CROATIAN POLICE ARREST INDICTED WAR CRIMINAL RAJIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000761 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR, EUR/SCE AND S/WCI THE HAGUE FOR JOHNSON/KAYE/WHEATON E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/13 TAGS: PGOV PREL HR ICTY SUBJECT: CROATIAN POLICE ARREST INDICTED WAR CRIMINAL RAJIC REF: ZAGREB 756 CLASSIFIED BY: NICHOLAS HILL, POLITICAL-ECONOMIC COUNSELOR, FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) ON APRIL 5, A DAY AFTER THE RACAN GOVERNMENT DELIVERED AN ICTY INDICTMENT TO GENERAL JANKO BOBETKO THROUGH HIS LAWYER (REFTEL),IT TOOK INTO CUSTODY IVICA RAJIC, A BOSNIAN CROAT AND FORMER COMMANDER OF THE CROAT DEFENSE COUNCIL (HVO),WHO HAS BEEN WANTED BY THE TRIBUNAL ON WAR CRIMES CHARGES FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THOMAS OSORIO, HEAD OF THE ICTY LIAISON OFFICE IN ZAGREB, TOLD US ON APRIL 7 THAT HIS OFFICE HAD BEEN HOPEFUL ABOUT THE RAJIC ARREST, BUT WAS SURPRISED BY THE TIMING. PM RACAN HAD PROMISED CHIEF PROSECUTOR CARLA DEL PONTE BACK IN OCTOBER ON HER LAST VISIT TO CROATIA THAT AUTHORITIES WOULD NAB RAJIC, BUT THERE HAD BEEN NO SPECIFIC NEWS RECENTLY. ¶2. (C) ACCORDING TO OSORIO, IN CONTRAST TO OTHER INDICTED WAR CRIMINALS -- SUCH AS ANTE GOTOVINA AND EVEN BOBETKO -- RAJIC HAS NO SIZABLE FOLLOWING, OR IN OSORIO'S WORDS, "FAN CLUB" IN CROATIA. AND AS A BOSNIAN CROAT, HIS ARREST IS VIEWED HERE AS MUCH LESS CONTROVERSIAL. RAJIC IS A "PSYCHOPATH" AND REPRESENTED THE "WORST OF THE WORST," OSORIO SAID. RAJIC WAS INDICTED FOR THE KILLING OF 16 CIVILIANS IN THE CENTRAL BIH TOWN OF STUPNI DO IN 1995. HE HAD BEEN PROTECTED BY THE TUDJMAN GOVERNMENT AND OFFERED FALSE DOCUMENTS. HE HAD REPORTEDLY FLED CROATIA, BUT REPORTS ABOUT HIS RETURN BEGAN CIRCULATING LAST YEAR. THE POLICE HAVE BEEN TRACKING HIS ACTIVITIES AND MONITORING HIS FAMILY'S TELEPHONES. ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS, HIS LOCATION WAS UNCOVERED DURING THE COURSE OF THE ONGOING SEARCH FOR GOTOVINA. ¶3. (C) CHIEF OF POLICE RANKO OSTOJIC TOLD US ON APRIL 7 THAT THE ARREST CAME AFTER AN 8-MONTH INVESTIGATION. ACCORDING TO OSTOJIC, FOR THE PURPOSES OF PROTECTING LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL, THE POLICE TOLD THE PRESS THAT RAJIC WAS ARRESTED IN ZAGREB. IN TRUTH, HOWEVER, THE FUGITIVE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IN SPLIT. OSTOJIC TOLD US THAT AUTHORITIES WANT TO "DISMANTLE" THE WHOLE INFRASTRUCTURE INSIDE THE GOVERNMENT THAT HAS PROTECTED SUSPECTED WAR CRIMINALS. OSTOJIC NOTED THAT RAJIC'S WIFE, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS HIRED BY THE PREVIOUS REGIME AND CONTINUES TO WORK FOR THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE IN SPLIT. ROSSIN NNNN