Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10BRATISLAVA7
2010-01-08 16:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bratislava
Cable title:  

EXPLOSIVES BLUNDER REVERBERATES; FACTS REMAINS MURKY

Tags:  PREL PGOV EAIR EI LO 
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VZCZCXRO3593
PP RUEHSL
DE RUEHSL #0007/01 0081606
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 081606Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0330
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHSL/AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA 0389
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000007 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/8/2020
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAIR EI LO
SUBJECT: EXPLOSIVES BLUNDER REVERBERATES; FACTS REMAINS MURKY

CLASSIFIED BY: Susan Ball, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000007

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/8/2020
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAIR EI LO
SUBJECT: EXPLOSIVES BLUNDER REVERBERATES; FACTS REMAINS MURKY

CLASSIFIED BY: Susan Ball, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (U) Summary. As much of the world now knows, a January
2 airport security exercise in Poprad, Slovakia, went terribly
awry. Slovak police had placed a 100-gram sample of RDX
explosives in the bag of a Slovak citizen traveling to his
residence in Dublin to test detection capabilities. Apparently
the explosives made their way into the aircraft undetected, and
while answers to questions of who knew what, when, are still in
dispute, what followed next -- the cordoning off of the man's
neighborhood and his brief arrest on terrorism charges, the
retrieval of the explosive material a full three days after it
entered Ireland, the very public anger of the Irish Government
and political opposition and calls for Interior Minister
Kalinak's resignation -- is not in doubt. The longer-term
effects of the episode on the Fico Government's credibility
inside and outside of Slovakia, as well as on Kalinak's career,
is harder to ascertain. End Summary.



What We Know




2. (U) We became aware of the incident early on January 6
through the BBC website, after which the story was picked up by
local electronic media. The bulk of what we believe we know is
summarized above. In addition, the Interior Minister has
accepted the resignation of the head of the Alien and Border
Police, Tibor Mako. The unnamed police officer who placed the
explosives in the bag will be subject to disciplinary
proceedings. In Kalinak's fiery January 7 press conference, his
first public comments on the matter ( a full five days after the
incident occurred),he attributed the incident to a `stupid,
human, mistake.' During the intervening days, according to his
spokesman, Kalinak suspended the practice that led to the event.
Key opposition leaders are calling for Kalinak's resignation.
SDKU MP Lucia Zitnanska (Kalinak's former law professor) stated
on January 8 that Kalinak has proven that "he hasn't the most
elementary idea about political culture, nor is he capable of
managing his ministry."



What We Don't Know




3. (C) Pending a requested meeting with the Irish
Ambassador, our information comes from the press and the
government's limited, and sometimes conflicting, statements.
Among key points that remain unclear: When did the Slovaks
first notify Irish authorities? When did the Minister Kalinak
learn of the incident? How long have Slovak policed engaged in
this practice? Kalinak says such tests have been carried out
for years, i.e., also under the previous government. Michal
Borgula, who served as deputy Chief of the Border Police from
1999-2003, and then Chief from 2004-7, denies this. Press
accounts differ as to how Irish law enforcement will follow up
in the case, with some outlets reporting that a police team will
visit Slovakia. Finally, and perhaps most important: according
to Slovak law, was the police action involving an unwitting
civilian a violation of Slovak law? Ivan Bacik (please
protect) currently serving in the MOI's Office of International
Police Cooperation, told Emboff that this act was patently
illegal, and that, to his knowledge, it had not taken place
under the current government. A respected Slovak criminal
lawyer, Lucia Kurilovska, also has stated publicly that the act
was not only illegal, but likely criminal. No Slovak official,
including Kalinak, has been able to specify under which law the
actions could have been permitted.



The Government's Response




4. (U) In an uncharacteristically (for Robert Kalinak)
angry and accusatory press conference on January 7, Kalinak
added little to the known facts about the incident. He
studiously avoided reference to the RDX as an explosive, but
called it instead a `pyrotechnic sample.' Kalinak's description
is misleading at best: RDX is a Class A military high explosive.
Curiously, he also stated that the material had been placed
`among' -- not `in' -- the baggage. Kalinak spent the bulk of
the time lashing out against critics in the opposition and his
predecessors at the ministry for their election year "lies" and
efforts to smear the entire police force for the "simple human
error" of one individual. Kalinak claimed that the practice of
testing airport security by placing explosives material in the
bags of unwitting passengers had gone on since 1989. Thus, if
it was an illegal act, then police under his predecessors had
also acted illegally. When a reporter challenged Kalinak,

BRATISLAVA 00000007 002 OF 002


stating that she had information that the practice of placing
test explosives in the baggage of unwitting passengers had, in
fact, begun in 2007, he replied that he had different
information, and that all would be made clear in full report.
In response to a comment by a Czech law enforcement official
that no such thing could happen in the Czech Republic, now
deposed Border Police Chief Mako responded tartly: `They lie.'




5. (C) Minister Kalinak then met his critics head on with
a defense of some of the most notorious police failures of his
tenure. In an extended rant, Kalinak defended controversial
actions -- or inactions -- by MOI on the Hedviga Malinova case,
the dawn raid at the Franciscan monastery, and the failure to
gain a conviction in the 2005 murder of student Daniel Tupy.
Comment: Kalinak's statements contained elements of truth, but
what he didn't acknowledge about the unethical and
unprofessional handling by him and/or his subordinates of each
of these cases -- and there are several more which merit mention
-- is much more significant. End Comment. For their part, PM
Fico and President Gasparovic have maintained public silence on
the incident. A statement by the MFA spokesman indicated merely
that FM Lajcak has spoken to his Irish counterpart about the
matter.



Slovaks Incredulous at Media Coverage


6. (U) Perhaps the single most common feature of both
discussion among Slovaks and all media coverage is how this
story is playing around the world. Today's Sme features
headlines from BBC, CCN, Le Monde, WJS, Al-Jazeera, etc. Google
searches on the story yield over 1,000 articles and over 5,000
Twitters. That anything that happens in Slovakia could resonate
so outside the country seems to have utterly flummoxed the
Slovaks. At the same time, true to their reputation, the
incident is being referred to as a `worldwide shame' for the
nation. The most popular blog in Slovakia, SME online, features
a running public debate on the issue with over 30,000 posts so
far.



What's Next




8. (U) We will see whether the deep embarrassment over the
incident gives way to more than relatively low level
resignations and disciplinary actions. Given the many
discrepancies in the way Irish and Slovak sources - including
official ones - describe various aspects of the events, not to
mention the charges and countercharges here in Slovakia about
the practice - we expect this scandal will not blow over
quickly. The opposition SDKU party had stated earlier this
week that while Kalinak should resign, the opposition did not
intend to launch a recall effort just months before the
elections. Following Kalinak's press conference, however, SDKU
appears to be reconsidering and, according to Zitnanska, will
decide next week.




9. (C) As is often the case, Kalinak's fate will hinge not on
any action by the opposition, but on the duration and intensity
of international (in this case, European) opprobrium and on PM
Fico's judgment of public opinion. If Kalinak's bold rejection
of responsibility backfires with the Slovak electorate, or if it
is revealed that he has misled either the public or his Irish
counterparts, it is more than possible that the heir apparent
might have to step down from his Ministerial post. That does
not mean that Kalinak would disappear from Smer's top ranks,
however. For now, the Fico government will concentrate on
getting through one of the biggest PR imbroglios that it has
ever faced.
BALL