US embassy cable - 05BRATISLAVA187

UNCLAS  BRATISLAVA 000187 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/PPD FSCHMADEL, EUR/ECA VLYNN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, PREL, LO 
SUBJECT:  MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION IN SLOVAKIA ON 
PRESIDENT'S TRIP 
 
 
1.  Summary:  The President's visit to Slovakia was 
generally perceived by media analysts and public 
commentary as an expression of positive U.S.- Slovak 
relations and of appreciation for Slovakia's support of 
the U.S. in the war against terrorism, especially in 
Iraq and Afghanistan.  The meeting with the "Champions 
of Freedom" and the public speech played well in 
Slovakia, especially in contrast to Russian President 
Putin's more traditional and formal program the 
following day. As expected, visa policy received much 
attention, and the crowd applauded when the President 
mentioned it in his speech.   Slovak commentators also 
noted that the visit drew positive attention to 
Slovakia's quick and successful progress towards 
democracy.  Negative aspects were some unseemly 
bickering among Slovak leaders about the schedule and 
post-speech criticism about the prohibition against 
bringing signs and banners to the square. End summary. 
 
2.  Slovak media and think tanks extensively commented 
on the President's visit to Europe, with the primary 
focus understandably on his visit to Bratislava.  The 
February visit of President Bush was the first-ever 
Presidential visit to Slovakia, so the bilateral 
meetings with Slovak leaders attracted much local media 
interest.  However, the public speech remained the 
center of attention for opinion leaders and the general 
public, followed by the Bush-Putin meeting and joint 
press conference. 
 
3.  Besides detailed and regular reporting on the 
program of the President's visit, Slovak media 
published a significant number of commentaries, written 
not only by professional journalists, but also by 
analysts from think tanks, as well as extensive reader 
reaction. 
 
4.  The President's visit to Slovakia was seen as an 
expression of positive U.S.- Slovak relations and as a 
reward for Slovakia's support for the U.S. in its war 
against terrorism, particularly in Iraq and 
Afghanistan. The Slovaks clearly got the President's 
message that his visit was meant to highlight 
Slovakia's democratic transformation. 
 
5.  According to Slovak media, opinion leaders, and the 
general public, the highlight of Bush's trip to Europe 
was his address to Slovak citizens in the historical 
center of Bratislava. This was clearly reflected in the 
headlines of Slovak newspapers: "Bush: Slovakia an 
example of the expansion of freedom" (Hospodarske 
Noviny); "Bush: Your example is an inspiration for 
others" (SME); "U.S. President surprises people with 
his straightforwardness" and "Public on the speech: It 
was propaganda, but it was nice" (Narodna Obroda). 
 
6.  All media, both print and broadcast, noted that 
despite the cold weather, thousands of Slovak citizens 
came to listen to President Bush's remarks. When 
reporting on the content of the speech, several 
commentators expressed great appreciation for the fact 
that the President mentioned examples from Slovak 
history connected with its fight for freedom and 
democracy and presented Slovakia as a model of a 
country that was able to change its story to one of 
freedom.  According to SME: "Bush sent the message to 
the whole world that his America is ready to help any 
country that shows an interest in freedom". SME in its 
commentary presented his words that Slovakia is one 
chapter of the same story of freedom and democracy, 
followed by Georgia, Ukraine and in the near future 
also possibly by Moldova and Belarus. However, there 
was some resistance to the idea that the situation in 
Iraq is comparable.  As SME reported, "Bush tried to 
persuade listeners that Iraq, too, is one of the 
chapters of this story. He compared the free Iraqi 
elections to the Velvet Revolution in the former 
Czechoslovakia. Public reaction to this part of the 
speech was rather reserved. The opinion that Iraq is 
not another chapter of the same story, but a different 
one, is quite widespread in Slovakia." 
 
7.  Media also frequently quoted the part of the speech 
where President expressed great appreciation for the 
participation of Slovak soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq 
and Kosovo. 
 
8.  The President received the most applause when he 
mentioned that he understands that the visa issue is an 
important factor in bilateral relations. SME 
 
 
highlighted an excerpt from Bush's remarks to Slovak 
citizens: "Hundreds of thousands of our citizens can 
trace their roots back to this country. Slovak 
Immigrants helped to build America and shape its 
character." 
 
9.  Even before the visit, Slovak media - reflecting 
public interest - devoted a lot of attention to the 
possibility of granting the visa waiver to Slovakia. 
Raising the issue at the Presidential level was seen as 
a positive sign.  As the daily Hospodarske Noviny said 
in its commentary: "Never before has the U.S. President 
spoken so openly on the visa issue. It seems that 
Americans have started to understand that the visa 
requirement make us second-class Europeans." Daily 
Narodna Obroda also quoted Prime Minister Dzurinda 
saying after his bilateral meeting with the President 
that Bush himself opened this issue. The same article 
presents President Gasparovic's comments that at their 
meeting Bush mentioned that the U.S. has prepared a so- 
called road map for visa regime liberalization. On the 
same issue, daily SME quotes PM Dzurinda's remark to 
President Bush: "When we speak about freedom, without 
freedom of movement, it is only a partial freedom." 
 
10.  Overall, Slovak political analysts labeled the 
speech as highly balanced, positive and professionally 
well-prepared, according to the daily Hospodarske 
Noviny.  They also said it was an indication that the 
main focus of President Bush's second term is the 
expansion of freedom. 
 
11.  There were also some negative aspects of the visit 
noted in analyses and in public comments.  The 
prohibition against bringing signs and banners to the 
speech was criticized as an infringement on free 
expression.  There was considerable grumbling about the 
tight security net that was thrown over a large part of 
the city.  Slovak media also reported the fact that 
President Bush didn't visit the Slovak Parliament or 
have a separate meeting with the speaker of Parliament 
and some politicians' view that this represented a 
politically motivated failure of the Slovak foreign 
ministry. 
 
12.  Comment:  The Slovak people went into the 
Presidential visit with optimistic expectations.  More 
than two-thirds believed that it would enhance 
Slovakia's international reputation, and more than half 
thought it would help the Slovak economy.  Slovaks are 
generally gratified at the recognition they received in 
the President's speech and by the fact that they were 
chosen to host the Bush-Putin meeting.  It was a rare 
opportunity for them to be at the center of the world 
stage. 
 
THAYER 
 
 
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