozen years (sorry, 
Belarus).  The annual Luxembourg Open will now be remembered 
not for a display of extraordinary tennis, but rather for 
being at the center of gambling controversy. 
 
¶10.  (U)  Stay tuned for another exciting edition of 
Dispatches From the Duchy, coming soon to a WEBGRAM near you. 
 
BIEDLINGMAIER