US embassy cable - 05BRATISLAVA642

C O N F I D E N T I A L  BRATISLAVA 000642 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, SOCI, SMIG, PINR, LO 
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA PREPARES TO ABOLISH EXTREMIST POLITICAL 
PARTY 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires A.I. Lawrence R. Silverman for Reasons 
 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
1.  (C)  SUMMARY AND COMMENT:  Slovakia is struggling to come 
to terms with its diversity and diminish the influence of 
racist extremist groups.  A recent meeting with the Interior 
Ministry's chief coordinator of the anti-extremism unit 
revealed that the government allowed extremist group 
Slovenska Pospolitost (an archaic term that translates 
roughly as "Slovak Community") to register as a political 
party, which allowed the MOI to collect detailed information 
on the group's finances, membership, and activities, and 
prepare for legal action against them.  The issue of hate 
speech and extremist groups in Slovakia, as it frequently 
does elsewhere, has to walk the line between protecting 
freedom of expression and protecting the safety of minority 
groups.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
MOI TRIES TO CATCH FLIES WITH HONEY 
----------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C)  Poloffs met with Pavol Draxler, the chief 
coordinator of the anti-extremism unit at the Ministry of the 
Interior (MOI).  Draxler briefed us on the status of 
extremist political party Slovenska Pospolitost (an archaic 
term that translates roughly as "Slovak Community"), a 
nationalist group whose members frequently wear the black 
uniforms of the wartime Slovak Republic's "Hlinka Guards," 
who participated in the deportation of Slovak Jews to Germany 
during World War II.  Draxler said that the MOI decided to 
allow the group to register as a political party in January 
2005 in order to help the government collect information 
about the group's leadership, finances, and location around 
Slovakia.  On the other hand, this legitimacy has allowed 
Pospolitost to use its legal status to continue promoting its 
extremist and nationalist agenda in public demonstrations. 
While such demonstrations are closely monitored by the 
police, in the past three months Pospolitost has organized 
marches in Revuca and in Komarno, both of which were directed 
against the ethnic Hungarian minority in those towns. 
Wearing their trademark black uniforms, Slovenska Pospolitost 
scuffled with Hungarian residents in Komarno until the police 
intervened. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Pospolitost, however, is not just anti-Hungarian. 
In response to criticism from Slovakia's Jewish community, 
Pospolitost used its website (http://www.pospolitost.sk) to 
condemn of Slovak Jews (especially those living in Komarno). 
Members of the Union of Jewish Communities in Slovakia 
(UNZZO) want to schedule a meeting with the Minister of the 
Interior to request that Pospolitost's legal status as a 
political party be revoked.  The NGO People Against Racism, 
and the Civic Conservative Party have already filed similar 
requests. 
 
4.  (C)  While Draxler would not discuss specifics, he said 
the police are currently preparing a major "action" against 
Pospolitost.  Using evidence gathered from these raids, the 
Ministry will then ask the General Prosecutor and the courts 
to abolish the party, and to begin prosecuting its leaders. 
According to Draxler, the MOI plan to allow the group to 
register and act freely has worked, as the MOI has now 
collected sufficient information and evidence on criminal 
activities of the leaders.  The police now have detailed 
knowledge of Pospolitost supporters and leaders in Slovakia, 
and Draxler showed us a map of Slovakia which indicated the 
group's "strength" and support in different cities and 
regions.  In general, the largest support for Pospolitost is 
in areas where in 1930's "Rodobrana", a fascist paramilitary 
corps, had been formed; particularly in Western Slovakia 
around Senica, Myjava, Hlohovec, Piestany, Trnava and Nitra. 
 
THE MEN BEHIND POSPOLITOST 
-------------------------- 
 
5.  (C)  The leader of Slovenska Pospolitost, Marian Kotleba, 
is currently a teacher at a university in Banska Bystrica, 
and his deputy works in the Trnava Nuclear Research 
Institute.  The organization boasts about 2,500 
supporters/members, and has international ties to other 
extremist groups, mainly "Obraz" in Russia and Serbia, and 
"Noua Dreapta" in Romania.  Draxler said it's much easier to 
get information about Pospolitost than on the rest of the 
extremist scene in Slovakia, which is mostly made up of 
skinhead groups.  The skinheads are usually divided into 
small, flexible, dynamic groups, usually consisting of a 
leader and several young followers. 
 
