THE EXTREMISM PARADOX

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRATISLAVA 000368 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CE J. MOORE; DRL FOR S. CORKE E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/21/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL LO SUBJECT: THE EXTREMISM PARADOX REF: 08 BRATISLAVA 524, 08 BRATISLAVA 567, 08 BRATISLAVA 580, 09 BRATISLAVA 353. 09 BRATISLAVA 182 BRATISLAVA 00000368 001.2 OF 003 CLASSIFIED BY: Susan M. Ball, A/DCM. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Extremism is on the rise in Slovakia, and the Government's ability and willingness to combat it, despite a newly-passed extremism amendment to the Penal code, remains an open question. While the amendment supposedly strengthens the government's hand, many experts believe it is a superficial measure crafted mainly to demonstrate that Slovakia is better able to deal with the problem than Hungary. The high-profile blunders (or worse) in the cases of Daniel Tupy, Hedviga Malinova (reftel a),and Slovenska Pospolitost raise disturbing questions. We are also concerned by the fact that the GOS repeatedly tries to place the blame for the growing problem elsewhere, as DPM Caplovic did recently, pointing to Hungary. End Summary. Stronger Hand ¶2. (C) The Slovak parliament passed an amendment to the penal code which toughens penalties for extremism in April 2009. President Gasparovic vetoed the bill in May, saying that the definition of extremism is ambiguous and inaccurate. Human Rights NGOs agreed with Gasparovic, although they noted his opposition to the bill was likely motivated by a desire to protect his nationalist friends (several Slovak National Party (SNS) MPs opposed the bill) rather than human rights concerns (reftel b). In June, the Parliament was able to override the presidential veto, and the amendment will enter into force on September 1 without President Gasparovic's signature. Incompetence? Daniel Tupy Case ¶3. (SBU) Daniel Tupy, a Comenius University student, was murdered in November 2005 in Bratislava. Allegedly, a group of extremists attacked him because he had long hair. In June 2009, the three prime suspects in the case were released because the Bratislava District Court determined there was insufficient evidence against them. The suspects allegedly have strong ties to the Bratislava mafia, and after their release gave multiple triumphant interviews to the press. The prosecution's "crown witness," who is currently in the witness protection program, reversed his statement against the accused at the last minute. In response to the Court's decision, Interior Minister Kalinak said that "the murder has been clarified. The current task is to prove the guilt of the offenders." Kalinak also publicly stated that the investigation has advanced, and that the police have new information which will be used in an appeal. Kalinak assured the public that the police are able to ensure the protection of witnesses, and appealed to those who were in fear to come forward. According to a recent poll conducted by the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO),over two-thirds of the Slovak public is worried about the developments in this case. Unwillingness? Hedviga Malinova Case ¶4. (C) The perjury case against Hedviga Malinova (reftel c),the ethnic Hungarian student allegedly attacked by skinheads in August 2006 in Nitra, remains pending. The Prosecutor General, Dobroslav Trnka, ordered an analysis of Malinova's complete medical file over a year ago. Malinova's lawyer, Roman Kvasnica, and her psychologist, Jozef Hasto, told us that the medical evidence of an assault is compelling, and contains many reports from witnesses on the day of the attack which support Malinova's story, as well as a few questionable reports from "witnesses" that came forward months later. ¶5. (C) Although the final medical opinion has still not been completed, Peter Labas, the dean of the medical faculty at Comenius University, told the press on July 15, "It is possible that no one but me will sign the expert opinion," implying that the rest medical team is at odds with the final report. Labas also stated that doctors at the Nitra hospital had been pressured by the now-deceased director to support Malinova's claims. The doctors have denied any pressure and stand by their assessment. In a meeting on August 16, Trnka told us (again) that the case with be "terminated in a fair and proper way" despite the fact that the media have "exerted such pressure that the doctors are scared." Trnka went on to say that while the BRATISLAVA 00000368 002.2 OF 003 media portray