US embassy cable - 05BRATISLAVA315

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000315 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, LO, UP, NATO 
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA POLITICAL ROUNDUP APRIL 20, 2005 
 
REF: BRATISLAVA 218 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
Reopening the Coalition Agreement on Minister Positions? 
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1. (U) ANO leader and Minister of Economy Pavol Rusko 
announced April 11 that State Secretary of the Education 
Ministry Frantisek Toth (ANO) will resign his post and take 
up the position of Culture Minister currently held by Rudolf 
Chmel (ANO).  Toth's replacement at the Education Ministry is 
still undefined and Chmel's political future is 
uncertain.Education Minister Martin Fronc (KDH) demanded 
April 9 that his subordinate resign after Toth publicly 
stated that the draft law on education is poor and 
antiquated.  In a different vein, Culture Minister Chmel has 
clashed with his party on the controversial funding of the 
unfinished Slovak National Theater building. 
 
2. (U) The move may reopen debate on the Coalition Agreement 
that determines which parties hold Minister and State 
Secretary positions.  Rusko called for a second State 
 
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Secretary position at the Ministry of Culture, saying there 
 
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is a great deal of work to be done at the Culture Ministry 
and the Education Minister has said the State Secretary 
position at the Ministry of Education is unnecessary.  Bela 
Bugar, SMK leader, reacted negatively saying that this move 
would weaken the current state secretary at the Culture 
Ministry (currently held by SMK) and is unjustified in such a 
small ministry.  ANO is also considering withdrawing 
Transportation Ministry State Secretary Mikulas Kacaljak due 
to his eight million crown debt to the Social Insurance 
Company. 
 
3. (U) Some commentators and important ministers such as FM 
Eduard Kukan and Justice Minister Daniel Lipsic have 
suggested drawing ministers and state secretaries from the 
same party.  The system of cross-appointments at ministries 
was adopted for the sake of transparency in 1998 after 
Vladimir Meciar,s government was voted out of office.  The 
Coalition Agreement states precisely from which party a 
minister or state secretary should come.  Such a move would 
require revamping the Coalition Agreement one year before 
parliamentary elections, and could cause public uproar. 
 
Apology for 1945 Benes Decrees Debated 
-------------------------------------- 
4. (SBU) SMK leader Bela Bugar supports reopening discussion 
on the 1945 Benes Decrees.  The Decrees caused the 
deportation and stripping of citizenship of thousands of 
ethnic Germans and Hungarians living on Czechoslovak soil at 
the end of World War II.  Bela Bugar said Slovakia and 
Hungary should apologize to one another if it is proved that 
they harmed the other: &It is not possible to forget about 
an era in our history when several hundreds of thousands of 
people were punished only due to their nationality.  We 
should close this chapter, but we should do it together,8 
Bugar said in a TV debate.  Bugar refused to link this topic 
with upcoming regional elections.  Smer leader Robert Fico 
said Bugar,s statement is not in line with Slovakia,s 
foreign policy and  Fico said Bugar should reconsider the 
appropriateness of asking his own government to apologize to 
Hungarians for actions taken by the transitional post-WWII 
Czechoslovak government in 1945-48.  COMMENT: Bugar's comment 
adds fuel to the fire of the State Secretary at the Hungarian 
MFA's comments that the Benes Decrees problem has not been 
resolved.  PM Dzurinda canceled his meeting with Hungarian PM 
Gyurcsany after this episode. END COMMENT. 
 
GOS Funds to Scrap Ukrainian Weapons 
------------------------------------ 
5. (U) The GOS will provide more than one million crowns 
(35,500 USD) for the scrapping of weapons and ammunition in 
Ukraine.   The MFA announced this aid will send &a positive 
signal to the new administration of President Viktor 
Yushchenko."  The MFA has indicated publicly that the GOS 
hopes this will draw attention to the current political and 
security situation in Ukraine and the surplus weapons and 
ammunition in the country. 
THAYER 
 
 
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