JEWISH CEMETERY IN VILNIUS - OVERVIEW AND UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 VILNIUS 000584

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, EUR/OHI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KNAR LH
SUBJECT: JEWISH CEMETERY IN VILNIUS - OVERVIEW AND UPDATE

REF: A. 05 VILNIUS 733

B. VILNIUS 581

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SUMMMARY
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1. (SBU) The newest front in Lithuania's struggle to come to
terms with its troubled past is a Jewish cemetery that
Russian Czars closed in 1830 and which they and the Soviets
largely destroyed. The site, known as the Snipiskes
cemetery, has attracted the fervent interest of the Committee
for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe (CPJCE)
and U.S.-based groups. Their representatives dispute the
boundaries of the cemetery and seek to prevent the commercial
development of the area and further disturbance of any
remaining graves. A Lithuanian government commission is
considering archeological evidence, the legal framework for
protecting cultural heritage, and the public interest. The
commission's efforts to involve representatives of interested
foreign parties have not succeeded, and initial contacts
between the foreign groups and Lithuanian authorities have
been acrimonious. Meanwhile, the City of Vilnius has
indicated its intention to purchase the property from its
current private owner as part of an urban development
strategy. The Embassy has repeatedly engaged the Prime
Minister and members of his government, the Vilnius Mayor,
and representatives of local and international Jewish
interest groups in an effort to encourage an amicable
resolution to the controversy. End Summary.

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HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
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2. (SBU) Archeological surveys indicate that the Old Jewish
Cemetery of Vilnius (Snipiskes Cemetery) was active from the
late 15th century until its closure by the Czar in 1830.
Since that time, several major events disturbed and largely
destroyed the Jewish Cemetery. In 1831, the Czar ordered the
construction of a fort on the north bank of the Neris River
that destroyed much of the southern part of the cemetery. In
1901, an underground electrical station was built with
several support buildings on the area. Photographs from this
era show that, while many parts of the cemetery were
disturbed, a large portion remained intact. After WWII,
construction of the Zalgiris Stadium in 1950 by Soviet
authorities destroyed tombstones and graves. The Soviet
rulers of Vilnius decided to destroy all remaining tombstones
in 1955. The 1971 construction of the Vilnius Sports Palace,
an unsightly exemplar of socialist realism, and the
installation of underground water, sewerage, and other
services led to further destruction of graves in the area.
While archeological evidence indicates that some burial sites
remain subsoil, there is no above-ground evidence of the
existence of the cemetery, except for a monument on the
southeast corner of the site.

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DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE RIVER
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3. (SBU) Two parcels -- the King Mindaugas apartment complex
and the Sports Palace complex -- are at the heart of the
controversy. Construction of the Mindaugas complex began
about three years ago on the foundation of an old swimming
pool. The Mission became aware of the controversy in June
2005, when Amcit Rabbi Chizkiva Kalmanowitz contacted us
about his concerns during a visit to Lithuania (ref A).
Those concerns were not shared by Rabbi Sholom Ber Krinsky,
an American citizen who is the local Chabad rabbi. Rabbi
Krinsky told us last year that Chabad had previously viewed
the Mindaugas site and had no problems with it. Simonas
Alperavicius, the president of the Lithuanian Jewish
Community, gave us a similar assessment; in fact,
Alperavicius told us that the city government's handling of
the prior construction on the site had been commendable.


4. (SBU) Construction in June 2005 was already well under
way, and today it is mostly complete, with only interior
finishing and some ground-leveling remaining. Prior to
commencing construction, contractors had archeological
surveys performed and, on the basis of the findings, received
construction permits. The empirical evidence that this
Mission has had the opportunity to review indicate that the
site was outside the bounds of the cemetery. (Note:
Archeological surveys in 1996 and 2005 found random
scattering of bones, but no Jewish graves in areas near the
Mindaugas complex. Historical maps from the 19th and 20th
centuries also seem to place the Mindaugas complex outside

VILNIUS 00000584 002 OF 004


the cemetery boundaries. End note.) The CPJCE and others
international groups dispute this conclusion and allege that
the cemetery extended to the Mindaugas site.


5. (SBU) The Sports Palace property indisputably rests in the
middle of the former cemetery. Archeological surveys from
1996-1998 show the existence of undisturbed graves in the
immediate vicinity of the Sports Palace. During construction
of a road adjacent to the Sports Palace property during
2001-2003, the scattered remains of some 700-800 individuals
were unearthed and reburied in a Jewish cemetery just outside
Vilnius. At the time of the roadwork, no international
Jewish group questioned the act and Rabbi Krinsky presided
over the reburial. Krinsky also said that Vilnius municipal
authorities were conscientious in ensuring that the local
Jewish community was able to relocate any disturbed remains.


