VOJNIC: OFFERING EQUAL MISERY FOR ALL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ZAGREB 000376 SIPDIS USAID FOR ACONVERY, EUR/SCE FOR MNARDI E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2013 TAGS: PHUM EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV HR HRPHUM SUBJECT: VOJNIC: OFFERING EQUAL MISERY FOR ALL REF: ZAGREB 337 CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 00376 01 OF 04 200658Z CLASSIFIED BY: POLOFF MITCH BENEDICT FOR REASONS 1.5 B AND D SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) ONLY 50 MILES FROM ZAGREB, THE MUNICIPALITY OF VOJNIC STANDS AS A STARK EXAMPLE OF THE ECONOMIC REALITIES FACED BY CROATS, SERBS, AND MUSLIMS ALIKE IN CROATIA'S WAR AFFECTED REGIONS -- RURAL COMMUNITIES LONG PLAGUED BY ECONOMIC DECLINE AND OUT MIGRATION. THE EFFECTS OF THE 1991-1995 "HOMELAND" WAR, PARTICULARLY THE POPULATION SHIFTS AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY, EXACERBATED AN ALREADY DIFFICULT SITUATION IN VOJNIC. THE ARRIVAL OF NEARLY 2,000 BOSNIAN CROAT SETTLERS -- WHO BOOSTED THE CROAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION FROM ONE TO OVER 36 PERCENT -- HAS ADDED TO THE PROBLEMS. ¶2. (C) FEW ECONOMIC PROSPECTS EXIST APART FROM SMALL SCALE AGRICULTURE. THERE ARE CURRENTLY 370 WAGE PAYING JOBS IN A REGION WITH OVER 8,000 INHABITANTS, AND THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IS REPORTED TO BE NEARLY BANKRUPT. MUSLIMS ARE THE HARDEST HIT, WITH NEARLY FULL UNEMPLOYMENT. RETURN OF PROPERTY REMAINS THE BIGGEST ISSUES FOR SERBS; OVER 500 SERB-OWNED HOUSES REMAIN OCCUPIED, PRIMARILY BY BOSNIAN CROAT SETTLERS. NO EVICTIONS HAVE BEEN ENFORCED TO DATE. EVEN IF THERE WERE A COORDINATED AND COMPREHENSIVE GOVERNMENT POLICY TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUES -- AND THERE IS NONE -- IT IS DIFFICULT TO ENVISION THE REGION EVER BEING VIABLE ECONOMICALLY. BACKGROUND CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 00376 01 OF 04 200658Z -------------- ¶3. (U) THE MUNICIPALITY OF VOJNIC IS JUST 50 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ZAGREB, BUT IS ANOTHER WORLD WHEN ONE COMPARES THE LIVING STANDARDS -- ONE ALMOST FIRST WORLD, THE OTHER VERY MUCH BACKWARD. HILLY, ISOLATED, HUGGING THE BOSNIAN BORDER, VOJNIC REMINDS AN AMERICAN VISITOR QUICKLY OF THE HOLLOWS OF WEST VIRGINIA. VOJNIC WAS A PART OF THE SERB CONTROLLED KRAJINA FROM 1991-1995, AND WAS RETAKEN BY CROATIAN AUTHORITIES IN AUGUST 1995 UNDER OPERATION "STORM." ¶4. (U) THE PRE-WAR POPULATION WAS JUST OVER 8,000, DIVIDED AMONG 46 VILLAGES -- 89 PERCENT SERB, 10 PERCENT MUSLIM, AND ONLY ONE PERCENT CROAT. INHABITANTS WERE FULLY "EMPLOYED" IN THE SOCIALIST SENSE; MOST RESIDENTS WERE ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE, TIED IN WITH THE LARGE AGROKOMBINAT "AGROKOMERC" LOCATED JUST OVER THE BORDER IN WHAT IS NOW BOSNIA (AND OWNED BY FIKRET ABDIC, FORMER REGIONAL WARLORD, AND NOW A CONVICTED WAR CRIMINAL). WHAT LITTLE INDUSTRY EXISTED -- A FACTORY FOR CLAY EXPLOITATION, CERAMICS, SAWMILL, IRON AND STEEL WORKS -- WAS OUTDATED AND UNDERCAPITALIZED EVEN BEFORE THE WAR. THE ECONOMY TODAY -------------- ¶5. (C) AGRICULTURE REMAINS THE PREDOMINATE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ALTHOUGH ONLY 30 PERCENT