AUSCHWITZ NAME CHANGE ISSUE UNRESOVLED

UNCLAS PARIS 004538 SIPDIS FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/OHI STATE PASS TO NPS - STEPHEN MORRIS AND PAUL HOFFMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SCUL PO IS UNESCO SUBJECT: AUSCHWITZ NAME CHANGE ISSUE UNRESOVLED REF: A)PARIS 04363, B)PARIS 003344 ¶1. (SBU) The Polish Ambassador to UNESCO, Maria Wodzynska-Walicka, met with Ambassador Oliver yesterday afternoon, June 29th, to update her on the issue of the proposed name change of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, which was expected to be raised during the upcoming World Heritage Committee (WHC) meeting in Vilnius July 8-16. ¶2. (SBU) As of today, the situation is as follows: The proposed draft decision, which has already been made public, and links together plans associated with management problems at Auschwitz and the proposed name change is obsolete. ¶3. (SBU) According to Ambassador Wodzynska-Walicka, there will now be a new draft decision that simply calls for an international experts group to develop a new management plan, which should be ready for the 2007 WHC meeting. ¶4. (SBU) Meanwhile, the issue involving the name change is still not resolved. The Polish Ambassador said that the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Culture are planning to meet possibly today or tomorrow to discuss the proposed name change and make a decision about how to proceed. ¶5. (SBU) There are currently two options: One is that the name change issue will be formally raised in Vilnius and a decision will be requested in a year, pushing any decision back to the 2007 WHC meeting, at the earliest. The second possibility is that it will not be raised at all in Vilnius. (Comment: According to the Israeli Ambassador, this the position preferred by the Israelis. End comment.) ¶6. (SBU) The Polish Ambassador will contact us and let us know when a decision is made. OLIVER