US embassy cable - 05BRATISLAVA771

C O N F I D E N T I A L  BRATISLAVA 000771 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR, R, AND P 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, KPAO, EAID, PHUM, KMPI, LO 
SUBJECT: COMBATING EXTREMISM IN SLOVAKIA 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Lawrence R. Silverman for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
1. (C) Summary. The GOS and the USG have actively funded 
programs to combat extremism and intolerance in Slovakia. 
Extremism here takes the form of a privately organized 
Neo-Nazi movement, which usually targets the Roma minority 
and the small Jewish population.  Violent attacks have 
occurred in the past years, as well as hate speech, overt 
cases of discrimination, and instances of vandalism, although 
less frequently than in past years.  The police continually 
monitor known extremists and maintain teams of trained 
specialists.  The small and fragmented Muslim community has 
not produced any extremist behavior.  However, GOS and USG 
programming has included outreach events to the Muslim 
community, as well as to the general public about human 
rights and tolerance.  End Summary 
 
The Neo-Nazi Movement 
--------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) Extremist behavior in Slovakia is usually carried 
out by a fairly organized Neo-Nazi movement.  Ministry of 
Interior (MOI) officials estimate that there are 
approximately 500 active Neo-Nazis operating in Slovakia, 
with about 3,000 to 5,000 symapthizers. There are occasional 
violent attacks directed toward the Roma minority or the 
small Jewish population.  Vandalism and destruction of Jewish 
cultural property is also reported, although perhaps less 
frequently than in the past.  Some organized extremist groups 
were able to obtain permits to openly meet for Slovak 
national holidays associated with the Nazi puppet state 
headed by the War criminal Tiso. 
 
3. (C) Over the past three to four years, police have begun 
to crack down on Neo-Nazi groups.  Trained specialists and 
advisors work to identify active members and make arrests. 
There have been two important Bratislava raids in the past 
and an important arrest of a major organizer.  Some meetings 
are legal and announced beforehand, which helps the police. 
The MOI advisor on extremism told emboffs that the MOI has 
registered certain groups allowing them to exist legally, in 
order to be better informed about their activities. 
Meanwhile, NGOs try to counter these groups by publicly 
criticizing their behavior, organizing 
counter-demonstrations, and urging tolerance. 
 
Islam in Slovakia 
----------------- 
 
4. (C) The small Muslim community in Slovakia comprises 
mostly of individuals who immigrated to the former 
Czechoslovakia under communism for education and employment 
opportunities.  Most of these migrants now have citizenship 
and are integrated into Slovak society.  International 
students and newer migrants are more religious, but the 
community is not large enough to support the building of a 
mosque.  The community is very diverse and fragmented, and 
there is no evidence of Muslim extremism. 
 
5. (C) Post has supported outreach programming targeting 
Muslims in Slovakia.  In 2004, the embassy invited a speaker 
on US-Arab relations and hosted an Iftar dinner during 
Ramadan for the small community.  We also will be speaking at 
a Slovak organized event on October 2 to commemmorate the 
life of slain journalist Daniel Pearl.  Emboffs frequently 
talk to government interlocutors and religious leaders about 
reforming the Law on Religious Registration.  In order for 
Islam to become an official religion, there must be 20,000 
premanent resident adherents.  The GOS is hesitant to lower 
the prohibitive registration requirement, for all religions, 
because the government is obligated to provide subsidies and 
pay the salaries for the clergy.  A number of politicians 
have also vocalized objections to Islam becoming an official 
religion since the overwhelming majority of Slovaks are 
Catholic. 
 
State Department and Other USG-Funded Programs 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
6. (U) USAID and SEED funded programming in Slovakia has 
wrapped down after operating more than ten years in-country. 
The only on-going program is the multi-regional USAID Roma 
project designed to improve mutual understanding by 
encouraging integrated decision-making strategies and 
highlighting issues at the national level.  The project has 
had several successes, such as the adoption of a government 
program to fund social workers in targeted Roma communities 
in which residents live far below the poverty line.  Other 
activities include supporting microgrants to local groups 
after completing detailed needs surveys, localized conflict 
management training, and national round table discussions. 
 
