Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SARAJEVO1762
2006-08-04 15:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sarajevo
Cable title:
BOSNIA: RS POLITICIANS SHARPLY REJECT SANADER
how-toVZCZCXRO0849 PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHVJ #1762 2161509 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 041509Z AUG 06 FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4103 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SARAJEVO 001762
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: 08/03/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: RS POLITICIANS SHARPLY REJECT SANADER
INITIATIVE ON FUTURE OF BIH
Classified By: DCM Judith B. Cefkin, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SARAJEVO 001762
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: 08/03/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: RS POLITICIANS SHARPLY REJECT SANADER
INITIATIVE ON FUTURE OF BIH
Classified By: DCM Judith B. Cefkin, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (U) In the media August 2 and 3, Serb member of the BiH
Tri-Presidency Borislav Paravac and Republika Srpska (RS)
President Dragan Cavic sharply and publicly rejected Croatian
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's proposal that Croatia host an
international conference on the future of BiH. Paravac
implied that the Sanader initiative was concocted at the
behest of Bosnian Croats and constituted pre-election
politicking, adding it proved that certain parties (i.e.,
Croatia, on behalf of Bosnian Croats) to the Dayton Peace
Agreement had never been satisfied with the outcome and were
trying to revisit it in order to gain more for their
constituents. Paravac noted that the real problem was not
Sanader, but rather domestic politicians such as BiH Prime
Minister Adnan Terzic seeking foreign intervention on
domestic issues. Terzic's worries about the departure of the
Office of the High Representative (OHR) next year were what
led to this initiative, Paravac opined.
2. (U) Cavic's criticism of Sanader was even harsher. He
warned Sanader that "meddling" by Croatia in the domestic
affairs of BiH could provoke chaos that would inevitably
spill over into Bosnia's neighbors. Cavic added that the
timing of the initiative was particularly telling, as Sanader
was seeking to revisit the status of Croats in Bosnia.
(Note: The announcement of the Sanader initiative came
within days of the anniversary of Operation Storm in Croatia,
often cited by Serbs as an operation to ethnically cleanse
areas of Croatia populated by Serbs. End Note.) Cavic added
that if Croats wanted to reopen the issue of the status of
Croats in Bosnia, Sanader should expect a similar
revisitation of the status of Serbs in Croatia.
3. (C) COMMENT: It is tempting to chalk up the comments of
Paravac and Cavic to pre-election politicking, but something
more may be at work. Media reports assert that High Rep
Schwarz-Schilling supports the Sanader proposal. In fact, the
High Rep said that while regional conferences can be
valuable, the issue of the constitutional structure of BiH
was settled at Dayton, and any future changes can only be
made through finding consensus among domestic political
parties. If international actors do jump onto the Sanader
bandwagon (or if the BiH media reports they have),this is
likely to mix unhelpfully in the pre-election debate,
complicating a successful return to the U.S.-supported
constitutional reform process after the elections. END
COMMENT.
MCELHANEY
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: 08/03/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: RS POLITICIANS SHARPLY REJECT SANADER
INITIATIVE ON FUTURE OF BIH
Classified By: DCM Judith B. Cefkin, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (U) In the media August 2 and 3, Serb member of the BiH
Tri-Presidency Borislav Paravac and Republika Srpska (RS)
President Dragan Cavic sharply and publicly rejected Croatian
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's proposal that Croatia host an
international conference on the future of BiH. Paravac
implied that the Sanader initiative was concocted at the
behest of Bosnian Croats and constituted pre-election
politicking, adding it proved that certain parties (i.e.,
Croatia, on behalf of Bosnian Croats) to the Dayton Peace
Agreement had never been satisfied with the outcome and were
trying to revisit it in order to gain more for their
constituents. Paravac noted that the real problem was not
Sanader, but rather domestic politicians such as BiH Prime
Minister Adnan Terzic seeking foreign intervention on
domestic issues. Terzic's worries about the departure of the
Office of the High Representative (OHR) next year were what
led to this initiative, Paravac opined.
2. (U) Cavic's criticism of Sanader was even harsher. He
warned Sanader that "meddling" by Croatia in the domestic
affairs of BiH could provoke chaos that would inevitably
spill over into Bosnia's neighbors. Cavic added that the
timing of the initiative was particularly telling, as Sanader
was seeking to revisit the status of Croats in Bosnia.
(Note: The announcement of the Sanader initiative came
within days of the anniversary of Operation Storm in Croatia,
often cited by Serbs as an operation to ethnically cleanse
areas of Croatia populated by Serbs. End Note.) Cavic added
that if Croats wanted to reopen the issue of the status of
Croats in Bosnia, Sanader should expect a similar
revisitation of the status of Serbs in Croatia.
3. (C) COMMENT: It is tempting to chalk up the comments of
Paravac and Cavic to pre-election politicking, but something
more may be at work. Media reports assert that High Rep
Schwarz-Schilling supports the Sanader proposal. In fact, the
High Rep said that while regional conferences can be
valuable, the issue of the constitutional structure of BiH
was settled at Dayton, and any future changes can only be
made through finding consensus among domestic political
parties. If international actors do jump onto the Sanader
bandwagon (or if the BiH media reports they have),this is
likely to mix unhelpfully in the pre-election debate,
complicating a successful return to the U.S.-supported
constitutional reform process after the elections. END
COMMENT.
MCELHANEY