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DE RUEHSL #0007/01 0081606
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P R 081606Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0330
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHSL/AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA 0389

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  1/8/2020 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAIR EI LO
SUBJECT: EXPLOSIVES BLUNDER REVERBERATES; FACTS REMAINS MURKY 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Susan Ball, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
¶1.      (U)  Summary. As much of the world now knows, a January 
2 airport security exercise in Poprad, Slovakia, went terribly 
awry.  Slovak police had placed a 100-gram sample of RDX 
explosives in the bag of a Slovak citizen traveling to his 
residence in Dublin to test detection capabilities.  Apparently 
the explosives made their way into the aircraft undetected, and 
while answers to questions of who knew what, when, are still in 
dispute, what followed next -- the cordoning off of the man's 
neighborhood and his brief arrest on terrorism charges, the 
retrieval of the explosive material a full three days after it 
entered Ireland, the very public anger of the Irish Government 
and political opposition and calls for Interior Minister 
Kalinak's resignation -- is not in doubt.  The longer-term 
effects of the episode on the Fico Government's credibility 
inside and outside of Slovakia, as well as on Kalinak's career, 
is harder to ascertain.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
What We Know 
 
 
 
¶2.      (U)  We became aware of the incident early on January 6 
through the BBC website, after which the story was picked up by 
local electronic media.  The bulk of what we believe we know is 
summarized above.  In addition, the Interior Minister has 
accepted the resignation of the head of the Alien and Border 
Police, Tibor Mako.  The unnamed police officer who placed the 
explosives in the bag will be subject to disciplinary 
proceedings.  In Kalinak's fiery January 7 press conference, his 
first public comments on the matter ( a full five days after the 
incident occurred),  he attributed the incident to a `stupid, 
human, mistake.'  During the intervening days, according to his 
spokesman, Kalinak suspended the practice that led to the event. 
 Key opposition leaders are calling for Kalinak's resignation. 
SDKU MP Lucia Zitnanska (Kalinak's former law professor) stated 
on January 8 that Kalinak has proven that "he hasn't the most 
elementary idea about political culture, nor is he capable of 
managing his ministry." 
 
 
 
What We Don't Know 
 
 
 
¶3.      (C)  Pending a requested meeting with the Irish 
Ambassador, our information comes from the press and the 
government's limited, and sometimes conflicting, statements. 
Among key points that remain unclear:  When did the Slovaks 
first notify Irish authorities? When did the Minister Kalinak 
learn of the incident?  How long have Slovak policed engaged in 
this practice?  Kalinak says such tests have been carried out 
for years, i.e., also under the previous government.  Michal 
Borgula, who served as deputy Chief of the Border Police from 
1999-2003, and then Chief from 2004-7, denies this.   Press 
accounts differ as to how Irish law enforcement will follow up 
in the case, with some outlets reporting that a police team will 
visit Slovakia.  Finally, and perhaps most important: according 
to Slovak law, was the police action involving an unwitting 
civilian a violation of Slovak law?   Ivan Bacik (please 
protect) currently serving in the MOI's Office of International 
Police Cooperation, told Emboff that this act was patently 
illegal, and that, to his knowledge, it had not taken place 
under the current government.  A respected Slovak criminal 
lawyer, Lucia Kurilovska, also has stated publicly that the act 
was not only illegal, but likely criminal.  No Slovak official, 
including Kalinak, has been able to specify under which law the 
actions could have been permitted. 
 
 
 
The Government's Response 
 
 
 
¶4.       (U)  In an uncharacteristically (for Robert Kalinak) 
angry and accusatory press conference on January 7, Kalinak 
added little to the known facts about the incident.  He 
studiously avoided reference to the RDX as an explosive, but 
called it instead a `pyrotechnic sample.'  Kalinak's description 
is misleading at best: RDX is a Class A military high explosive. 
Curiously, he also stated that the material had been placed 
`among' -- not `in' --  the baggage.  Kalinak spent the bulk of 
the time lashing out against critics in the opposition and his 
predecessors at the ministry for their election year "lies" and 
efforts to smear the entire police force for the "simple human 
error" of one individual.  Kalinak claimed that the practice of 
testing airport security by placing explosives material in the 
bags of unwitting passengers had gone on since 1989.  Thus, if 
it was an illegal act, then police under his predecessors had 
also acted illegally.  When a reporter challenged Kalinak, 
 
BRATISLAVA 00000007  002 OF 002 
 
 
stating that she had information that the practice of placing 
test explosives in the baggage of unwitting passengers had, in 
fact, begun in 2007, he replied that he had different 
information, and that all would be made clear in full report. 
In response to a comment by a Czech law enforcement official 
that no such thing could happen in the Czech Republic, now 
deposed Border Police Chief Mako responded tartly: `They lie.' 
 
 
 
¶5.      (C)  Minister Kalinak then met his critics head on with 
a defense of some of the most notorious police failures of his 
tenure.  In an extended rant, Kalinak defended controversial 
actions -- or inactions -- by MOI on the Hedviga Malinova case, 
the dawn raid at the Franciscan monastery, and the failure to 
gain a conviction in the 2005 murder of student Daniel Tupy. 
Comment:  Kalinak's statements contained elements of truth, but 
what he didn't acknowledge about the unethical and 
unprofessional handling by him and/or his subordinates of each 
of these cases -- and there are several more which merit mention 
-- is much more significant.  End Comment.  For their part, PM 
Fico and President Gasparovic have maintained public silence on 
the incident.  A statement by the MFA spokesman indicated merely 
that FM Lajcak has spoken to his Irish counterpart about the 
matter. 
 
 
 
Slovaks Incredulous at Media Coverage 
 
¶6.  (U)  Perhaps the single most common feature of both 
discussion among Slovaks and all media coverage is how this 
story is playing around the world.  Today's Sme features 
headlines from BBC, CCN, Le Monde, WJS, Al-Jazeera, etc.  Google 
searches on the story yield over 1,000 articles and over 5,000 
Twitters.  That anything that happens in Slovakia could resonate 
so outside the country seems to have utterly flummoxed the 
Slovaks.  At the same time, true to their reputation, the 
incident is being referred to as a `worldwide shame' for the 
nation.  The most popular blog in Slovakia, SME online, features 
a running public debate on the issue with over 30,000 posts so 
far. 
 
 
 
  What's Next 
 
 
 
¶8.      (U)  We will see whether the deep embarrassment over the 
incident gives way to more than relatively low level 
resignations and disciplinary actions.  Given the many 
discrepancies in the way Irish and Slovak sources - including 
official ones -  describe various aspects of the events, not to 
mention the charges and countercharges here in Slovakia about 
the practice - we expect this scandal will not blow over 
quickly.   The opposition SDKU party had stated earlier this 
week that while Kalinak should resign, the opposition did not 
intend to launch a recall effort just months before the 
elections.  Following Kalinak's press conference, however, SDKU 
appears to be reconsidering and, according to Zitnanska, will 
decide next week. 
 
 
 
¶9. (C)  As is often the case, Kalinak's fate will hinge not on 
any action by the opposition, but on the duration and intensity 
of international (in this case, European) opprobrium and on PM 
Fico's judgment of public opinion.  If Kalinak's bold rejection 
of responsibility backfires with the Slovak electorate, or if it 
is revealed that he has misled either the public or his Irish 
counterparts, it is more than possible that the heir apparent 
might have to step down from his Ministerial post.  That does 
not mean that Kalinak would disappear from Smer's top ranks, 
however.    For now, the Fico government will concentrate on 
getting through one of the biggest PR imbroglios that it has 
ever faced. 
BALL