BOSNIA: THREATS AGAINST LABOR UNION PRESIDENT

UNCLAS SARAJEVO 001093

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/SCE (FOOKS,RIEHL),DRL/IL, DS/ITA
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON AFL CIO BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: THREATS AGAINST LABOR UNION PRESIDENT

REF: A. SARAJEVO 944

B. 05 SARAJEVO 1708


1. The President of the Confederation of Independent Trade
Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SSSBiH),Mr. Edhem Biber,
recently received an anonymous threatening note along with a
bullet at his house. The note warned Mr. Biber to stop his
calls for a review of previous privatizations in the
Federation. Mr. Biber has supported the idea that many
privatizations of state-owned companies were conducted in a
corrupt and non-transparent manner, to the detriment of the
workers in those companies. The Federation government is
currently considering legislation that would mandate a
process for the review of past privatizations. If passed,
this legislation could prompt scrutiny of very high-profile
companies and individuals. Mr. Biber also received threats
directly related to this topic in 2003.


2. The President of the AFL-CIO John Sweeney sent a letter
to Prime Minister Adnan Terzic on April 26 regarding this
threat. The Ambassador was sent a copy of this letter by the
AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center office in Sarajevo. ECONOFF has
discussed the incident with Mr. Biber, who has reported that
he is currently not receiving any police protection, although
he has requested it. The Federation police have referred him
to the relatively new State Investigative and Protection
Agency (SIPA); however, SIPA's ability to handle this kind of
incident is still undeveloped. Post's RSO office will
discuss this matter with Mr. Biber in more detail, and make
inquiries with the Federation police. Post is unable to
assess how serious the threats against Mr. Biber are, but the
review of privatization will likely continue to be a high
profile issue until the October elections.
MCELHANEY