OF ARABLE LAND IS BEING CULTIVATED COMPARED TO NEARLY 100 PERCENT IN 1990. VOJNIC'S CATTLE POPULATION IS JUST ONE-FIFTH ITS PRE-WAR LEVEL. LACK OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES HAS LIMITED THE RECONSTRUCTION OF FARM BUILDINGS, WHICH IS REQUIRED FOR PRODUCTION TO INCREASE. CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 00376 01 OF 04 200658Z INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE AND GOVERNMENT FINANCING HAS BEEN USED TO RECONSTRUCT HOUSES, BUT ONCE THE HOUSE IS HABITABLE RESIDENTS HAVE LITTLE ACCESS TO CREDIT FOR OTHER PURPOSES. FOR EXAMPLE, THE MINISTRY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND CRAFTS, LOCAL AUTHORITIES, AND UNDP, HAVE CO-FINANCED A LOAN GUARANTEE FUND THAT NOW OPERATES IN EIGHT TOWNS. BANKS ARE ENCOURAGED BY THE GUARANTEE FUND TO LEND TO INDIVIDUALS WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS. AS PART OF THE SERVICE PROVIDED, THE FUND WILL DEVELOP FEASIBILITY STUDIES AND ACT AS AN INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN THE BANKS AND THE BORROWER, PROVIDING ADVICE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. ¶6. (C) SOME CHARGE DISCRIMINATION AT THE FUND. AN EMPLOYEE OF THE FUND TOLD US THAT, WHILE IT MAKES APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED LOANS A YEAR, ONLY ONE HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR A SERB RETURNEE. THE COLLATERAL THIS APPLICANT WAS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT INCLUDED -- BUT WAS NOT LIMITED TO -- HIS HOUSE, AND A PROMISSORY NOTE IN THE AMOUNT OF APPROXIMATELY $71,000. HE HAD TO GET A PERSON EMPLOYED BY A GOVERNMENT ENTITY TO CO-SIGN THE LOAN AS A CO-GUARANTOR. THE LATER REQUIREMENT, NOT UNCOMMON FOR BANKS IN CROATIA, EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATES THE POSSIBILITY OF A RETURNEE GETTING A LOAN. WITHOUT THE LIMITED ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY -- TO BUY A COW OR PIG, REPAIR THE SHELTER, AND BUY OTHER SMALL SCALE AGRICULTURAL INPUTS -- MOST RETURNEES SAY THEY WOULD NOT HAVE COME BACK. CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9128 PAGE 01 ZAGREB 00376 02 OF 04 200658Z ACTION EUR-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AF-00 AGRE-00 AID-00 CEA-01 CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 DODE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EXIM-01 E-00 FAAE-00 FBIE-00 VC-00 FRB-00 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 ITC-01 JUSE-00 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SCT-00 SP-00 SSO-00 STR-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00 EPAE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-01 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 SWCI-00 /010W -------------- 388B91 200658Z /38 R 200656Z FEB 03 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9491 INFO AMEMBASSY BELGRADE AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO USEU BRUSSELS USMISSION USOSCE C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 04 ZAGREB 000376 SIPDIS USAID FOR ACONVERY, EUR/SCE FOR MNARDI E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2013 TAGS: PHUM EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV HR HRPHUM SUBJECT: VOJNIC: OFFERING EQUAL MISERY FOR