CZECHS CONTINUE TO OFFER ASSISTANCE FOR HURRICANE

UNCLAS PRAGUE 001532 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/NCE FICHTE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREL EZ SUBJECT: CZECHS CONTINUE TO OFFER ASSISTANCE FOR HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF REF: PRAGUE 1348 ¶1. The City of Prague is soliciting Embassy guidance on how to achieve forward movement on their offer of archive restoration and retrieval for Hurricane Katrina relief. As reported reftel (para 3),the City of Prague approved CZK 16 million USD 700,000 for hurricane assistance, and they need to demonstrate progress on their Plan of Action for disbursement of these funds. The proposed Plan of Action is to send a preliminary team of five people to the City of New Orleans to do a damage assessment, followed by a second visit of experts to conduct restoration operations. The City of Prague is wondering whether to go through the U.S. Embassy in Prague, the Czech Embassy in Washington, DC, the National Trust in Washington, DC, and/or FEMA to execute their offer of assistance. ¶2. Post has advised the Mayor's office to channel all assistance offers from the City of Prague through the Czech Embassy in Washington, DC, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We explained that neither post nor the Department has an institutional mechanism for communicating directly with the City of New Orleans, and that Czech Embassy would be in a better position to serve as the appropriate intermediary with the City of New Orleans. The City of Prague has proven expertise in the unique field of archive restoration and research, as demonstrated in the aftermath of the 2002 Prague floods. Post believes and hopes the Czech Embassy will be able to provide appropriate guidance for the City of Prague to appropriately link their assistance offer with the needs of the City of New Orleans. CABANISS