ICTY/CROATIA: IMPROVING GOC COOPERATION, RAJIC CASE MOVING AHEAD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 001037 SIPDIS STATE FOR S/WCI, EUR/SCE, INL/AAE, AND EUR/ACE THE HAGUE FOR JOHNSON/KAYE/WHEATON E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2013 TAGS: KAWC KJUS PREL KJUS PREL UNSC ICTY SUBJECT: ICTY/CROATIA: IMPROVING GOC COOPERATION, RAJIC CASE MOVING AHEAD REF: A. ZAGREB 925 ¶B. ZAGREB 761 CLASSIFIED BY: POLOFF ROBERT SILBERSTEIN, REASON 1.5 (B) AND (D) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) ICTY ZAGREB RESREP THOMAS OSORIO TOLD US MAY 5 THAT THE GOC HAS IMPROVED COOPERATION IN THE MONTH FOLLOWING THE VISIT OF OTP CHIEF PROSECUTOR DEL PONTE TO ZAGREB. THE GOC LARGELY HAS FULFILLED OUTSTANDING DOCUMENT REQUESTS AND APPEARED SOMEWHAT MORE PROACTIVE IN THE GOTOVINA CASE -- IT IS SET TO ISSUE A REWARD FOR HIS ARREST ON MAY 10. THE IVICA RAJIC TRANSFER TO ICTY CUSTODY APPEARED TO BE MOVING AHEAD AS WELL AS THE GOC INVESTIGATION AGAINST THOSE THAT SHELTERED AND SUPPORTED HIM AND OTHER CROATIAN PIFWCS. THE ONLY BLACK CLOUD FOR OSORIO WAS DEL PONTE'S POOR HANDLING OF A ZAGREB DIPLOMATIC CORPS REQUEST FOR AN "ICTY ISSUES CHECKLIST." DESPITE OSORIO'S WARNINGS, DEL PONTE CIRCULATED A POORLY-CRAFTED DOCUMENT THAT -- IF LEAKED -- COULD CLOUD GOC-ICTY RELATIONS. END SUMMARY IMPROVED COOPERATION -------------- ¶2. (C) ON MAY 5, ICTY ZAGREB RESREP THOMAS OSORIO TOLD US THAT THE GOC -- FOR NOW -- HAS BEEN LIVING UP TO THE CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 01037 01 OF 02 091539Z COMMITMENTS PM RACAN MADE WHEN OTP CHIEF PROSECUTOR DEL PONTE VISITED ZAGREB A MONTH EARLIER (REF B): -- THE OTP RECEIVED THE BULK OF THE RAW CENSUS DATA IT REQUESTED. WHILE SOME DATA ARE MISSING, OSORIO -- AT THIS POINT -- CONSIDERS THIS TO BE A TECHNICAL OVERSIGHT ON THE PART OF THE GOC CENSUS BUREAU AND NOT A GOC ATTEMPT TO OBFUSCATE. -- THE OTP IS WORKING WITH STATE PROSECUTOR BAJIC TO DEVELOP THE EXACT LANGUAGE THAT HE WOULD USE TO OBTAIN CROATIAN COURT PERMISSION TO ACCESS PRIVREDNA BANKA RECORDS RELATED TO GOC FINANCING OF THE WAR IN BOSNIA. -- THE OTP RECEIVED OVER 1100 PAGES OF PERSONAL DOCUMENTS OF THE FORMER GOC MINISTER OF DEFENSE GOJKO SUSAK, A KEY OTP DOCUMENT REQUEST. OTP INVESTIGATORS ARE CLOSELY ANALYZING THE FILES, WHICH COULD HAVE BEARING ON A WIDE RANGE OF ICTY CASES, INCLUDING THE BLASKIC APPEAL. -- THE OTP ALSO WAS GIVEN ACCESS TO THE MILITARY ARCHIVES OF THE SEVEN CROATIAN ARMY BRIGADES THAT OPERATED IN BOSNIA FROM 1992 TO 1994. GOTOVINA -------------- ¶3. (C) OSORIO SAID THAT, IN EARLY MAY, THE HEAD OF THE GOC OFFICE FOR COOPERATION WITH ICTY REASSURED HIM THAT THE GOC DECISION TO ISSUE A REWARD FOR ICTY FUGITIVE ANTE GOTOVINA WAS IRONCLAD. IN A MEETING WITH US ON MAY 8, DIRECTOR CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 