OPERATION BALKAN VICE V: DUTCH RESPONSE

S E C R E T THE HAGUE 003301 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2014 TAGS: PREL MOPS EFIN ETTC KAWC NL ICTY SUBJECT: OPERATION BALKAN VICE V: DUTCH RESPONSE REF: A. STATE 267711 ¶B. NDEAN-CENGLISH EMAIL 12/17/04 (NOTAL) Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL COUNSELOR ANDREW SCHOFER FOR REA SONS 1.4 (B AND D) ¶1. (S) Poloff and Deputy Legal Counselor made ref A demarche to Klaas van der Tempel, Dutch MFA Western Balkans Chief and Pauline Diepenbroek, MFA Bosnia Desk Officer on December 17. Van der Tempel said the GONL was pleased with High Rep Ashdown's actions, and viewed U.S. actions as supporting them. He noted that the EU Heads of Mission in Sarajevo had issued a statement of support for Ashdown's actions (ref B) and that there was a large consensus within the EU in favor of them as well. Concerning freezing the assets of the individuals named in ref A, van der Tempel noted that the EU had recently enacted an asset freeze on certain PIFWCs which might prove a basis for action, however he said that organizations, e.g., political parties, might prove "another matter." In general he expressed appreciation for the current U.S. and EU consensus on how to move forward in Bosnia. Regarding support for Mladic, van der Tempel said that the Dutch, as current holders of the EU Presidency, were planning a Troika demarche in Belgrade shortly to register that pension payments for Mladic are "not in the spirit" of the ICTY. ¶2. (S) Econoff also delivered ref A points the same day to Jules Gerzon, Senior Policy Officer, in the Dutch MFA Political Affairs Department and Margreet Wenting, Senior Policy Advisor in the Dutch Finance Ministry's Department of Financial Integrity. Wenting said that MOF would pass the information to the Dutch Central Bank, banking directors and the Dutch financial intelligence unit. SOBEL