November 2, 2004
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer
Four international election observers got less than a Chamber of Commerce welcome Monday when they visited a Bush-Cheney campaign office in Orlando.
Office personnel turned the observers away, then called police when the officials from Denmark, Finland and Belgium tried to explain why they were there, a member of the monitoring group said.
"It was like they kicked us out," said Kimmo Kiljunen, a member of the Finnish Parliament. "They said, 'We don't have anything to discuss with you.' "
Kiljunen said the encounter "was so tense, we couldn't even say what we were doing."
Kiljunen is with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, an international coalition that monitors elections, mediates conflicts and promotes the rule of law. It was invited to observe the 2004 election by the U.S. State Department. The United States has been an OSCE member since 1973.
The reception at the Bush-Cheney office on Wymore Road surprised Kiljunen, who said, overall, his experience in Florida "has been very positive." His group has been meeting with campaign officials from both camps and others involved with the election this week.
Kiljunen said his group later met with Republican officials at a different Bush-Cheney office in Orlando and that the second meeting went "very well." He said he has written off the first encounter as "a misunderstanding."
Kiljunen said he was still a little uneasy given that his team's job is to ensure a fair and open election.
"Of course, we're concerned," Kiljunen said. The initial response "was a certain type of animosity we hadn't felt earlier."
Officials with the Bush-Cheney campaign did not return calls seeking comment.
Jim Stratton can be reached at jstratton@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5379.
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