01037 01 OF 02 091539Z GENERAL OF POLICE RANKO OSTOJIC CONFIRMED THAT THE GOC WOULD ISSUE THE GOTOVINA REWARD ON MAY 10 IN THE AMOUNT OF 350,000 KUNA (USD 55,000). THAT AMOUNT, SAID OSTOJIC, IS AT LEAST SEVEN TIMES HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER REWARD ISSUED IN CROATIAN HISTORY. OSTOJIC ALSO TOLD US THAT POLICE IN THE ZADAR AREA -- CENTRAL DALMATIA -- HAVE BEEN GIVEN SPECIFIC ORDERS TO TAIL AND SURVEIL GOTOVINA FAMILY MEMBERS AND KNOWN SYMPATHIZERS. IVICA RAJIC -------------- ¶4. (C) ON APRIL 30, THE ZAGREB COUNTY COURT RULED THAT THE ICTY HAS JURISDICTION OVER IVICA RAJIC AND APPROVED HIS TRANSFER TO THE HAGUE. RAJIC'S LAWYERS APPEALED THE DECISION TO THE CROATIAN SUPREME COURT, BUT LEGAL EXPERTS TOLD US THE APPEAL HAS NO CHANCE OF PROSPERING. RAJIC SHOULD BE IN ICTY CUSTODY NO LATER THAN THE END OF MAY. ¶5. (C) OSORIO TOLD US THAT DEL PONTE, DURING HER MEETING WITH PM RACAN, MADE IT CLEAR THAT SHE WANTS ALL INFORMATION THAT THE GOC DEVELOPS ON HOW RAJIC LIVED FREELY (UNDER ALIAS) IN CROATIA FOR SEVEN YEARS AFTER HIS OTP INDICTMENT. RACAN REPORTEDLY PROMISED HER THAT A "FULL REPORT WOULD BE CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PTQ4223 PAGE 01 ZAGREB 01037 02 OF 02 091539Z ACTION SWCI-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AF-00 AID-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 INL-00 DODE-00 DOEE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EAP-00 EUR-00 FBIE-00 VC-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 DHS-00 CAEX-00 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SCT-00 SP-00 SSO-00 SS-00 TRSE-00 T-00 USIE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-01 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 /005W -------------- 62A3DF 091540Z /38 P 091526Z MAY 03 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0156 INFO AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PRIORITY AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO PRIORITY AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 ZAGREB 001037 SIPDIS STATE FOR S/WCI, EUR/SCE, INL/AAE, AND EUR/ACE THE HAGUE FOR JOHNSON/KAYE/WHEATON E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2013 TAGS: KAWC KJUS PREL KJUS PREL UNSC ICTY CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 01037 02 OF 02 091539Z SUBJECT: ICTY/CROATIA: IMPROVING GOC COOPERATION, RAJIC CASE MOVING AHEAD FORTHCOMING." ¶6. (C) OSTOJIC AND BAJIC TOLD US THAT THE GOC STILL IS PIECING TOGETHER THE COMPLEX NETWORK ESTABLISHED BY THE FORMER HDZ GOVERNMENT THAT PROTECTED IVICA RAJIC AND OTHER ICTY PIFWCS. THEY PLAN TO INDICT ALL THOSE INVOLVED IN THE ILLEGAL "OPERATION HAAG," CODE NAME FOR PROGRAM THAT SHELTERED PIFWCS AND RAN INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS AGAINST ICTY, SFOR, AND OTHERS (REF