US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA980

C O N F I D E N T I A L  BRATISLAVA 000980 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FOR EUR/RPM HEATHER TROUTMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, LO, OSCE 
SUBJECT: SLOVAK VIEWS ON OSCE MEETING IN WARSAW 
 
Classified By: CDA Scott N. Thayer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (SBU) Summary. On October 20, Poloffs met with some 
members of the Slovak delegation to the recent OSCE 
conference in Warsaw to discuss their views about OSCE 
concerns regarding human rights. Director General of Consular 
and Legal Affairs Ivan Grexa said he had been prepared for 
more criticism both in the general discussion and the 
bilateral meeting with the U.S. delegation. He noted that our 
encouragement for reform efforts and the steps to assist the 
Roma community were signs of Slovakia's maturing democracy. 
The MFA officials discussed basic observations of the 
conference, criticism of Slovakia's religious registration 
requirement, and the treatment of Slovakia's small Muslim 
minority. End Summary. 
 
DG Prepared for More Criticism at HDIM 
-------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) The Director General of Consular and Legal Affairs 
of the Slovak MFA Ivan Grexa met with poloffs on October 20 
to discuss the recent OSCE Human Dimension Implementation 
Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw.  As head of the delegation, he 
expressed his appreciation for the information provided by 
the U.S. Special Envoy Matthew Waxman about the abuse in the 
Abu-Grarib prison and for the encouraging comments made by 
the U.S. delegation in the bilateral meeting. 
 
3. (SBU) Grexa stated he had been prepared for more criticism 
of Slovakia in both the general discussion and in the 
bilateral meeting about the allegations of coerced 
sterilization of Roma women that surfaced last year and the 
grocery store lootings in February after the implementation 
of welfare reform.  He stressed that recent reforms have 
placed pressures on the Roma population, but were not made 
without regard to their situation.  The government has taken 
concrete measures to correct certain problems and include 
protections, including new legal norms governing 
sterilization procedures.  He stated the MFA communicated to 
Justice Minster Lipsic the concerns of the U.S. delegation 
about defamation articles still present in the draft Penal 
Code. 
 
Religious Registration Requirement 
---------------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) To register as a new religion in Slovakia, a group 
must submit a list of 20,000 permanent residents who adhere 
to that religion.  Leaders of a number of minority religions, 
such as Muslims, smaller Protestant churches, the Hare 
Krishna community, and the Church of Scientology, complained 
the large numerical requirement effectively barred them from 
obtaining registered status.  At last year's HDIM, the Slovak 
delegation promised to propose discussion on this issue at 
the government level.  The MFA initiated a ministerial 
discussion over the summer, but the decision was to maintain 
the status quo. 
 
5. (C) Grexa surmised that there would not be any change in 
this law during this election period.  He suggested bringing 
pressure on key ministries, such as Justice or Culture. He 
insinuated that certain ministers content with the dominant 
position of the Catholic church were blocking further action. 
 Grexa stated that he and Foreign Minister Kukan  were not 
satisfied with this result, but he believed that religious 
freedoms were currently not violated by this law. 
 
6. (C) The MFA would like to explore alternatives to the 
current status quo, such as the tiering system introduced by 
the Czechs.  However, Grexa stated that the message received 
from Washington was that no quotas for official recognition 
of a religion were acceptable.  Another alternative would be 
to provide exceptions for certain religions, particularly 
Islam.  Since the state offers subsidies to official 
religions to support office expenses and clergy, more 
research is needed regarding possible impacts and related 
expenses. 
 
The Muslim Minority 
------------------- 
 
7.  (C) Deputy Director of the Human Rights Section Bircak 
was aware of complaints the Muslim community brought forward 
about being denied permission to build a mosque in 
Bratislava.  He stated that bureaucratic problems were to 
blame, but he also questioned the motivations of local 
government officials.  Grexa mentioned that Muslim 
businessman from the Balkans were becoming more established 
and expected their numbers to grow in the future.  He agreed 
with Grexa that problems innate to the registration 
requirement will gain prominence in the coming years. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. (C) On the registration requirement for religious 
recognition, it is clear that ministers of the coalition 
party Christian Democractic Movement (KDH) have been 
successful in maintaining the status quo.  KDH also controls 
the Bratislava mayor's office; hence discussions about a 
mosque in Bratislava often centers around deeper objections 
on principle from devout Catholic politicians.  It is an 
issue we will continue to address, both directly and using 
other cultural and education tools. 
THAYER 
 
 
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