DEFENDING ODIHR ELECTION MONITORING

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 000341

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM BE BY PL OSCE
SUBJECT: DEFENDING ODIHR ELECTION MONITORING

REF: STATE 30975

Classified By: Political Counselor Mary Curtin, reasons 1.4b,d


1. (C) Polish MFA Deputy Director for Security Policy (OSCE
Affairs) Marek Ziolkowski assured us February 28 that the
Polish government shares our concerns about Belgian FM (and
OSCE Chairman-in-Office) De Gucht's proposal to send his own
representatives to observe the elections monitoring process
in Belarus. Ziolkowski indicated that the Polish government
will make clear to the Belgians that extraordinary monitoring
of ODIHR is unwarranted and potentially harmful, noting that
he could testify personally to the OSCE's exceptional record
in Ukraine, where he served as Polish ambassador during the
Orange Revolution. Such attacks on ODIHR, he maintained, are
purely politically motivated and have no basis in fact.
Ziolkowski pledged that he would press this issue during his
consultations with EU officials in Brussels later in the week.


2. (C) Additionally, Ziolkowski suggested that the Belgians
and others in Western Europe should be reminded that Russia
and other "eastern" OSCE critics do not represent the views
of even the entire CIS. He proposed, for example, that the
Ukrainians and Georgians be encouraged to abandon their
traditional silence and raise their voices in defense of the
OSCE.
ASHE