EXBS: SLOVAKIA ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000925 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NP/ECC - PVANSON, ACHURCH, JOHN COFFEY DEPT FOR EUR/ACE - DMARTIN CBP/INA FOR PWARKER, BPICKETT USDOE/NNSA FOR TPERRY DOC FOR PETERSEN-BEARD PRAGUE FOR MARK CANNING VIENNA FOR KENNY MACDONALD BUDAPEST FOR JEFFREY IZZO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP ETTC PREL LO SUBJECT: EXBS: SLOVAKIA ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - SEPTEMBER 2004 ¶1. BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS. ¶A. September 27-October 1 - The General Director of the Directorate of Customs for the Slovak Republic, Mr. Josef Gonczol, was in China this week finalizing a written agreement that will enable the government of China to deliver a stationary VACIS x-ray system to Slovakia. The VACIS was a gift from the President of China to the President of Slovakia. The VACIS will be used at the Port of Vysne Nemecke, Slovakia's largest land border crossing and only commercial truck crossing, on their border with the Ukraine. Expected delivery date is unknown at this time. ¶2. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD. ¶A. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS DURING REPORTING PERIOD. 1) September 27 - EXBS Advisor met with the Deputy Director of the Slovak Border and Alien Police, Mr. Miroslav Zaborsky, to discuss the purchase of two new Skoda Fabia motor vehicles that should be delivered in 6-8 weeks and will be donated to the Border and Alien Police in furtherance of the Export Control and Border Security efforts. We also discussed the upcoming Indian Tracker Training to be conducted at Vysne Nemecke on the border with the Ukraine. It is hoped that this training can take place during the month of October 2004. Mr. Zaborsky, was also interested in any headway made in securing funding for English Language Training we had discussed during a previous visit. 2) September 30 - EXBS Advisor met with Deputy General Director of the Slovak Directorate of Customs, Mrs. Eva Borikova, and Director Vladimir Stasko, to discuss the IBIT/RADACAD Training that was held in July ¶2004. We also discussed the Radioactive Materials Search Techniques Training that is currently being conducted at Bratislava Airport. This training was developed and presented by Mr. Roman Moravec, Service Performance Department, from techniques he learned at RADACAD Training. This training will be delivered to all Slovak Customs Inspectors. 3) September 30 - EXBS Advisor, accompanied by Customs Director Vladimir Stasko and Regional Director Stefan Gerboc, conducted a site assessment of the Customs facilities and procedures utilized at Bratislava Airport. Overall, the facilities were quite adequate and the procedures in place for passenger and cargo clearance, both inbound and outbound, were excellent. A detailed report of the assessment will be provided at a later date. ¶B. TRAINING CONDUCTED DURING REPORTING PERIOD. 1) September 14-15 - Mr. Andrew Lamnea, L-3 Communications, provided training to 15 individuals from the Hungarian and Finance Guard on the use of the new X-Ray Autovan. Twelve Customs Officers plus three operations personnel were trained in operation of the system. The new X-ray Autovan was delivered to Budapest in August 2004. 2) September 9-10 - An Export Control specialist from DOC/BIS/OIP assisted the Institut Prumysloveho Management (IPM) Plzen, a Czech NGO, in presenting a workshop on the deployment of Internal Control Program (ICP) software for Czech enterprise representatives. The workshop sought to advance industry export control awareness and to foster compliance with national export control laws and regulations following Czech accession to the EU. 3) September 20-24 - EXBS provided Cyber Crimes - WMD Internet Investigations Training to 15 students from the Police Presidium of the Slovak Republic. The training was conducted at the Police Academy in Bratislava. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Instructors Anthony Onstad and Michael Godfrey did an excellent job of working around police academy schedules and firewall problems, to present a balanced and informative training program. Members of the Slovak Police Presidium Cyber Crimes Unit lauded the training and complemented the trainers on their knowledge and ability to teach new concepts. 4) Slovak Customs has initiated Radioactive Materials Search Techniques training for all of its Customs inspectors. The first class was conducted on September 28, 2004, at Bratislava Airport. Customs officials were able to utilize a commercial aircraft as their classroom. Mr. Roman Moravec, Head of the Division of Prohibitions, Restrictions and CAP, Service Performance Department, developed and presented the training. Mr. Moravec has incorporated procedures and training tools he acquired at RADACAD training in July 2004. Mr. Moravec stated, "We want all Slovak Customs Inspectors to benefit from the training we received at RADACAD." ¶C. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING REPORTING 1) Twelve Acer Laptop Computers along with carry cases and various software, one Access Point Pro Wireless LAN, one Laserjet 3700DN Color Printer, and one LCD Projector were donated to the Institute Prumysloveho Management (IPM),Plzen, Czech Republic. This donation was made through a grant request that was approved by the State Department. The value of the donated articles was $38,724. IPM is an NGO that provided an Internal Control Program training workshop to Czech enterprise representatives for the Department of Commerce. The purpose of this training was to advance industry export control awareness and to foster compliance with national export control laws and regulations following Czech accession to the EU. ¶D. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE. 1) Tracker Training is scheduled to be conducted in Slovakia during the last week in October 2004. This training will be provided to officers of the Border and Alien Police at Vysne Nemecke, on Slovakia's border with the Ukraine. The instructors are Native American Customs and Border Protection Patrol Officers from the Tohono O'Odham Reservation in southern Arizona. Twenty- five Border and Alien Police officers will be trained on signing and tracking techniques that will help them track down and capture aliens, and possibly terrorists, illegally smuggled into Slovakia. 2) Two new Skoda Fabia motor vehicles for the Slovak Border and Alien Police were purchased this month. Delivery time to dealership is expected to take 6-8 weeks. ¶E. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY. None. ¶3. RED FLAG ISSUES. None. Questions regarding this report can be directed to Larry Adkins, EXBS Senior Advisor, at AmEmbassy Bratislava at telephone no.: 421-2-5922-3375, fax: 421- 2-5922-3497 or through email at adkinslh@state.gov. WEISER NNNN