INTERNATIONAL TRACING SERVICE: POLAND SUPPORTS

UNCLAS WARSAW 000819

SIPDIS

EUR/NCE FOR VERNELLE TRIM AND EUR/OHI JOHN BECKER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC KNAR PREL PL MFA
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL TRACING SERVICE: POLAND SUPPORTS
OPENING BAD AROLSEN ARCHIVES

REF: STATE 48290


1. As requested reftel, Poloff delivered demarche request to
the Polish MFA on April 27. Poland's representative to the
upcoming meetings in Luxembourg will be the MFA's Witold
Spirydowicz. Given the movement of the Germans on the issue
of access to the Bad Arolsen archives, we proceeded with the
meeting with Spirydowicz, to learn if the Poles had changed
their position as well.


2. Spirydowicz claimed that Poland will now support the
U.S.-German compromise to provide historians access to the
Bad Arolsen archives. He told Poloff that Poland will
support the proposed amendments to the two governing
treaties, and anticipated no difficulties at the upcoming
Luxembourg meetings. Spirydowicz said that now that the
United States and Israel had agreed to a minimal standard of
protecting private data (albeit lower than the European
Union's standard),Poland would agree with Germany that
access to the records should be granted broadly. As to
timing he said that it may take several months to draw up the
rules governing such access, but they could be in place by
the end of the year. Spirydowicz said the only possible
glitch to the new arrangement would be whether any of the
responsible states would require parliamentary approval for
the changes to the treaties governing Bad Arolsen. With
respect to Poland, he did not anticipate any problem with the
Sejm.


3. With respect to reftel's separate language about
Spirydowicz's lack of cooperation in the past, post will
double track the demarche with other senior MFA officials.
HILLAS