7. (SBU) In recent years, the U.S. Embassy Democracy 
 
Commission grants supported local NGO activities to help 
 
 
fight extremism and discrimination.  Nearly 30 percent of the 
total number of grants went to support activities working 
with minorities, women, and children.  Several of these 
grants have had a lasting impact on Slovak society.  For 
example, the Democracy Commission in 2004 supported the 
production of three documentaries that show Roma success 
stories to balance somewhat sensationalized stories in the 
press.  These documentaries continue to be used at cultural 
events and aired on television. 
 
Local NGO Efforts 
----------------- 
 
8. (U) One of the most visible NGOs working to combat 
extremism in Slovakia is the NGO People Against Racism.  The 
organization works with youth, police, and government 
officials as their constitutents.  The embassy provided a 
democracy commission grant in 2003 to this organization to 
study how minorities were portrayed in the press and donated 
excess furniture items to their office after an arson attack. 
 They also operate a monitoring center for extremist behavior 
funded by the European Union.  Other activities include: 
 
-- police training about Neo-Nazi symbology and behavior 
-- human rights education in schools 
-- public lectures and demonstrations about tolerance at 
youth sporting events 
-- conference organization 
-- daily press monitoring 
-- participation on governmental advisory committees 
-- public statements in the press about extremist violence 
 
People Against Racism is at the forefront of opposition to 
the activities of the Neo-Nazi, Pospolitost group.  Several 
other Slovak organizations, such as Citizen and Democracy and 
the Milan Simecka Foundation, have also managed programs that 
support human rights education in schools. 
 
9. (U) The organization League of Human Rights Activists 
offers pro-bono legal representation for victims of extremist 
attacks and cases of discrimination.  They are currently 
representing several cases at the Supreme Court, 
Constitutional Court, and the European Court of Human Rights. 
 They also maintain a wide system of human rights monitors 
that alerts the organization about people that need legal 
assistance and help working with police. 
 
Instances of Hate Speech 
------------------------ 
 
10. (C) Occasionally certain Slovak politicians use racial 
slurs and hate speech as a tool to increase their popularity 
and appeal to voters in areas with large Roma communities, 
unemployment, and higher crime.  The mayor of Zilina, who is 
the Chairman of the Slovak Nationalist Party (SNS), has made 
several negative statements about Roma.  In 2003, he offered 
to pay for Roma males to be sterilized in response to a 
scandal about alleged coerced sterilization of Roma women. 
There were several unsuccessful attempts to investigate and 
prosecute the Zilina mayor for hate speech. 
 
11. (U) As it is illegal in Slovakia to defame nationalities 
or to belittle the Holocaust,  the Slovak police monitor 
internet web pages that host hate speech and try to arrest or 
fine the authors.  The police frequently complain that most 
of these sites are hosted on U.S. web servers because of more 
liberal freedom of speech laws.  When warranted the Slovak 
police have requested the assistance of U.S. law enforcement 
to help with joint investigations. 
 
12. (C) Post monitors the press daily for occurrences of hate 
speech.  Officers include any instances found in the Human 
Rights Report, Religious Freedom Report, and special 
demarches, such as last years report on Anti-Semitism. 
Emboffs often encourage politicians to make public statements 
against acts of violence when they occur. 
 
Host Government Efforts 
----------------------- 
 
13. (U) The GOS have organized several comprehensive 
anti-discrimination campaigns both from EU sources and the 
GOS budget.  The Section for Human Rights at the Government 
Office has managed the Government Action Plan against 
Xenophobia and Intolerance and expanded offices and programs 
concentrating on Roma Affairs.  Most programs have been 
incorporated into public education and existing legislation. 
In 2004, Slovakia passed a new anti-discrimination law, 
which provides the framework for affirmative action and pro 
bono legal representation.  The Slovak Republic has also 
passed other action plans delineating benchmarks from the 
on-going improvement of education and housing for the Roma 
 
minority. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
14. (C)  Slovakia is combating extremism on several fronts. 
The law enforcement and legislative aspects have improved 
over the past few years.  However, the problem persists, 
particularly in the investigation and prosecution of 
extremists.  Several lawyers are seeking to find cases that 
would test the new anti-discrimination law to put it actively 
into practice, which they feel would begin to change the 
language and actions of Slovak society in general. 
VALLEE 
 
 
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