UNDERSECRETARY DOBRIANSKY VISIT TO CROATIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000409

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR G, EUR/SCE, EUR/RPM, PRM, G/TIP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2014
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV PREF KDEM HR NATO
SUBJECT: UNDERSECRETARY DOBRIANSKY VISIT TO CROATIA

REF: ZAGREB 333

Classified By: PolOff Mitch Benedict for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d)

Summary
--------------


1. (C) On March 2 Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
Paula Dobriansky visited Croatia and met with President
Stjepan Mesic, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, and Foreign
Minister Miomir Zuzul. The Under Secretary discussed
Croatia's participation in the Community of Democracies, the
UN Commission on Human Rights, and how Croatia might become
more engaged in Afghanistan, as well as refugee return and
reintegration, progress on combating trafficking in persons,
and cooperation with the ICTY in a full day of meetings in
Zagreb. Sanader and Zuzul pressed at every opportunity for
U.S. support for Croatia's entry into NATO and the EU. End
Summary.

Interlocutors
--------------


2. (U) On March 2, Under Secretary of State for Global
Affairs Paula Dobriansky visited Croatia for one day of
meetings with senior government officials. She began the day
with a working lunch at the Office of the Prime Minister;
participants included Ambassador Ralph Frank, Prime Minister
Ivo Sanader, Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul, and other high
level state officials. U/S Dobriansky next visited the
Foreign Ministry, where she again met with Foreign Minister
Zuzul and his staff. Zuzul introduced the new government's
line up of MFA officials working on bilateral and
multilateral issues of concern to the U.S. Late in the day
President Sthjepan Mesic hosted U/S Dobriansky for a meeting
at his Office; Foreign Minister Zuzul and the president's
senior foreign policy advisors joined in the meeting.

Croatia's EU and Nato Aspirations
--------------


3. (C) Sanader and Zuzul returned at every available
opportunity to their priority theme -- Croatia seeks visible
support from Washington for entry into the EU and NATO at the
earliest opportunity. The recent visit to Croatia by SecDef
Rumsfeld was cast as a major step forward in bilateral
relations.


4. (C) Sanader and Zuzul both stressed that they are pursuing
return and reintegration and cooperation with ICTY not only
because Croatia is obligated to do so, but because they are
the right things to do. They also acknowledged that such a
path is necessary for entry into the EU and NATO. They
claimed that Croatia is the most advanced country in the
region, and that it could be the success story, the example
for others to follow.


5. (C) However, in order for the GOC to do the right things
on issues of concern to the international community -- issues
on which the public holds "mixed feelings" or significantly
opposes -- the GOC needs to receive clear signals of support
or acceptance by the United States and the international
community.


6. (C) Specifically, what they would like out of the next
NATO summit is communique language in which each aspirant
country is mentioned by name, its successes are recognized,
and its future path of entry is defined. U/S Dobriansky
noted their arguments and said she would convey the
Government's message to Washington.

Refugee Return and Reintegration
--------------


7. (C) PM Ivo Sanader opened his meeting with U/S Dobriansky
by stressing actions he has taken to encourage ethnic Serb
refugees to return to Croatia. He noted that five days prior
to the November elections he had called publicly for the
return of refugees, signaling to supporters of his
center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party the
direction he intended to lead the country should the HDZ come
to power.


8. (C) Following the elections, in his quest to form a
government, Sanader gained the support of all eight MPs
representing minorities in parliament. In a further
unprecedented move for a Prime Minister of Croatia, Sanader
celebrated Christmas with the Serbian Orthodox community --
an action he described as a big shock for Croatian society.
He frankly acknowledged the "old" HDZ's poor record on

minority issues and said there is no alternative now to
"normal relations." The new government is only 70 days old,
but Sanader was pleased to report on his efforts to promote
return and reintegration.


9. (C) President Mesic, who offered no timetable except to
say that the process had begun, affirmed that the government
would reconstruct all homes destroyed during the war. He
said it was in Croatia's interest for all citizens to return
if democracy were to take root and thrive. He was positive
about the general human rights situation in Croatia, minority
protections, and the strides Croatia has made with regard to
development of a free press. On the other hand, he affirmed
that judicial reform had yet to begin and was sorely needed
for Croatia to consolidate its democratic transition.


10. (C) U/S Dobriansky stressed in her meetings the
importance of working specifically on the process of
reintegration. She said that other countries have
experiences with reintegration that can be drawn on, and that
the U.S. will work with the GOC and perhaps make available
outside expertise on reintegration. The offer was made of a
potential joint visit to Croatia of PRM A/S Dewey and UNHCR
Head Rudd Lubbers to meet with their Croatian counterparts on
reintegration to discuss best practices and how the
government might improve its chances for success in this
crucial area.

Community of Democracies
--------------


11. (C) The Under Secretary highlighted the good work being
done within the framework of the Community of Democracies
(CD). She said the CD is an important affiliation and
encouraged Croatia to play a greater leadership role in
sharing its experiences along the path of transition to
democracy.


