SLOVENIA: FOMIN TO ATTEND BERLIN ANTI-SEMITISM

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000324

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL SOCI SI OSCE
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: FOMIN TO ATTEND BERLIN ANTI-SEMITISM
CONFERENCE

REF: A. SECSTATE 78071


B. SECSTATE 81476


1. (U) POL/ECON CHIEF AND POL-MILOFF DELIVERED REFTEL
TALKING POINTS AND DELEGATION LIST ON 15 APRIL TO MFA OSCE
TASK FORCE MEMBERS URSKA AJDISEK AND KATARINA GRADIC, BOTH OF
WHOM WORK ON HUMAN DIMENSION ISSUES. AJDISEK SAID THAT FOMIN
DMITRIJ RUPEL AND AT LEAST TWO OF HIS KEY STAFFERS, INCLUDING
HIS CHIEF OF STAFF SANJA STIGLIC, WOULD ATTEND THE
CONFERENCE. SHE ADDED THAT, WHILE NOT YET CONFIRMED, RUPEL
PLANS TO DELIVER A SPEECH DURING THE FIRST SESSION OF THE
CONFERENCE. DR. HANNAH STARMAN, ONE OF SLOVENIA'S FOREMOST
EXPERTS ON ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE
INSTITUTE FOR HEBREW AND JEWISH STUDIES AT A PRIVATELY-FUNDED
GRADUATE SCHOOL FOR THE HUMANITIES IN LJUBLJANA, WILL BE
INCLUDED AS A PUBLIC MEMBER OF THE SLOVENIAN DELEGATION. IN
ADDITION TO RUPEL, HIS STAFF, AND STARMAN, THE SLOVENIAN
DELEGATION WILL INCLUDE THE SLOVENIAN AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY,
SIMONA DRENIK FROM THE SLOVENIAN MISSION TO THE OSCE, AND
GRADIC.


2. (U) AJDISEK SAID THAT THE MFA HAD BEEN INFORMED THAT
FOMINS FROM IRELAND, LUXEMBOURG, CZECH REPUBLIC AND GERMANY
WOULD PARTICIPATE IN THE CONFERENCE. WHILE NOT NECESSARILY
FROM THE RESPECTIVE FOREIGN MINISTRIES, SHE SAID THAT
MINISTER-LEVEL REPRESENTATION FROM SWEDEN, LATVIA, FINLAND
AND THE UK IS FORESEEN, AND THAT DENMARK AND POLAND WILL SEND
REPRESENTATIVES AT THE STATE SECRETARY LEVEL.


3. (SBU) COMMENT: BY INCLUDING STARMAN, IT APPEARS THAT THE
GOS IS FINALLY RESPONDING TO THE POSITIVE EXAMPLE SET BY THE
U.S. OF INCLUDING NON-GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS IN DELEGATIONS TO
SUCH CONFERENCES. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE ARE AWARE
OF A WILLINGNESS BY THE GOS TO REACH BEYOND THE CONFINES OF
THEIR MINISTRIES TO PUT TOGETHER THE MOST EFFECTIVE
DELEGATION POSSIBLE. WE HOPE IT MARKS THE BEGINNING OF A
TREND THAT WILL CONTINUE AS THEY INTENSIFY OSCE-RELATED
ACTIVITIES IN PREPARATION FOR THEIR CHAIRMANSHIP-IN-OFFICE IN
2005 AND BEYOND. END COMMENT
YOUNG

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