SNIPISKES CEMETERY UPDATE: IS THE TIDE TURNING?

C O N F I D E N T I A L VILNIUS 000614 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2017 TAGS: PREL SCUL LH SUBJECT: SNIPISKES CEMETERY UPDATE: IS THE TIDE TURNING? REF: VILNIUS 379 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Classified By: Charge Damian Leader for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. On August 27, Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas announced a reorganization of the Working Group on the former Jewish cemetery in the Snipiskes neighborhood of Vilnius so that it consists of more senior staff and has a more responsible chairman. The Working Group has until September 4 to submit recommendations to the PM about what actions the Government can or should take. We are receiving positive signals that these recommendations will include halting construction quickly. End Summary. Working Group's membership and timeline -------------- ¶2. (U) The new chair of the Working Group is FM Petras Vaitiekunas, replacing Vice Minister of Culture Gintaras Sodeika, who remains a member of the Group. The new deputy chair is MP Justinas Karosas, Chairman of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. MP Emmanuelis Zingeris is also a new member. Other new members include the Vice Minister of Justice (upgraded from the working level),the Director of the Cultural Heritage Department (upgraded from the Deputy Director),and Vilnius Vice Mayor Algirdas Paleckis (upgraded from the municipality's working level). Overall, the new members appear to have a better understanding of the international importance of this issue than their predecessors. ¶3. (U) By September 4, the Group is tasked with making, according to a press release from the PM's office, "recommendations regarding the conclusions of the experts' group and the continuation of the ongoing construction." (Note: As reported reftel, international and Lithuanian experts issued a unanimous statement on May 17 warning that current construction almost certainly falls in part within the confines of the cemetery. They called for more study and a halt of construction until that study is completed.) By December 31, the Group should submit to the PM its conclusions regarding the boundaries of the cemetery and suggestions for preservation. Motivation for re-organization -------------- ¶4. (C) The Prime Minister announced the re-organization in time for a visit by Israel's Minister for Religious Affairs Yitzhak Cohen. The visit came hard on the heels of an open letter from Rabbi Elyokim Schlesinger of the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe and a Reuters news story on the controversy. Schlesinger chastised the GOL as having been deceptive and warned that the Jewish community would "continue its campaign to stop this appalling desecration with all the means at its disposal." The Ambassador also raised the issue with the Prime Minister on August 17, reminding him that without some good news soon, the situation would continue to damage Lithuania's reputation. PM Kirkilas noted to the press that it was necessary to raise the Group to a higher level and that the former membership lacked competence. He added that he had been influenced by foreign media coverage. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) After well over a year of delays and diversions, this is the first credible indicator we have seen that the GOL may finally take concrete steps to resolve the controversy. Former chair of the Working Group, Vice Minister Sodeika, was a severe obstacle; allegedly he has ties to the developers of the site. The new chair, FM Vaitiekunas, has shown a constructive attitude on this issue to us on several occasions. Our contacts in the PM's office and the MFA believe that progress will finally be made on this issue soon. For the time being, however, we have visited the site and confirmed that construction continues. We will send an update on this situation as soon as new information is available. LEADER