6. (SBU) The Lithuanian Confederation of Trade Unions sold a
majority stake in the Sports Palace property that it had held
since Soviet times to private developers in 2004, a
transaction financed by Ukio Bankas. Ukio Bankas, one of the
country's largest financial institutions, purchased a
controlling interest in the site in April 2005. A Vilnius
Court in November 2005 upheld an earlier ruling prohibiting
the sale of trade union property for commercial purposes,
effectively preventing Ukio Bankas from developing the
property. Ukio Bankas has now signed an agreement to
negotiate the sale of the Sports Palace site to the City of
Vilnius. The Vilnius City Council approved the deal on June
8, and the City has until September 1 to sign the deal. The
city has not presented any plans for new construction on the
site.

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GOL ESTABLISHES COMMISSION; MFA TROUBLED BY ULTIMATUMS
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7. (SBU) The Prime Minister established a commission March 27
to consider the cemetery controversy and make recommendations
to the Government for its resolution. MFA Vice Minister
Zenonas Petrauskas heads the commission which comprises
representatives from the City of Vilnius, the local Jewish
Community, the Minorities Department, the Ministry of
Justice, and the PM's office. In May, MFA invited a number
of representatives of the international Jewish community with
an interest in the Snipiskes cemetery to come to Vilnius to
try to work out a common strategy. Rabbi E. Schlesinger of
the London-based Committee for the Preservation of Jewish
Cemeteries in Europe, Arieh Klein, an Israeli-based soils
expert, AmCit Rabbi Chizkiva Kalmanowitz, and others
participated.


8. (SBU) MFA Americas Director Jonas Paslauskas and Deputy
Lina Antanaviciene told us that the meetings were
non-productive and confrontational. Antanaviciene said it
was clear that, despite the evidence of archeological
surveys, historical maps, and outside experts, the visiting
rabbis were convinced that the cemetery encompassed the site
of the Mindaugus construction and that they believed that
Lithuanians were lying about the evidence. Antanaviciene
said that the visitors disputed the GOL maps, which show that
the current construction site is not on the old cemetery
site, but presented none of their own. She said they offered
only some photos and old postcards that showed a fence in
front of what is now the Mindaugas complex.


9. (SBU) Soon after the visit, the rabbis released a two-page
statement denouncing the GOL's "attempts to misrepresent the
true location of the cemetery boundaries." Antanaviciene
said that the two-page report was full of inaccuracies,
including the following:

-- Ukio Bank is building an apartment building on the site.

-- "Old maps" prove that the Mindaugas complex lies on the
site of the old cemetery and that bones have been discovered
on the site.

-- The GOL is using "amended" (read: falsified) maps to prove
that the Mindaugas site is off of cemetery grounds.

-- The Vilnius Jewish community "strongly supported the
delegation in its demands." (The Lithuanian Jewish Community
signed off on an agreed delineation of the cemetery's
boundaries on August 19, 2005.)


10. (SBU) Paslauskas said the Jewish groups are, in his
words, "blackmailing" the GOL. In a faxed letter dated May
28 from Schlesinger to the Lithuanian Ambassador in London,
Schlesinger advised that the GOL had ten days (i.e., until

VILNIUS 00000584 003 OF 004


June 7) to agree to conduct a "sub-surface scan to prove the
existence of graves on the site." Schlesinger demanded that
the GOL impose a work stoppage at the construction site
pending the results of the scan and stipulate in writing that
it would halt construction permanently if the scan reveals
the existence of graves. In a separate note to the City of
Vilnius dated May 18, Schlesinger stated that he already
referred the matter to the European Parliament.


11. (SBU) Vilnius Mayoral Advisors Vytautas Toleikis and
Rosseta Vingeviciute told us that the May 9 meetings were
unproductive. They lamented that the Vice-Mayor of Vilnius
spent the entire day with the international groups, but they
were unwilling to accept any evidence the government
presented regarding the Mindaugas complex. They were also
surprised the group's interest focused on the Mindaugas
complex, which is in private hands and for which construction
is largely complete.


12. (SBU) Paslauskas told us that the Government did not
intend to respond to the rabbi's ultimatum. He said that the
GOL wants the commission to continue its discussions and
consultations with technical experts, but considers the
ultimatums an affront to Lithuanian sovereignty and will not
accept them. Nonetheless, he continued, the GOL remains
willing to try to secure access to the site for the visiting
delegation's technical experts, accompanied by Lithuanian
experts. In phone conversations with Schlesinger, we pointed
out that the June 1 fall of the Lithuanian Government
precluded the GOL from accepting his terms. June 7 came and
went without any sign of the "other courses of action" about
which Schlesinger had warned.

