REACTION TO GITMO AND DETAINEES

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 001303

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR S/WCI AMBASSADOR PROSPER
DEPT FOR EUR A/S FRIED

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2015
TAGS: KISL KPAO PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: REACTION TO GITMO AND DETAINEES

REF: STATE 142348

Classified By: Ambassador Ralph Frank for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) As requested, Ambassador delivered talking points on
Guantanamo Bay to the State Secretary of the MFA, Hidajet
Biscevic, who accepted them without comment. Post also
delivered points to Deputy Director of the Human Rights
Department at the MFA, Romana Oluic. Ms. Oluic appreciated
the additional information about the Detention Facility and
expressed the GOC's support for the war on terrorism.
Additionally, she noted that there exists a necessary balance
between fighting the GWOT and preserving human rights.


2. (U) Media reports on Guantanamo have become infrequent
over time, are typically factual, and are never front page
news. The occasional article is uniformly negative (one
recent headline was "The Gulag of Our Time") as is public
opinion, though only a minority of Croatians follow this
story. Post will explore further opportunities to engage
both the media and the wider public on this issue.
DELAWIE


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