ALL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 00376 02 OF 04 200658Z ¶6. (C) SALARIED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN VOJNIC ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. IN THE ENTIRE MUNICIPALITY, ONLY 370 RESIDENTS ARE FORMALLY EMPLOYED, WHILE AROUND 800 ARE REGISTERED AT THE UNEMPLOYMENT BUREAU. AND ACCORDING TO THE MAYOR, THE VOJNIC FORESTRY FIRM, THE MUNICIPALITY'S LARGEST EMPLOYER WITH 70 EMPLOYEES, IS FACING BANKRUPTCY. THE OTHER LEADING EMPLOYERS ARE A CERAMIC FACTORY (40 EMPLOYEES),A SAWMILL (20 EMPLOYEES),A CLOTHING ENTERPRISE (20 EMPLOYEES), AND A FACTORY FOR PLASTIC PRODUCTS (15 EMPLOYEES). MUSLIM COMMUNITY -------------- ¶7. (C) THE MUSLIMS OF VOJNIC ARE STRONG CONTENDERS FOR THE MOST DISADVANTAGED OF THE REGION. ACCORDING TO IMAM DJURMIC, THE LEADER OF THE LOCAL MUSLIM COMMUNITY, UNEMPLOYMENT VERGES ON 95 PERCENT, ILLITERACY IS 80 PERCENT, AND THERE ARE NO PROSPECTS FOR EMPLOYMENT. IN OUR DISCUSSION, HIS COMMENTS WERE OFTEN HYPERBOLIC, AND HIS NUMBERS WERE OFTEN AT ODDS WITH OTHER KNOWN FACTS -- GIVING CREDENCE TO THE ADAGE THAT 42.7 PERCENT OF ALL STATISTICS ARE MADE UP ON THE SPOT -- BUT DJURMIC PAINTED A GENERALLY ACCURATE PICTURE. THE TWO BIGGEST EMPLOYERS IN THE REGION, THE SAWMILL AND CERAMIC WORKS, HE CLAIMED, EMPLOY NOT A SINGLE MUSLIM. SEVERAL COMMUNITIES ARE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY. IN THE FIGHT BETWEEN CROATS AND SERBS, MUSLIM HOMES WERE LARGELY LEFT INTACT, AND SO EMPLOYMENT, RATHER THAN PROPERTY, IS THE MAIN ISSUE CONFRONTING THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY. ¶8. (C) DESPITE DJURMIC'S GRIM PICTURE, THE MUNICIPALITY'S MUSLIM POPULATION APPEARS TO BE INCREASING. MUSLIM LEADERS CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 00376 02 OF 04 200658Z CLAIM THERE ARE 1,600 MUSLIMS IN THE REGION, WHILE THE 2001 CENSUS ACKNOWLEDGES ONLY 768, OR 14 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION. ACCORDING TO LOCAL OFFICIALS, 1,350 MUSLIMS ARE REGISTERED IN THE MUNICIPALITY. MANY HAVE BOTH BOSNIAN AND CROATIAN CITIZENSHIP, AND WORK IN BOSNIA. THE PRE-WAR PATTERN OF LIVING IN CROATIA AND WORKING IN BOSNIA WAS UNREMARKABLE WHEN ALL WERE CITIZENS OF YUGOSLAVIA; BUT NOW, DUE IN PART TO MISSED DEADLINES, AND ALSO TO WAR AND OCCUPATION, SOME MUSLIMS WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN BORN IN CROATIA BUT HAVE LIVED HERE "FOREVER" ARE EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTIES IN OBTAINING CITIZENSHIP AND OTHER DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR RECEIVING RETIREMENT AND/OR SOCIAL BENEFITS. ONE SERB RETURNEE, POINTING OUT HIS WINDOW TO THE LARGE NEW HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET, TOLD US THAT MUSLIMS FROM BOSNIA ARE BUYING UP BOTH HOUSES AND PROPERTY IN THE REGION IN THE HOPE THAT IT WILL HELP THEM GET RESIDENCY DOCUMENTS. ¶9. (C) POLITICALLY, THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY IS BEING COURTED BY BOTH THE CROATIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION (HDZ),ON THE RIGHT, AND THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SDP),ON THE LEFT. IN A UNIQUE TURN OF EVENTS WHICH BEGAN LAST FALL WHEN THREE SDP REPRESENTATIVES RESIGNED FROM THE PARTY AND BECAME