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PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
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DE RUEHVB #1028 3251601
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211601Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8355
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS ZAGREB 001028
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
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FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD, EUR/RPM AND EUR/ERA
OSD FOR WINTERNITZ
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR
SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - NOVEMBER 21, 2007
(U) Sensitive but unclassified; protect accordingly.
1. (U) In order to ensure broader distribution to potential
readers, Embassy Zagreb is changing the format of its
previous email Activity Reports to a weekly cable wrap-up of
events at Post in Croatia. Today's cable is the first
edition.
2. (U) President Mesic Urges Belgrade to Stop Fomenting
Instability in Kosovo and BiH:
As part of his efforts to promote regional stability,
President Mesic on September 20 called publicly on Belgrade
to encourage ethnic Serbs in both Kosovo and BiH to
participate in local institutions and elections to create
their own futures in democratic, multi-ethnic states. He
pointed to the Ahtisaari Plan as a good foundation for
reaching agreement on Kosovo and said Belgrade's
anti-European rhetoric is a disservice to ethnic Serbs there.
Regarding BiH, he called on the Government of Serbia to
adopt a position toward Bosnian Serbs similar to the GoC's
stance toward Bosnian Croats. "Our messages to Bosnian
Croats have been clear," he said. "Your home is Bosnia and
Herzegovina, your capital is Sarajevo, and you must create
your policies there." (TSelinger)
3. (SBU) Croatian Officials Concerned About Effect of
Regional Developments on Economy:
In conversations with ECONOFF and visiting Treasury desk
officer, GOC officials at both the Central Bank and the
Ministry of Finance expressed their concern about the
potential negative effects of regional instability on the
Croatian economy. First on their minds was the situation in
Kosovo and the prospect of violence there. Croatia is highly
dependent on tourism (20% of GDP) and the country,s last
recession coincided with the Kosovo war. Even though Croatia
does not border Kosovo, the fear is that unrest could again
fuel perceptions that the whole of the ex-Yugoslavia is
unstable, causing foreign tourists to cancel or defer
bookings in Croatia. Croatian officials also described
Bosnia and Serbia as causes for concern, as both represent
important and growing trading partners for Croatia. Serbia
is also an important destination for Croatian investment.
(NBerliner)
4. (U) USEU Visit Sends Transatlantic Cooperation Message:
USEU's Jim McAnulty visited Zagreb November 15-18 to speak
about US-EU cooperation in battling crime and terrorism at a
veterans' conference on European security. McAnulty also
spoke to a leading newsmagazine and students active in the
NATO membership debate in Croatia. McAnulty's appearances
sent a clear message that the USG's strong relationship with
the EU is an increasingly important factor in trans-Atlantic
security, and that Croatia's NATO and EU aspirations are
complementary efforts to increase Croatia's own role in
promoting international security. (TSelinger)
5. (U) USAID Trains Vukovar Judges:
On November 14-15, USAID Zagreb conducted mediation and
conciliation training for judges from the Vukovar area. The
training supports the ongoing efforts of Vukovar County Court
president Ante Zeljko to expand local judges' perspectives on
social, economic and political issues through regular public
speeches and discussions at the Vukovar County Court Judicial
Club. Such judicial dynamism needs support in Vukovar, where
the economic consequences of the war and the social tensions
between the returned Croatian majority and large Serbian
minoity linger on. The training was led by a Boston-area
mediator who has conducted past trainings for Croatia's
commercial and municipal court judges both in the U.S. and in
Croatia. (AJuric)
6. (U) Croatian Police Embed with US Marshals:
US Marshals in Chicago recently hosted members of the
Croatian police's future Fugitive Task Force Unit for an
initial training session. Through Post's ICITAP program, the
future unit head and his deputy embedded with the Chicago
Fugitive Task Force to learn about management, operations,
investigations, and to observe active operations. Croatia's
task force is being established based on the US Marshal
model; in the coming months US Marshals will return to
Croatia to assist the police in making their unit
operational. Based on prior training with the Marshals and
support from Post, Croatian police successfully tested the
task force model to apprehend a high-profile narcotics
fugitive earlier in the year. (KSelinger)
BRADTKE