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Cultural Preservation, Lithuanian Style
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13. (SBU) Albinas Kuncevicius of the Cultural Heritage
Department of the Ministry of Cultural on June 7 seconded
MFA's call for more technical work to achieve a common
understanding of the facts on and under the ground. The
Cultural Heritage Department, Kuncevicius noted, will require
archeological surveys of the Sports Palace site before
authorizing any construction, just as it did for the
Mindaugas site. Regarding the Mindaugas complex, Kuncevicius
showed us numerous archeological surveys and maps that he
said indicate that the Mindaugas complex is outside the
Jewish cemetery. He acknowledged that construction
activities since 1831 shifted bones all over the area, and
that archeological surveys document their presence. He
pointed out, however, that Lithuanian cultural heritage laws
protect cemeteries, not scattered bones. Kuncevicius said
that his department's mandate to protect cemeteries as
cultural heritage may likely lead him to limit construction
on the Sports Palace grounds to the site of existing
structures, but said that further archeological work is
needed.

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THE ROAD AHEAD
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14. (SBU) Ambassador Mull told then-Prime Minister Brazauskas
on May 30 and Parliamentary Speaker Viktoras Muntianas on
June 6 about the importance for Lithuania of finding a
solution to the dispute. He also wrote to Acting Prime
Minister Zigmantas Balcytis and Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas
on June 12 to urge Lithuania to seek to involve all
interested parties in the commission and to pursue a solution
that accounts for the historic and spiritual importance of
the site. We also remain in contact with Rabbi Schlesinger,
Bernard Fryshman, and other interested foreign parties in
advocating for a dialogue with the GOL.


15. (SBU) There will probably always be critics of any
outcome that does not involve the abandonment of the
Mindaugas complex and prohibition of any activity on the rest
of the site. In our view, the likelihood of this occurring
is close to zero. The Mindaugas complex is a fait accompli,
which Lithuanians consider a legitimate project by private
developers. Vilnius citizens are unlikely to support the
indefinite retention of the graffiti-stained Sports Palace in
its current, decrepit state.


16. (SBU) At the same time, the GOL can do more to seek an
amicable resolution with international stakeholders. The
Mission will remain engaged with the GOL so that it does so.
The commission's work, we think, offers the only viable way
out of the dispute. We will continue to urge the GOL
commission to identify a solution that addresses the concerns

VILNIUS 00000584 004 OF 004


of international Jewry and the Lithuanian Jewish community.
We are concerned that while the commission is on the right
track, it lacks structure and a roadmap toward the
development of recommendations. We intend to continue to
urge the commission to:

-- appoint an ad hoc group of international specialists to
attend to the technical work ahead, including subsurface
scans, boundary surveys, and other archeological work;

-- consider and research the experience of other European
neighbors who have taken on similar problems;

-- ensure that the commission's work emphasizes the
historical and spiritual importance of the site, supporting
the revival of Jewish culture in Lithuania;

-- extend the September 1 deadline for completion of the
commission's work before putting forward final
recommendations;

-- establish a work plan for the commission that assigns
responsibilities and expectations for the members; and

-- produce a written report formulating recommendations for
public disclosure.


17. (SBU) The GOL is progressing towards these targets.
Antanaviciene told us on June 20 that the GOL commission had
achieved some progress at its June 13 meeting. Antanaviciene
said that the MFA will ask Mayor Zuokas for a voluntary halt
on new construction on the Sports Palace property until the
commission presents its findings. She also said that the GOL
commission will likely expand its membership, passing
chairmanship from MFA to the Ministry of Environment, which
has authority over territorial planning. MFA will also
contact the Israeli government for assistance in identifying
experts from the international Jewish community who could
offer technical advice to the commission. She also said that
the MFA remains hesitant to include groups which have spoken
falsely about the issue and misrepresented the opinions of
the local Jewish community. She said, however, that they do
want to include, as much as possible, the varied opinions of
the international Jewish community. In the meantime, the GOL
commission is again researching all existing archival and
archeological information available for the site and will
formulate an opinion about the site's boundaries. This
commission plans to present its recommendations for resolving
the issue to the PM by September 1, but Antanaviciene said
the delays in forming a government (ref B) may delay the
final presentation.


18. (SBU) For our part, this Mission will also continue to
respond to the inquiries of U.S. and international Jewish
organizations. We will encourage them to play a constructive
role in the work of the commission, and reiterate our advice
that they seek legal counsel in Lithuania.
TKELLY