BIH REACTIONS TO THE CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001695

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR (DICARLO),D (SMITH),P (BAME),EUR/SCE (HOH, SAINZ,
FOOKS),NSC FOR BRAUN, USNIC FOR WEBER, GREGORIAN, OSD FOR
FLORY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2016
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV ASEC IS LE SY BK
SUBJECT: BIH REACTIONS TO THE CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST:
POLITICAL PLOY OR CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

Classified By: Classified by A/DCM Dorothy Sarro, reason 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Israeli-Lebansese crisis, and the
broader Middle East conflict are garnerning an increasing
amount of public and political attention in BiH. Government
statements and media reports are generally factual and
correct, but some local public figures have begun to
manipulate the Israel-Lebanon crisis for domestic political
gain. Media reaction in some quarters has become
increasingly critical of the United States and the
international community. On July 29, a local youth-based
humanitarian organization will hold an anti-war
demonstration, which police expect to be peaceful and attract
in the range of 100 people. END SUMMARY.

GOVERNMENT AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS' STATEMENTS GENERALLY
BALANCED


2. (C) On July 21, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
released a press statement calling for an immediate ceasefire
and urging international intervention to prevent further
suffering and casualties among the civilian Lebanese
population. It went on to say that BiH condemns all forms of
terrorism and extremism. The MFA urged a return to
negotiations for a lasting peace in the Middle East that
would ensure the continued existence of the State of Israel,
while also granting Palestinians their own state and
restoring stability to Lebanon. On July 27, the BiH House of
Peoples (HoP) adopted a resolution proposed by the Bosniak
Caucus urging the international community and the UN Security
Council to take necessary measures to secure an
all-encompassing and just peace in the Middle East. The
resolution also urged the UN to provide humanitarian aid to
unspecified "unsafe areas" and called on BiH authorities,
NGOs and citizens to participate in collecting aid.


3. (C) At Friday prayers on July 21, Reis-l-Ulema Mustafa
ef. Ceric, leader of the Bosnian Islamic Community, called on
the world to stop the war in the Middle East and to prevent
the further suffering of innocent civilians in Lebanon,
Palestine and Israel. He added, however, his concern that
some people have the right to defend themselves by killing
innocent civilians while others have no right to even harvest
their own land. (We interpret this as an allusion to Israel
and its military might versus that of the Palestinians and
Lebanese, and a thinly-veiled message of sympathy for the
more extremist Islamic elements within the wider Islamic
Community of BiH.)

THE MIDDLE EAST AS A DOMESTIC POLITICAL FOIL


4. (C) Reactions to the Middle East conflict also are
playing out in local political rhetoric. Hasan Cengic, a
member of the extremist wing of President Tihic,s Party of
Democratic Action (SDA) and HoP delegate, spoke out against
Tihic in the final pre-holiday session of the HoP July 27.
Cengic "asked" Tihic nine questions in his speech, most of
which centered on the sale of weapons by Bosnia to Iraq. The
attack was a transparent attempt to paint Tihic as
"anti-Islamic" for contributing to the continued bloodshed in
the Middle East, and by doing so, undermining Tihic,s
presidential candidacy and authority within SDA. (Note:
Cengic's outburst is particularly noteworthy as he was one of
the most notorious arms smugglers during the Bosnian war,
working closely with the Iranians to supply the Bosnian army.
Cengic was the subject of a major scandal last year after a
Bosnian court acquitted him of charges connected to his
wartime activities. End Note.)

EDITORIALS INCREASINGLY CRITICAL


5. (C) Contrary to its tendency to minimize coverage of
world events that do not impact BiH or the region directly,
the Bosnian public, government and media are paying
increasing attention to the Israel-Lebanon conflict. Media
reaction in some quarters has become more critical recently
of the United States and the international community.
Initially, media attention focused almost exclusively on the
humanitarian aspect of the crisis rather than the politics
behind it. Although there has been virtually no
sophisticated analysis of the crisis in the media, there has
been a recent increase in media-driven criticism against the
United States (and other international actors) claiming that
the international community has not done enough to broker a

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ceasefire and stop the bloodshed.


6. (C) Media reaction to the Reis's July 21 sermon has been
harsh in some circles. An editorial in Dani magazine (an
influential weekly newsmagazine, not widely-distributed
outside of urban areas and frequently critical of U.S.
foreign policy) slammed the Reis for his comments, saying
that Bosnians should be ashamed of the Reis's sermon because
he failed to adequately criticize Israel for attacking one of
the least powerful nations in the world. Pecanin also
chastized the U.S. for its attitude toward the conflict,
going as far as to say that "only the naive believe that
President Bush is as stupid as he looks and is not aware of
the consequences of open American support to the newest
crimes of the State of Israel." Pecanin continues that by
not forcing a ceasefire, "there can now be no dilemma about
America's true strategy in the Middle East...the global
radicalization of Muslims as an excuse for future military
interventions using today the Iraq and Lebanon scenario,
tomorrow Syria, shortly thereafter Iran and then in any area
where the dictatorship of American puppets comes into
question."

SMALL ANTI-WAR PROTEST PLANNED IN SARAJEVO


7. (U) In protest against the current crisis in the Middle
East, the Bosnian-based Democratic Youth Movement (DOP) has
scheduled an anti-war demonstration in Sarajevo for July 29.
Specifically, the group rallies Bosnians - who all too well
understand the cost of war - to "show the world that (we)
disagree with the violence and killing of innocent children
in Lebanon." The DOP describes itself as a student-based
humanitarian organization founded as an advocacy group for
the youth of BiH in all areas of society. The organization's
mission is to encourage young Bosnians to take an active role
in the future of BiH and is active in charity work to combat
drug addiction and other maladies that plague Bosnian youth.
Sarajevo police anticipate a peaceful crowd of approximately
100 protestors.


8. (C) COMMENT: The harsh criticism from Senad Pecnanin,
Dani's editor-in-chief, is notable because Pecanin is not a
nationalist or Islamist by nature, and in the past has been
threatened by Islamic radicals for his work in exposing and
criticizing the role of foreign Mujahedin in the Bosnian war.
On the political front, Cengic,s outspoken statement in the
HoP is symptomatic of the overall cleavage in the Bosniak
political community, represented best by the rivalry between
Tihic and Party for BiH (SBiH) Presidential candidate Haris
Silajdzic. Right-wing Bosniaks are using the Middle East
Crisis and the Iraq war (along with the domestic issue of
constitutional reform) as a foil to illustrate differences
between Silajdzic and those who support him and moderate
Bosniaks like Tihic and Social Democratic Party (SDP) Leader
Zlatko Lagumdzija (who is facing attacks for being a
"Communist" and a "traitor" to Islam because of the
investigation and prosecution of some SDA wartime leaders
when his coalition was in power from 2000-2002.) Post has
seen no evidence that these political attacks are anything
but domestic pre-election politicking, but will continue to
track carefully reaction here to the situation in the Middle
East. END COMMENT.
CEFKIN