Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BRATISLAVA595
2007-11-02 16:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bratislava
Cable title:
SLOVAK MFA EXPRESSES DISPLEASURE WITH CUBA OVER
how-toVZCZCXRO6716 RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHSL #0595 3061611 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 021611Z NOV 07 FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1301 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0027
C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000595
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2012
TAGS: PHUM PREL CU LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK MFA EXPRESSES DISPLEASURE WITH CUBA OVER
ELECTION OBSERVER DEPORTATION
REF: HAVANA 01001
Classified By: Ambassador Rodolphe M. Vallee for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).
C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000595
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2012
TAGS: PHUM PREL CU LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK MFA EXPRESSES DISPLEASURE WITH CUBA OVER
ELECTION OBSERVER DEPORTATION
REF: HAVANA 01001
Classified By: Ambassador Rodolphe M. Vallee for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).
1. (C) On October 29, Ambassador Roman Buzek, Director
General for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, called in the Cuban Ambassador to Slovakia to
express displeasure with the Cuban government's actions in
detaining and deporting Slovak election observer Peter
Novotny on October 22 (see reftel). According to the Slovak
desk officer for Latin AMERICA who was in the meeting, Buzek
emphasized two points: 1) the Cuban government did not allow
Novotny to contact the Slovak embassy, and 2) the Cuban
government did not contact the Slovak embassy until several
hours after he had been deported. The Cuban ambassador did
not directly respond to Buzek's concerns, and consistently
pushed the line that Novotny had broken Cuban law by meeting
with dissidents while on a tourist visa. Buzek did not take
a position on whether or not Novotny had broken Cuban law.
2. (C) Poloff met with Novotny on October 24, the day after
he returned from Cuba. He was in good spirits and said that
he was unsurprised that he had been deported since Cuban
police had clearly been tailing him since his arrival.
Novotny was upset that Cuban police had taken his cell phone
and never returned it, but said that Cuban police were
otherwise cordial and that he had suffered no physical or
significant verbal mistreatment. Since Novotny does not
speak Spanish, he was interrogated for only about 45 minutes
while his Spanish-speaking Czech colleague was questioned for
much longer. After deporting Novotny, Cuban police sent his
luggage on a flight the following day, which Novotny was able
to find in Charles de Gaulle airport, intact.
VALLEE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2012
TAGS: PHUM PREL CU LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK MFA EXPRESSES DISPLEASURE WITH CUBA OVER
ELECTION OBSERVER DEPORTATION
REF: HAVANA 01001
Classified By: Ambassador Rodolphe M. Vallee for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).
1. (C) On October 29, Ambassador Roman Buzek, Director
General for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, called in the Cuban Ambassador to Slovakia to
express displeasure with the Cuban government's actions in
detaining and deporting Slovak election observer Peter
Novotny on October 22 (see reftel). According to the Slovak
desk officer for Latin AMERICA who was in the meeting, Buzek
emphasized two points: 1) the Cuban government did not allow
Novotny to contact the Slovak embassy, and 2) the Cuban
government did not contact the Slovak embassy until several
hours after he had been deported. The Cuban ambassador did
not directly respond to Buzek's concerns, and consistently
pushed the line that Novotny had broken Cuban law by meeting
with dissidents while on a tourist visa. Buzek did not take
a position on whether or not Novotny had broken Cuban law.
2. (C) Poloff met with Novotny on October 24, the day after
he returned from Cuba. He was in good spirits and said that
he was unsurprised that he had been deported since Cuban
police had clearly been tailing him since his arrival.
Novotny was upset that Cuban police had taken his cell phone
and never returned it, but said that Cuban police were
otherwise cordial and that he had suffered no physical or
significant verbal mistreatment. Since Novotny does not
speak Spanish, he was interrogated for only about 45 minutes
while his Spanish-speaking Czech colleague was questioned for
much longer. After deporting Novotny, Cuban police sent his
luggage on a flight the following day, which Novotny was able
to find in Charles de Gaulle airport, intact.
VALLEE