US Embassy fence must go, says Bratislava city councillor

The US Embassy in Slovakia can keep its security armoured concrete posts on Hviezdoslav Square in the centre of Bratislava, provided that it removes the fence enclosing the embassy, according to a compromise solution tabled by Bratislava city councillor Martin Borguľa. "This is a call to the embassy to seek to rent the land only on which these posts stand and to relinquish the rental of land around the embassy building," said Borguľa on Tuesday. According to the councillor, the posts are a genuine security element, as they could stop any armoured vehicle from breaching the embassy's perimeter. "Unlike the fence, which lends the embassy only some illusion of privacy. The fence, which stands 1.5 metres from the building from the side of Paulínyho Street provides zero security benefits," claimed Borguľa, who believes that the posts on the square aren't as big an eyesore as the controversial fence. On Thursday, February 16, Bratislava city council will once again deliberate on the rental of city-owned land in front of the embassy building. Earlier this month, the US Embassy failed to prove that its security fence is a legal structure, thus prompting the Old Town borough's Construction Office to initiate proceedings on ex post facto legalisation or removal of the structure. Meanwhile, the embassy told TASR in late January that it's been cooperating with the City of Bratislava and the Old Town borough in order to address the problem at hand. The embassy also declared that progress has been made in its plans to relocate from Hviezdoslav Square and that it's already found suitable alternative premises.