BOSNIA: LITTLE PROGRESS IN POST-SANCTION TREBINJE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 001075

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR D (SMITH),P (BAME),EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE
(ENGLISH, FOOKS, MITCHELL, SAINZ),EUR/ACE (VISOCAN,
ADAMS),NSC FOR BRAUN, OSD FOR FLORY, USNIC FOR WEBER AND
GREGORIAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2016
TAGS: ECON KCRM PGOV PHUM PREL BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: LITTLE PROGRESS IN POST-SANCTION TREBINJE

Classified By: Ambassador McElhaney for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: One year after Lautenberg sanctions on the
municipality were lifted, the eastern Republika Srpska (RS)
municipality of Trebinje shows very little progress in a
number of critical areas. The working relationship between
Mayor Dobroslav Cuk (a member of the opposition Alliance for
Independent Social Democrats (SNSD)) and the municipal
assembly has broken down almost completely, with both sides
hurling insults and bringing municipal decision-making to a
standstill. Organized crime elements have a stranglehold on
the town's economy, and have recently escalated their
campaign of orchestrated violence (including car bombings and
shootings) against the local police and judiciary. Meanwhile,
a simmering dispute over the possible reconstruction of local
historic landmark Begova Kuca has flared up, causing conflict
between Trebinje's Serb Orthodox and Bosniak communities. The
Embassy will continue to monitor Trebinje closely; during a
recent visit by the Ambassador, he warned the mayor that
considerably more progress would be needed to keep Trebinje
off the Lautenberg sanctions list. End summary.

PROMISES, PROMISES


2. (C) Trebinje Mayor Dobroslav Cuk, representing the
opposition SNSD party, was elected in October 2004, breaking
a long chain of SDS mayors. Trebinje's SNSD leadership, along
with its coalition partners, had pledged to work
cooperatively on a wide range of issues targeted at
normalizing life and inter-ethnic relations, including
refugee returns, access to employment, replacement of SDS
hard-liners running publicly-owned companies, return of
property to the religious communities, and better cooperation
with the search for war crimes indictees. Unfortunately, more
than a year after the lifting of Lautenberg sanctions, the
situation in Trebinje has deteriorated in several respects.

THE GOOD NEWS


3. (C) As promised, Cuk did return a commercial building to
the Islamic community, which is now collecting rent from its
tenants. Through USAID's Governance Accountability Program
(GAP),Trebinje now has a municipal one-stop shop, with the
goal of providing better and more efficient service to
citizens. The leader of the local Islamic community said he
was "reasonably satisfied" with the municipality's actions.
Cuk recently told us that the reconstruction of the historic
Begova Kuca remains a top priority. (Note: Begova Kuca is a
Bosniak cultural monument with historic value, although not a
religious monument.) Cuk added that an Orthodox religious
foundation established by Vladika Grigorije, the Serb
Orthodox bishop for the region, has raised $630,000 (1
million KM) to date for the reconstruction of Begova Kuca.

THEN, THE BAD NEWS


4. (C) However, there has been little progress on a number of
key issues. Normalizing relations with Dubrovnik, Croatia's
"jewel" on the Adriatic coast, which is only 20 miles (30 km)
from Trebinje, had been high on Cuk's list. Despite much
Embassy prodding, Cuk still does not accept that apologizing
for Trebinje's wartime shelling of Dubrovnik is a
prerequisite for future cooperation, at least from the
Croatian point of view. When interviewed by the Croatian
press about his wartime past (Cuk was a colonel in the RS
Army),Cuk expressed regret only that he had not been a
general. Trebinje would clearly benefit from an improved
relationship with Dubrovnik, which could provide a
much-needed economic boost. Cuk's stubborn refusal to
acknowledge the past is costing his municipality dearly.


5. (C) During his campaign to have U.S. sanctions lifted, Cuk
made a number of commitments to employ more non-Serbs in
municipal government. (Note: According to the 1991 census,
the population of Trebinje municipality was 80 percent Serb,
17 percent Bosniak and 3 percent Croat.) In addition to the
Deputy Speaker of the Municipal Assembly (who is directly
elected),Cuk acknowledged to us that he could point to only
one new Bosniak employee in the city administration, bringing
the total number of Bosniaks to 6 out of 135 positions.
Although he pledged to downsize the city administration by
cutting about 60 jobs, Cuk instead hired an additional 15
employees, all of whom are members of his party.