INDEPENDENT, THE VOJNIC MUNICIPAL COUNCIL WAS FORMALLY DISSOLVED IN JANUARY. THE GOC APPOINTED A CARETAKER "COMMISSIONER," AN INDEPENDENT JUDGE FROM NEARBY KARLOVAC, TO RUN THE MUNICIPALITY UNTIL BY-ELECTIONS, WHICH MUST BE HELD BY MID-APRIL. ONE RESULT OF THE ENSUING POLITICAL VACUUM WAS THAT USAID'S PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (MOU) WITH THE MUNICIPALITY LAPSED. WITH SUCCESS HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON THE POLITICAL WILL AND COOPERATIVENESS OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL, USAID WAS RELUCTANT TO EXTEND THE MOU PRIOR TO A BY-ELECTION. CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 00376 02 OF 04 200658Z SERB RETURNEES -------------- ¶10. (C) REPOSSESSION OF PROPERTY REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO RETURN. ACCORDING TO USAID SOURCES, BY LATE 2002 OWNERS HAD SUBMITTED 385 REQUESTS FOR RETURN OF PROPERTY. OVER 600 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSES AND 66 APARTMENTS WERE DAMAGED IN THE WAR. AT THE END OF 2002, APPROXIMATELY 300 REQUESTS FOR RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE WERE STILL PENDING. AS A RESULT OF THE WAR AND ENSUING OBSTACLES TO RETURN, THE SERB POPULATION HAS BEEN REDUCED TO APPROXIMATELY ONE THIRD ITS PRE-WAR LEVEL -- FROM OVER 7,000 TO UNDER 3,000 INHABITANTS. ¶11. (C) DRAGAN VUCKOVIC, 57, REPRESENTS A TYPICAL SERB RETURNEE IN THE VOJNIC AREA. THE HEAD OF AN EXTENDED FAMILY OF FOUR, WITH ONE CHILD, VUCKOVIC RETURNED TO HIS RESIDENCE "SPONTANEOUSLY" (THAT IS, WITHOUT GOVERNMENT OR NGO ASSISTANCE) IN 2001. HIS HOUSE HAD NOT BEEN OCCUPIED, BUT WAS DAMAGED IN THE WAR. ALL FARM-RELATED EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES WERE LOST. PRIOR TO THE WAR HE WAS A RELATIVELY PROSPEROUS FARMER, MANAGING 18 HECTARES AND A HERD OF CATTLE. OFF FARM EMPLOYMENT WAS AVAILABLE, PROVIDING A CUSHION TO SOFTEN THE VAGARIES OF AN AGRICULTURAL EXISTENCE. NOW, CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9134 PAGE 01 ZAGREB 00376 03 OF 04 200659Z ACTION EUR-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AF-00 AGRE-00 AID-00 CEA-01 CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 DODE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EXIM-01 E-00 FAAE-00 FBIE-00 VC-00 FRB-00 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 ITC-01 JUSE-00 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SCT-00 SP-00 SSO-00 STR-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00 EPAE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-01 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 SWCI-00 /010W -------------- 388BA8 200659Z /38 R 200656Z FEB 03 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9492 INFO AMEMBASSY BELGRADE AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO USEU BRUSSELS USMISSION USOSCE C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 03 OF 04 ZAGREB 000376 SIPDIS USAID FOR ACONVERY, EUR/SCE FOR MNARDI E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2013 TAGS: PHUM EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV HR HRPHUM SUBJECT: VOJNIC: OFFERING EQUAL MISERY FOR ALL HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO OFF FARM EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 