THE EXTREMIST SCENE IN SLOVAKIA 
------------------------------- 
 
6.  (SBU)  Extremist movements in Slovakia involve around 
4,500 people.  Compared with the past, Draxler feels that 
this is an improvement.  He noted that in 1996-1997, 
 
 
extremist groups committed several murders, mostly of members 
of the Roma minority.  In 2001, the MOI prepared a strategy 
for the elimination of extremist crime. In 2002, Minister of 
Interior Vladimir Palko established a central coordination 
committee for fighting extremism, in which all bodies dealing 
with extremism - including investigators, prosecutors, 
detectives, and regular "beat cops" - participate.  In 
addition, the prosecution and Ministry of Justice participate 
in the working group, and the MOI has established two 
anti-extremism specialist positions in each of the eight 
regional police headquarters. 
 
7.  (SBU)  Until 2002, the police only seldom identified a 
crime as racially motivated or with extremist background. In 
2002, MOI approved a new methodology for identification of 
"extremist crimes," and issued training materials for 
regional coordinators.  In the wake of this training, the 
number of identified extremist crimes rose from 40 in 2001 to 
109 in 2002.  The number peaked at 119 in 2003 before 
tapering off to 79 in 2004, 57 of which were successfully 
prosecuted by the police. In the first half of 2005, there 
were 29 cases, 18 successfully prosecuted by the police. 
(Note:  More data is available at www.minv.sk/extremizmus). 
 
8.  (C)  After successful raids by the police in Malacky (Dec 
2004) and Dolny Kubin, the extreme scene is quieter and less 
active in Slovakia.  In Malacky, about 200 participants from 
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Finland 
participated; police interrogated 80 persons, and 7 were 
accused of a crime.  Draxler said that as a result, Slovakia 
is no longer perceived as a safe haven for extremists, and 
that even certain Slovak extremist leaders prefer to stay in 
the Czech Republic. 
 
EXTREMISTS WORK WITH THEIR AMERICAN COUSINS... 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
9.  (C)   Draxler said that many of Slovakia's skinhead and 
Pospolitost extremists receive their training in the United 
States from radical Christian and racial hate groups.  Many 
of the inflammatory internet postings are housed on American 
servers where they receive stronger free speech protection 
than Slovak web hosts.  Draxler said he believed that better 
cooperation between units responsible for extremism and 
internet providers would be useful. 
 
...BUT POLICE HAVE TROUBLE COOPERATING 
-------------------------------------- 
 
10.  (C)  Draxler lamented that international police 
cooperation within the EU is weak.  He said that cooperation 
is somewhat better in the Visegrad countries, and mainly 
between Slovakia and the Czech Republic.  The Slovak MOI is 
therefore organizing an EU meeting to discuss cooperation in 
the fight against extremism.  However, as an illustration of 
how poor the cooperation is, Draxler told us of a German 
citizen who resided for quite a long time in Banska Bystrica, 
where he was printing materials with extremist content and 
sending them to Western Europe.  The Slovak police could not 
do anything about it, as he was not doing anything illegal in 
Slovakia, and the cooperation necessary to pursue an 
international warrant with the involved EU countries simply 
did not exist.  Despite this lack of communication, Draxler 
believes the anti-extremism unit and the system is working 
well now in Slovakia. 
 
DRAXLER ASKED TO CONSIDER ANTI-TRAFFICKING POST 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
11.  (C)  BIO NOTES:  The young and clean-cut Draxler, who 
originally hails from the NGO community, was recently asked 
by the Minister of the Interior to consider applying for the 
position of National Coordinator for Slovakia's new 
anti-trafficking group (a position widely expected to be 
filled by current anti-trafficking unit chief Anna 
Babincova).  Draxler said he told the Minister that he 
preferred to continue his work against extremist groups, a 
more cloak-and-dagger role that draws less spotlight - 
something the generally shy Draxler may have found 
unappealing about the anti-trafficking position. 
SILVERMAN 
 
 
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