6. (C) Cuk had previously stated his commitment to removing a

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number of SDS-affiliated directors and members of steering
boards of publicly-owned companies. However, no removals have
taken place. Cuk has defended this by arguing that a number
of the SDS directors are actually well-qualified for their
jobs and should be allowed to stay. As for the rest, local
rumor has it that they remain in place as part of Cuk's
strategy to continue his (relatively) good relationship with
local SDS officials.


7. (C) Worse, in recent weeks, a violent terror campaign
against police officials and judges has escalated
significantly. In the last six months, there have been nine
car bombings in Trebinje. Because of its location near
borders with both Montenegro and Croatia, Trebinje is ideally
situated for smuggling activities. Organized crime elements
have long been a powerful influence in the municipality;
efforts to target crime and corruption have provoked an
organized campaign of car bombings and other incidents
designed to intimidate law enforcement officials. On April 9,
one local police inspector's car was completely destroyed by
a car bomb; police have also been the targets of shootings.
On April 10, a car bomb damaged the car of a Basic Court
judge.

THE FIGHT OVER BEGOVA KUCA


8. (C) Begova Kuca (the Bey's House),constructed in 1774,
was a cultural and historic landmark built in the traditional
Ottoman style. This style of architecture is strongly
associated with Bosniak culture. The prominent Bosniak family
who owned the house sold it to the then government-owned
Hotel Leotar in 1964; before the war, the house hosted a
cafe, restaurant, exhibition space and local cultural events.
During the war, Begova Kuca was completely destroyed. A
charitable religious foundation headed by Serb Orthodox
Bishop Grigorije claims to have raised about $600,000 (1
million KM) for the reconstruction of Begova Kuca, which
Grigorije has said he wants to do as a symbol of inter-ethnic
reconciliation in Trebinje. However, plans approved by the
municipal authorities to construct a sports complex on land
adjacent to the Begova Kuca site (also owned by the religious
foundation) have raised Bosniak suspicions about Grigorije's
intentions. If the construction is executed according to the
building permits, it would cut off all access to the site
except by boat (the site backs on to the Trebisnica River).
Trebinje Imam Husein Hodzic, meanwhile, has linked the issue
of the preservation of Begova Kuca to his quest for the
municipality to return all property formerly owned by the
Islamic community and nationalized by the former government
of Yugoslavia--as it returned the Serb Orthodox Church's
properties in 1996. The reconstruction of Begova Kuca has
therefore become embroiled in the complex web of property
return issues, raising tensions rather than fostering
tolerance.

MUTINY BREWING


9. (C) The Municipal Assembly recently acted to remove the
Deputy Mayor, a member of Cuk's party. The Speaker of the
Assembly, Nikola Sekulovic, said the removal was necessary
because the Deputy Mayor was "falling-down drunk" at assembly
meetings. Although Sekulovic is not an SDS member, Cuk
accused him of plotting with SDS to take back control of city
government. For their part, Sekulovic and Deputy Speaker
Ervin Pobric called the Mayor "a Bolshevik," complaining that
he is so arrogant, rigid and controlling that his working
relationship with the Assembly has become hostile and
unproductive. The hostility of the assembly members toward
the Mayor is reportedly so pervasive that it has led the
non-SDS members to turn to their SDS colleagues in order to
garner support for their efforts to oust Cuk.

COMMENT


10. (C) We had hoped that Cuk's election in October 2004
would mark the beginning of a brighter era in troubled
Trebinje. Not only has he not delivered on his promises, but
his approach has alienated even the non-SDS municipal
assembly members who once supported him. Naturally, this
pleases the SDS hard-liners in Trebinje, as it paves the way
for them to reclaim near-total control over local politics.
Cuk's primary concern appears to be handing out jobs and
other perks to his party faithful; clearly, the control he
craves is slipping from his grasp. During a recent visit, the
Ambassador emphasized to Cuk that we are watching Trebinje

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closely and expect to see improvements soon. We will continue
working with Trebinje officials to encourage a more
constructive approach and progress on key human rights
issues, and will report on options for addressing Trebinje's
critical issues septel, including through a dialogue with RS
Prime Minister and SNSD President Milorad Dodik, whose own
aspirations for the October national elections will be
damaged by this kind of local SNSD record.
MCELHANEY