00376 03 OF 04 200659Z THE VUCKOVIC FAMILY RETURNED TO CROATIA WITH NO IMMEDIATE PROSPECT OUTSIDE THE PROMISE OF INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE AND A MONTHLY PENSION OF APPROXIMATELY $55. ¶12. (C) THANKS TO PRM PROGRAMS, VUCKOVIC RECEIVED ASSISTANCE FOR SHELTER REPAIR AND FOR AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT. USAID PROVIDED A SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE LOAN, WHICH WAS USED TO BUY FOUR DAIRY COWS. WITHOUT THIS ASSISTANCE VUCKOVIC WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RETURN. WITH HIS FEW COWS AND SMALL MILK COOLER AND THE ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE OF A USAID-FUNDED NGO AND THE VINDIJA AND KIM COMPANIES, WHICH HAVE ORGANIZED MILK COLLECTION FOR THE REGION, VUCKOVIC HAS INCREASED HIS INCOME TO NEARLY $300 PER MONTH. HE IS INCREASING HIS HERD AND TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO REPAIR FARM BUILDINGS. ALTHOUGH HE HAS A LONG WAY TO GO, HE IS GLAD TO BE BACK IN HIS HOUSE, REPORTS GOOD RELATIONS WITH LOCAL CROATS, AND IS PLANNING FOR A BETTER FUTURE. BOSNIAN CROAT SETTLERS -------------- ¶13. (C) OVER 500 BOSNIAN CROAT FAMILIES FROM NORTHWESTERN BOSNIA ARE ACCOMMODATED IN SERB-OWNED HOUSES IN THE MUNICIPALITY. SOME WOULD LIKE TO RETURN TO BOSNIA, BUT EITHER CANNOT OR ARE UNWILLING, GIVEN HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT, OR SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEY WOULD ENCOUNTER IN BOSNIA. EMPLOYMENT IS NOT THE PRIMARY ISSUE FOR SETTLERS -- THEY HAVE OBTAINED STATE AND STATE SUPPORTED JOBS, AND FACE ECONOMIC PROSPECTS LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THOSE OF THE AVERAGE CROATIAN IN THE REGION. HOUSING IS THE BIG ISSUE. BOSNIAN CROATS RECOGNIZE THEY ARE VIEWED AS A PART OF THE PROBLEM, AND WHILE THE CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 00376 03 OF 04 200659Z MAJORITY WANTS TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE RAPIDLY, THEY ARE NOT GOING TO VACATE HOUSES WHEN THEY HAVE NO OTHER PLACE TO GO. IN ADDITION, THEY ARE NOT INCLINED TO LET THIS GOVERNMENT OFF THE HOOK FOR PROMISES (HOUSING, JOBS, ETC.) MADE BY THE HDZ GOVERNMENT TO INDUCE THEM TO SETTLE IN CROATIA. ¶14. (C) ONE BOSNIAN CROAT LEADER AFFILIATED WITH THE ASSOCIATION OF CROATIAN SETTLERS, WHICH CLAIMS TO SPEAK FOR APPROXIMATELY 60 PERCENT OF SETTLERS, HAS SAID THAT COMMUNICATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT CONSISTS OF BOSNIAN CROATS BEING TOLD "YOU MUST..." FOLLOWED BY "SOMETHING BAD." CONSERVATIVE POLITICALLY, THE VAST MAJORITY OF BOSNIAN CROATS REMAIN SUPPORTIVE OF THE NOW OPPOSITION CROATIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION (HDZ) PARTY OF FORMER PRESIDENT FRANJO TUDJMAN. IN A SENSE THEY REPRESENT AN UNWANTED CASTE -- ALL BUT ABANDONED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THEIR ETHNIC "HOMELAND," SCORNED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF THE OBSTACLE THEY REPRESENT TO THE RETURN PROCESS, DIFFERENT FROM THEIR NEW CROATIAN CROAT NEIGHBORS BOTH CULTURALLY AND SOCIALLY, AND OF COURSE, DESPISED BY THE SERBS WHOSE HOMES THEY OCCUPY. COMMENT -------------- ¶15. (C) VOJNIC IS NEITHER ALONE NOR SPECIAL IN ITS PREDICAMENT; IT IS ONE OF MANY MARGINAL