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.

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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