VZCZCXRO1674
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBW RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPG #0289 1331147
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121147Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0310
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS PRAGUE 000289
SIPDIS
EUR/NCE FOR ATRATENSEK, DRL/SEA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL EZ EUN
SUBJECT: EMBASSY PRAGUE - OUTREACH TO HUMAN RIGHTS
ACTIVISTS AND DISSIDENTS
REF: A. STATE 44903
B. PRAGUE 277
C. EUR PD WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS 3.7.08
D. PRAGUE 126
E. EUR PD WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS 12.27.07
F. 07 PRAGUE 1212
G. 07 PRAGUE 1060
1. The Czech Republic is rightly proud of its record as a
country actively engaged in promoting democracy and human
rights, particularly in oppressed societies such as Cuba,
Belarus, Burma and countries in the Middle East, which
greatly facilitates Embassy Prague's collaborative engagement
regarding our shared values. Since Embassy Prague's last
comprehensive update (Ref. G), the Embassy has continued to
support the promotion of human rights through steady
engagement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as
the particularly vibrant Czech NGO community.
2. Notably, the Embassy collaborated with the NGO People in
Need earlier this spring to host a reception in honor of
dissidents from Burma, Cuba, Belarus, Iran, Russia and
Turkmenistan (Ref. C). These dissidents were in Prague at
the invitation of PIN, which hosted a "One World"
International Film Festival with discussions at the festival
facilitated by these dissidents on human rights. As well,
the Ambassador presented the annual Alice Garrigue Masaryk
award on UN Human Rights Day, which was offered this year to
the hard-hitting weekly Czech magazine Respekt for its
exceptional contributions to the advancement of human rights
(Ref. E). These Ambassadorial events in the last few months
are in addition to the steady engagement of the Embassy's
political-economic section as well as public affairs, both of
which meet frequently with NGOs working to advance human
rights in third countries as well as the relevant Czech MFA
officials, particularly within the Department of Human Rights
and Transition Policy.
Graber