RURAL AREAS THAT WERE IN DECLINE WELL BEFORE THE WAR, WHICH SERVED TO HASTEN AND COMPLICATE AN ALREADY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT. THE BORDER AREAS OF THE KRAJINA, LIKE THOSE OF THE DALMATIAN HINTERLANDS, POSE A SERIOUS ECONOMIC CHALLENGE FOR CROATIA. THE WAR ACCELERATED WHAT OTHERWISE WAS A LONG, CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 00376 03 OF 04 200659Z SEEMINGLY INEVITABLE DECLINE. SOME REGIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, BY 1990 HAD DECLINED TO LESS THAN HALF THEIR PRE-WORLD WAR II POPULATIONS. AND PART OF WHAT KEPT THE REGION VIABLE DURING TITO TIMES WAS THE FINANCIAL BOOST PROVIDED BY MILITARY BASES AND FACILITIES -- AN ECONOMIC STIMULUS NO LONGER PROVIDED. ¶16. (C) THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT'S CHALLENGE IS DAUNTING. ACCORDING TO UNDP, THE GOVERNMENT HAS NEITHER A POLICY NOR ANY IDEA WHAT TO DO. WE SEARCHED IN VAIN FOR A GOVERNMENT INTERLOCUTOR WHO IS TASKED EITHER TO WORK ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUES GENERALLY, OR SPECIFICALLY ON WAR-AFFECTED AREAS. THE JULY 2002 AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW ON AREAS OF SPECIAL STATE CONCERN (THE SO-CALLED WAR AFFECTED AREAS) IMPLICITLY RECOGNIZED THAT THERE IS LITTLE REASON TO KEEP BUILDING AND RECONSTRUCTING HOUSES WHEN THERE ARE NO EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND A COMMISSION WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ESTABLISHED SPECIFICALLY TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUES. TO DATE, IN WHAT IS A PATTERN FOR THIS GOVERNMENT, THERE HAS BEEN NO ACTION TAKEN. THE FACT REMAINS THAT NO MATTER HOW WELL THE RETURN PROCESS MAY SUCCEED, IN THE END NEITHER THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY NOR THE GOVERNMENT ARE LIKELY TO HAVE SUFFICIENT SWAY OVER ECONOMIC INCENTIVES TO REVERSE THE DECADES OF DECLINE IN VOJNIC AND THE KRAJINA. ¶17. (U) BELGRADE MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9136 PAGE 01 ZAGREB 00376 04 OF 04 200659Z ACTION EUR-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AF-00 AGRE-00 AID-00 CEA-01 CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 DODE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EXIM-01 E-00 FAAE-00 FBIE-00 VC-00 FRB-00 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 ITC-01 JUSE-00 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SCT-00 SP-00 SSO-00 STR-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00 EPAE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-01 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 SWCI-00 /010W -------------- 388BAD 200659Z /38 R 200656Z FEB 03 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9493 INFO AMEMBASSY BELGRADE AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO USEU BRUSSELS USMISSION USOSCE C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 04 OF 04 ZAGREB 000376 SIPDIS USAID FOR ACONVERY, EUR/SCE FOR MNARDI E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2013 TAGS: PHUM EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV EAID PREF ECON PGOV HR HRPHUM SUBJECT: VOJNIC: OFFERING EQUAL MISERY FOR ALL ROSSIN CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 00376 04 OF 04 200659Z CONFIDENTIAL