Malinova as the victim of a hate crime, she now enjoys a nice normal life. Trnka also claimed erroneously that the case would have been solved sooner if we had provided American technical assistance in the form of satellite coverage of the alleged attack. Malinova supporters continue to believe that PM Fico's and Interior Minister Kalinak's public statements condemning her as a liar in September 2006, just weeks after the attack, are the primary impediment to justice, as the government is unwilling to admit its misstatements. Competition? Slovenska Pospolitost ¶6. (C) The Ministry of Interior disbanded the far-right organization Slovenska Pospolitost (Slovak Fellowship) on November 12, 2008, in an abbreviated procedure, just days before PM Fico met with Hungarian counterpart then-PM Gyurcsany on November 17 (reftel b). On July 1, the Slovak Supreme Court ruled that the Interior Ministry's decision was unlawful, and that the legal conditions for disbanding the organization had not been met. On August 8, Slovenska Pospolitost held a anti-Roma rally in the Eastern Slovak town of Sarisske Michalany (reftel d) and has continued to campaign against "gypsy terror" ever since. On August 13, Minister of Interior Kalinak told us that he himself made the decision to disband the organization, and that he had not consulted with the bureaucracy. Kalinak also said that he would immediately deploy police to 200 of the most worrisome Roma settlements throughout Slovakia to diffuse tensions in the wake of Slovenska Pospolitost's most recent activities, and that the Ministry will again try to ban Pospolitost within the legal framework. ¶7. (SBU) The head of Slovenska Pospolitost, Marian Kotleba, has criticized PM Fico for "spending millions of euros on the Roma, but not requiring them to respect the law in return." Kotleba also criticized SNS Chairman Slota's "failure to sufficiently protect the Slovak nation" and on August 20, announced the formation of a nationalist political party called "New Slovakia." Political analyst Miroslav Kusy predicts that if the newly created party begins to draw voters away from the more mainstream parties, those parties will then radicalize to keep their voters. "Extremism is an Import from Neighbors" ¶8. (C) As he told our Charge a few months earlier (reftel e), Deputy Prime Minister Caplovic has repeatedly been quoted in the press saying "this extremist activity is prepared and imported from abroad." While there were a few Czech and Hungarian participants in the August 8 Sarisske Michalany rally, Slovenska Pospolitost is undoubtedly a Slovak organization. Furthermore, an anti-Roma cause entitled "I do not want 200 million Euro going to the Roma" on Facebook has over 40,000 members, and is bringing together moderate and extremist Slovaks alike. Ironically, in a joint statement from PM Fico, President Gasparovic, and Speaker of Parliament Paska, the top constitutional leaders of Slovakia abdicate any responsibility for potential extremist action or agitation during the controversial "private" visit of Hungarian President Solyom to Slovakia August 21. (Solyom is visiting the town of Komarno for the unveiling of a statue of King Stephen I; the date coincides with the anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, in which Hungarian forces took part.) Comment ¶9. (C) Thankfully, we have not seen the tragic uptick in ethnically motivated violence that has occurred elsewhere in the region, but we have noticed an increased tolerance for and prevalence of extremist rhetoric of late. We believe the setbacks in the Tupy and Malinova cases are emblematic of the government's lack of political will and capacity to combat extremism, and are disturbed that the shoddy disbanding of Slovenska Pospolitost last November, and subsequent overruling of that decision by the Supreme Court this summer, have further emboldened its operation. It will be telling to see how the broadly-formulated extremism provisions of the new penal code amendment are applied after September 1, given the heightened BRATISLAVA 00000368 003.2 OF 003 anti-Roma sentiment we have witnessed from ordinary Slovaks over the past months. As SME editorialist Peter Morvay commented, "there is a fundamental difference between those announcing a campaign against extremists because they consider their ideas and goals absolutely unacceptable and those who have a problem with extremists primarily because they view them as competitors promoting the opinions and goals similar to their own." Unfortunately, we view the latter to be the case with at least some in the current government. End Comment. KEDDINS