US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE514

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000514 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, MASS, CH, EZ 
SUBJECT: CZECH ENTER DEBATE ON EU CHINA ARMS EMBARGO 
 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Kimberly C. Krhounek, for reasons 1.4( 
b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary. The Czech Republic is beginning to speak out 
against the immediate removal of the EU China arms embargo. 
Growing European debate over the timing and modalities of any 
removal of the embargo is allowing the Czechs to play a more 
active role in the debate and, the Czechs believe, 
strengthening the hand of countries such as the Czech 
Republic which are reluctant to lift the embargo now.  MFA 
officials report the Czechs will insist on improvements in 
China's human rights record and a "strategic dialogue" with 
other countries before a decision is made.  They also state 
that even if the embargo were lifted, the scale of Chinese 
human rights abuses would prevent the Czech Republic from 
exporting any weapons to China.  On the other hand, MFA 
officials, citing divisions within the government, remain 
wary of standing alone against an EU consensus to lift the 
embargo.  The future Czech stance will depend in part on the 
composition of the next Czech government.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) Jana Hybaskova, Czech MEP and a staunch supporter of 
USG foreign policies, told Poloff April 4 that she was very 
pleased with the two EP resolutions recently passed opposing 
EU plans to lift the embargo, stating that it was a signal to 
many EU governments that their publics do not support this 
step.  The EPP-ED party grouping in the EP has been at the 
forefront of these efforts, but it has its own internal 
divisions.  Hybaskova said that the large German CDU party 
remains in favor of the lift, and her fellow Czech MEPs from 
the ODS party refuse to play an active role in the debate, 
although MEP Jan Zahradil claims that they are in favor of 
maintaining the current embargo.  The attitude of the ODS 
MEPs reflects the broader, more cautious Czech approach to 
this issue within the EU, where we are repeatedly assured 
that they are in agreement with US policy, but are unwilling 
to take a strong stance in opposition to other members. 
 
3. (C) In an April 6 meeting with Acting Assistant Secretary 
of Defense Mira Ricardel, Czech Deputy Foreign Minister for 
Security Policy Jan Winkler said that whatever decision the 
EU makes about the China arms embargo, "we have no intention 
of supplying China with arms." Winkler added that he had been 
in Japan recently where he encouraged his hosts to speak out 
in Brussels.  Winkler argued that the issue is "too often 
seen in the EU as one of concern only to the Americans." 
 
4. (C) Czech MFA Political Director Martin Povejsil, in an 
April 8 meeting with DCM, said that the consensus is that the 
embargo will not be lifted during the Luxembourg presidency. 
He said this new breathing space has permitted the Czech 
Republic and others with concerns about the embargo to become 
more active.  He laid out the markers that the CR would like 
to see before any decision is taken; namely improvement in 
the Chinese human rights record and a "strategic dialogue" 
with other interested countries, to include discussion about 
the actual mechanisms that would regulate EU exports absent 
the embargo.  According to Povejsil, the Czechs believe this 
dialogue should take place within existing EU mechanisms 
(Solana's office and the EU Presidency) rather than through 
some special purpose multilateral forum, and should be 
conducted at a minimum with the U.S., Japan, Australia and 
South Korea; within the USG context, the Czechs would like to 
see it encompass both Congress and the Administration. 
Povejsil claimed that several other EU countries were 
prepared to join the GOCR in holding the EU to these 
criteria, but did not identify them.  Having other countries 
shore up the Czech position will be determinative and allow 
the Czech Republic to be more pro-active on this issue in EU 
fora.  He described the Czech government to date as being 
divided on the question of the arms embargo, meaning there 
was no chance that the CR would have had the authority to 
take a view contrary to EU consensus (as they did, for 
instance, earlier this year on EU Cuba policy).  Finally, 
Povejsil stated that, absent significant improvements in 
China's human rights record, the CR would not permit any 
weapons exports regardless of the status of the embargo. 
 
5. (C) In a still unpublished editorial on the arms embargo, 
written as his name rose to the top of the list of candidates 
to replace current Prime Minister Stanislav Gross, Czech EU 
Ambassador Jan Kohout states that the Czechs will insist on 
the release of political prisoners from Tiananmen Square and 
Chinese ratification of the convention on civil and political 
rights as prerequisites for the embargo to be lifted.  He 
also argues that allies must be consulted. 
 
6. (C) Comment.  The message we are hearing from the Czechs 
is consistent:  while there are divisions within the 
government on the question, the GOCR does not support lifting 
the embargo; but nor do they have the will or, they believe, 
the ability to stop it; that said, they will take full 
advantage of the lull in movement towards lifting the embargo 
to argue for steps that promote their traditional emphasis on 
human rights and preserving transatlantic ties.  The latter 
sentiments are clearly most powerful at the MFA.  The ongoing 
efforts to create a new cabinet will have an impact:  the 
choice of a career diplomat like Jan Kohout as Prime Minister 
will reinforce these trends; however if a hardliner like Jan 
Kavan (who studied in Beijing in the 1970s) took over the 
Foreign Ministry, the Czech position could shift.  For now, 
we expect the Czechs will try to speak out ever more loudly 
in favor of a process that leads to lifting of the embargo 
only when the conditions are right.  End Comment. 
HILLAS