12. (C) The GOC was receptive to greater involvement with the
CD. PM Sanader remarked "I fully agree with this." FM Zuzul
asked for elaboration on specific ways in which the GOC can
help. U/S Dobriansky expressed her desire to continue
discussions on the issue, and offered to provide more
specific suggestions on how Croatia might play a larger role
within the CD.

UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
--------------


13. (C) U/S Dobriansky told PM Sanader the U.S. wants to work
with the GOC at the CHR to partner on issues of mutual
concern. She informed FM Zuzul that the U.S. delegation will
hold a breakfast meeting on March 17 for all democracies in
the CHR. She invited Croatia to attend. This meeting would
be an opportunity for democracies to discuss their priorities
for CHR and coordinate as appropriate. She announced that we
are working with several Latin American nations to co-sponsor
this year's resolution on Cuba, and she requested that
Croatia consider co-sponsoring the resolution.


14. (C) Zuzul commented that the Czech Republic had
approached Croatia on this year's Cuba resolution. He
promised the GOC would seriously consider the request.
However, he cautioned that co-sponsoring would be difficult
if there is no other European co-sponsor. He noted that by
co-sponsoring the Cuba resolution, Croatian companies doing
business in Cuba would likely suffer.


15. (C) The Under Secretary also asked Croatia to support the
U.S. position in the CHR on China. She said the U.S. was not
seeking co-sponsorship, but merely support. Zuzul offered no
reaction on China. Comment: Croatia is opposed to country
specific resolutions in principle; moving the GOC away from
this position could prove challenging. End Comment.

Participation in Afghanistan
--------------


16. (C) In addition to playing a larger role within the CD,
U/S Dobriansky stressed that greater participation in
Afghanistan offers Croatia a larger stage for sharing its
democratic development experiences. She was just in
Afghanistan, and she spoke not just of the needs of Afghans,
but of the tremendous work being done by the international
forces now in the country as Afghanistan strives to recover
from decades of war.


17. (C) Zuzul offered to explore areas in which Croatia might
be able to provide additional assistance. The Croatian
experience, in war and in the post-conflict period, means

that many people have skills that could be used in
Afghanistan. Examples would be in medical teams, counselors
for victims of post-traumatic stress syndrome, and demining.

Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal
--------------


18. (C) Sanader mentioned Croatia's relationship with the
Hague Tribunal. He said his government is committed to
nothing less than full and unconditional cooperation with the
ICTY in all cases, including that of indictee Ante Gotovina.
He added that Andre Hebrang, Minister of Health, and Branimir
Glavas, the HDZ party head and county prefect in Eastern
Slavonia, members of the party's so-called hardline faction,
have both supported HDZ's policy of cooperation with the
ICTY; they have both called publicly for Gotovina to turn
himself in to The Hague.


19. (C) In his meeting, Sanader also told the Under Secretary
that cooperation with The Hague is a far more difficult issue
for the government than, for example, refugee return. The
average Croatian finds it extremely hard to accept that the
people who recovered Croatian territory and brought the
country to independence are war criminals. U/S Dobriansky
commented that cooperation with the ICTY is important for
fulfilling Croatia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and that the
international community will be looking not so much at what
Croatia says but at what it actually does.

Trafficking in Persons
--------------


20. (C) Dobriansky raised trafficking in persons as an issue
in her meetings. Sanader demonstrated an awareness of U.S.
concerns and said he wanted to work with the U.S. so that
Croatia can move from Tier 2 to Tier 1 on the Annual Report
to Congress on Trafficking in Persons. In her meetings with
Sanader and Zuzul, the Under Secretary suggested that the GOC
designate an effective point of contact on the issue of
trafficking, someone who could
ensure compliance within the government as well as work
closely with the international community.


21. (C) Zuzul told the Under Secretary that responsibility
for the issue of trafficking was now with the foreign
ministry, and that Tomislav Vidosevic, the newly appointed
Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs, would be our
point of contact. (Vidosevic manages the MFA's Department
for Human Rights.) Andrea Bekic, acting head of the MFA's
Americas Department, cited the November 2003
UNICEF/UNHCHR/OSCE ODIHR report as evidence that Croatia is
doing well in the fight against trafficking. She provided us
with a copy of the December 2003 Non-Paper on Trafficking in
Croatia presented by Croatia's Embassy in Washington to the
Department.


22. (C) The Under Secretary noted that some countries, and
the EU, have identified the institution of the Ombudsman as
an independent, yet government sanctioned point of contact
for trafficking issues. An ombudsman, for example, could
issue an independent report on governmental actions to combat
trafficking in persons. U/S Dobriansky stressed that it is
also important for the Embassy of Croatia in Washington to
engage actively with the Department on the issue of
trafficking in persons. Zuzul said he would instruct
Croatia's DCM in Washington to contact G/TIP and engage with
the Department as a point of contact on the problem.
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED
FRANK


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