A). ¶7. (C) OSTOJIC TOLD US THAT THE EFFORT TO PROTECT RAJIC WAS MASTERFUL: WHEN HIS SPECIAL POLICE UNIT BEGAN ITS INVESTIGATION IN MID-2002, THERE WAS NO RECORD IN THE GOC TO INDICATE THAT AN IVICA RAJIC OFFICIALLY EVER EXISTED IN CROATIA. CRITICALLY, ALL COPIES OF RAJIC'S FINGERPRINT FILES HAD BEEN DESTROYED. OSTOJIC SAID THAT THE POLICE WERE ABLE TO GET A COPY OF RAJIC'S FINGERPRINTS FROM BIH GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES WITHOUT TIPPING THEIR HAND TO THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION. WITHOUT THOSE PRINTS, THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY CONCLUSIVELY THE PIFWC, WHO, WHEN ARRESTED, WAS LIVING IN A SUBURB OF SPLIT UNDER THE NAME OF JAKOV KOVAC. CDP "NON PAPER:" GOOD IDEA, POOR EXECUTION -------------- ¶8. (C) OSORIO SAID THAT DEL PONTE'S POOR HANDLING OF A REQUEST FROM THE ZAGREB DIPLOMATIC CORPS FOR A "COOPERATION CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 01037 02 OF 02 091539Z CHECK LIST" MARRED WHAT OTHERWISE HAS BEEN A GOOD MONTH FOR GOC-ICTY COOPERATION. (DURING HER VISIT TO ZAGREB, IC REPS REQUESTED THAT THE OTP GENERATE AN "ISSUES CHECK LIST" THAT THEY COULD USE WHEN ENGAGING THE GOC ON COOPERATION WITH ICTY (REF B)). ON APRIL 24 OSORIO GAVE US AN ADVANCE COPY OF AN OTP "NON-PAPER," SAYING THAT THIS WAS WHAT DEL PONTE PROPOSED DISTRIBUTING TO THE IC (DOCUMENT POUCHED TO S/WCI AND EUR/SCE). ¶9. (C) WE TOLD OSORIO THAT WHILE THE IDEA OF A BASIC CHECKLIST HAD MERIT, THE OTP "NON-PAPER" WAS FAR TOO LONG, DENSE AND "PREACHY." WE SUGGESTED TO OSORIO THAT THE OTP'S SUBMISSION SHOULD BE SHORTER AND STRICTLY FACTUAL, OUTLINING AREAS OF NON-COOPERATION AND WHAT THE GOC MUST DO TO MEET OTP REQUESTS. ¶10. (C) OSORIO SAID HE SHARED OUR VIEW (AS DID THE LOCAL OSCE MISSION, WHICH ALSO WAS GIVEN AN ADVANCE COPY OF THE "NON-PAPER"),AND HELD OFF ON DELIVERING THE DOCUMENT TO THE LOCAL EU TROIKA, DESPITE EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS FROM DEL PONTE. HE TOLD US THAT ON APRIL 29 HE CALLED DEL PONTE TO EXPRESS HIS RESERVATIONS. HE SAID THAT SHE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE DOCUMENT WAS FLAWED, BUT ORDERED HIM TO GIVE IT TO THE ZAGREB EU TROIKA AND THE U.S. EMBASSY ANYWAY; SHE PERSONALLY HAD GIVEN THE DOCUMENT TO SOLANA, PATTEN AND PRODI THE PREVIOUS DAY DURING A VISIT TO BRUSSELS. SHE TOLD OSORIO "WE'LL GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME." OSORIO SAID THAT HE WAS CONVINCED THAT THE GOC WOULD GET ITS HANDS ON THE DOCUMENT, WHICH IT WOULD LEAK TO THE PRESS -- AT A TIME OF ITS CHOOSING -- TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE OTP IS NOT SINCERE IN ITS EFFORTS TO BUILD A WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GOC CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 01037 02 OF 02 091539Z MOON CONFIDENTIAL >