US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE534

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000534 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2015 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, EZ, IZ, IS 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON CZECH DIPLOMATIC AND RECONSTRUCTION 
ACTIVITY IN IRAQ 
 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Kim Krhounek for reasons 1.4(b) and (d 
). 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  On April 14, we met with Ivo Silhavy, 
Director of the Middle East Department at the MFA, to discuss 
the latest developments in Iraq.  Silhavy described 
Czech-Iraqi relations as "very good and very intense," 
building on prior contacts with the Iraqi Minister of Culture 
and new Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.  The MFA remains 
committed to Iraqi reconstruction and has allocated their 
entire 200 million Czech crown (approximately $8.7 US Dols) 
Iraqi reconstruction budget; a fund that they successfully 
protected from attempts to raid it after the tsunami disaster 
in Southeast Asia.  In addition, a separate "transformation 
assistance" fund will continue to offer pilot programs 
assisting Iraqi NGO's from 2005-08.  The Czech Embassy in 
Baghdad continues to operate with minimal staff until Czech 
security services monitoring the security situation allow 
them to return to normal staffing levels.  The current Czech 
Charge d'Affaires in Baghdad is slated to return home this 
summer after two years in Iraq; his replacement is not yet 
known.  End summary. 
 
2.  (C) The Czechs have maintained their Iraqi foreign policy 
focus through a difficult period in which other Ministries 
attempted to raid their Iraq reconstruction budget after the 
tsunami disasters in Asia, and the nearly two months of 
 
SIPDIS 
intragovernmental squabbling among coalition members that 
caused the resignation of FM Svoboda on March 31.  Silhavy 
believes that the Czech commitment to Iraq will remain 
intact, no matter who takes over the head of the MFA in the 
weeks or months to come.  The Czechs are maintaining close 
ties with the current Iraqi government through the Iraqi 
Minister of Culture, Mufid Mohammed Jawad al-Jazairi (who 
worked for Czechoslovak radio in the 1960's and 70's and has 
a Czech wife), and now the newly appointed President Jalal 
Talabani.  Talabani was hosted by the GOCR on a visit in June 
2004 as the Czechs had foreseen he would play an important 
role in the new Iraqi government.  Talabani also met with 
former President Vaclav Havel in the early 1990's in his role 
as a opponent to the regime of Saddam Hussein. 
 
3.  (C) The MFA is drawing from two separate funds to provide 
assistance in Iraq; one is a 200 million Czech crown ($8.7 
million US dols) fund specifically designated for Iraqi 
reconstruction, and the second is part of a more general 
"transformation assistance" fund that is administered by a 
special office in the MFA.  Out of these funds, the GOCR has 
participated in a variety of feasibility studies and projects 
of reconstruction in Iraq including: training of Iraqi police 
in Jordan, and Iraqi diplomats and judges in Prague, 
transformation of civil society projects and protection of 
Iraqi cultural heritage (restoration of manuscripts in the 
National Library of Baghdad), provision of equipment for the 
Police Academy at Az Zubayr and specialized training programs 
for experts in various fields.  The funds available in the 
Iraqi reconstruction budget have been completely allocated; 
future projects will depend on whether it receives a fresh 
infusion from the state budget.  The Transformation 
Assistance office however, has an permanent budget and 
current and future projects, such as the project for NGO 
training in Iraq which is funded from its budget, will 
continue into at least 2008. 
 
4.  (C) Silhavy noted that the Czech Embassy in Baghdad is 
still short-staffed; there are only two other diplomatic 
personnel there besides the Charge.  The MFA is working with 
its security services to determine when the security 
situation in Baghdad will allow for additional personnel to 
return.  The Current Charge d'Affaires, Martin Klepetko, who 
has been in Baghdad for the past two years, is scheduled to 
return to Prague this summer.  His replacement has not yet 
been determined. 
 
5.  (C) Septel will report recent MOD discussions on 
possibilities for extending Czech Military Police trainers 
currently in Iraq. 
 
6.  (C) Silhavy also gave us a quick readout of his recent 
trip to Israel which was organized by the American Jewish 
Committee.  This trip was the first-ever AJC sponsored group 
of Central European policy-makers to Israel, and the group 
included a mixed group of technocrats and policy-makers 
(including Members of Parliament).  The 10-day trip was 
conducted as an intensive seminar and included access to 
Israel's top officials including the Prime Minister, members 
of the MFA and representatives of NGO's.  Silhavy praised the 
trip as a great success in educating Central Europeans about 
Israel and the Middle East.  It was particularly valuable for 
the Czechs, as they are currently serving as the NATO contact 
Embassy for Israel. 
 
Visit Prague's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/prague/index. cfm 
HILLAS