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