BOSNIA: POLICE REFORM AND RS PM DODIK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001747 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR (DICARLO),D (SMITH),P (BAME),EUR/SCE (HOH, SAINZ, FOOKS),EUR/ACE (VISOCAN, LONGI),S/CT (BLACK), S/WCI (HODGKINSON),INR, THE HAGUE (JOHNSON),NSC FOR BRAUN, VIENNA FOR LEGATT (DIETDERICH),OSD FOR FLORY, USDOJ FOR CRIMINAL DIVISION - ICITAP (DELCORE) E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2016 TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER KCRM KJUS BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA: POLICE REFORM AND RS PM DODIK Classified By: DCM Judith Cefkin, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Police Reform Directorate (PRD) held its 16th meeting on July 26 and is close to an agreement on the basic model, but without Republika Srpska (RS) input, because the official RS representative is an observer-only. Prior to the meeting, the Ambassador discussed police reform with RS PM Dodik. Dodik complained that EC Brussels and the EC Delegation in Sarajevo were sending contradictory signals on police reform. On specific issues, Dodik said that he was willing to accept one state-level law on police, with the RS giving up legislative authority, but insisted that the RS Police be a single organizational unit within the national police. The Ambassador encouraged Dodik to speak to other political leaders (Covic, Tihic) on these issues, warning that simply waiting was not a good strategy. Still, it is unlikely that there will be much progress until after the October elections. END SUMMARY. PRD ELECTS NEW CHAIR WHILE DODOK SPARS WITH SOLANA ¶2. (C) The July 26 meeting largely focused on technical issues, with detailed discussions centered on aspects of the two-tiered structure - state and local level policing. The PRD also elected a new three-month Chairman, Sarajevo Canton Police Commissioner Himzo Selimovic (Bosniak). This was to be the Serbs' turn at the helm, but the three Serbs in the PRD all declined the honor (Note: Only one of the three Serbs on the PRD officially represents the RS. End Note.) Selimovic is a professional and supporter of police reform. The PRD extended the timeframe for completing its work from September to November 30. In the lead up to the meeting, RS PM Dodik continued to publicly attack the PRD's legitimacy, with backing from FM Ivanic. EU High Rep Javier Solana hit back on July 20 with a strongly worded statement demanding that Dodik honor the October 2005 political agreement on police reform, which he signed. (Ref: July 24 Sarajevo DAR) AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH RS PM DODIK ¶3. (C) On July 13, the Ambassador held a wide-ranging discussion with RS PM Dodik, which included the topic of police reform. The Ambassador underlined that the U.S. wanted to see BiH in the EU and NATO, but that would be impossible without progress on police reform. He noted that in September the EC will draft a report on BiH,s record on outstanding reform issues. At this point, he did not think the EU had seen enough progress on police reform to justify signing a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). Dodik told the Ambassador that he wanted the PRD to work according to the October 2005 Political Agreement (brokered by the U.S). That is, as a body which represented the signatories to the agreement (the RS, the Federation, and the BiH state-level government) and not just as an organ of the BiH Council of Ministers. Dodik also complained that the PRD had rejected all of the recommendations that the RS member had made, so he didn't see the utility in having the RS representative again take an active role. (Note: The RS "recommendations" consisted of maintaining the status quo. End Note.) ¶4. (C) On specific issues, Dodik said that he was willing to cede legislative authority for the police from the entity to the state level. However, Dodik insisted that the RS Police must remain a single organizational unit within the national police. Dodik also said that it was impossible to eliminate entity interior ministries in the first stage of police reform, but that such a move might be possible later. On police budgets, Dodik noted that he supported a single state police budget but wanted money dedicated to policing in the RS channeled through the entity's financial system. POLITICAL TALKS AS A WAY FORWARD FOR POLICE REFORM ¶5. (C) Dodik asserted that EC Brussels and the EC Delegation in Sarajevo were sending contradictory signals on police reform. Dodik claimed that EU Enlargement Director for the Western Balkans Reinhard Priebe told him that the EU,s three principles for police reform allowed the widest possible framework for interpretation. The EC,s Delegation in Sarajevo had been much less flexible, Dodik implied. SARAJEVO 00001747 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) When asked whether political talks on police reform might break the current log jam, and, if so, whether such talks were possible so close to an election, Dodik said yes. (Note: On July 28, OHR PDHR Butler told the Steering Board Ambassadors that political talks were necessary, but that they could not take place before the elections. End Note.) Dodik said he wanted a police law that all sides could support. The Federation should accept the RS's willingness to give up its legislative power in policing and its readiness to accept a state budget for police, he said, but that the Federation also needed to accept the RS's desire for the RS police to be a single organizational unit within the BiH system. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: BiH has 14 disjointed and duplicative police departments and organized crime continues to thrive; yet BiH spends twice the EU average on policing. The U.S. wants to see BiH in the EU and NATO, but that will be impossible without progress on police reform. The PRD, led by European Union Police Commissioner Coppola, continues to chug along and will undoubtedly produce a technically sound reform plan along the lines of the 2004 Martens Plan. This plan, however, will not be politically viable without Bosnian Serb buy-in. With general elections approaching in October, it will be hard for Dodik (or any RS politician) to show flexibility on this hot-button issue in the near term. OHR and the EC continue to send mixed messages. All parties will face a crisis point toward the end of the year when the EC must make a decision on signing a SAA with Bosnia. That is when the best chance for a deal will occur. Dodik most likely will have secured his reelection and will be in a position to compromise, knowing that the EC is probably willing to give him most of what he wants. END COMMENT. MCELHANEY