Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SARAJEVO2111
2006-09-13 09:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sarajevo
Cable title:  

BOSNIA: PM DODIK CLAIMS HE'LL MODERATE RHETORIC

Tags:  PGOV PREL BK YI UNMIK 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1516
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVJ #2111/01 2560934
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 130934Z SEP 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4371
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA 0060
RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 002111 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL BK YI UNMIK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: PM DODIK CLAIMS HE'LL MODERATE RHETORIC
ON SERB "SECESSION" FROM STATE

REF: A. STATE 149123

B. STATE 136492

C. SARAJEVO 2095

Classified By: AMBASSADOR DOUGLAS L. MCELHANEY. REASONS 1.4 (B),(D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 002111

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL BK YI UNMIK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: PM DODIK CLAIMS HE'LL MODERATE RHETORIC
ON SERB "SECESSION" FROM STATE

REF: A. STATE 149123

B. STATE 136492

C. SARAJEVO 2095

Classified By: AMBASSADOR DOUGLAS L. MCELHANEY. REASONS 1.4 (B),(D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: During a September 11 meeting with
Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik,
Ambassador delivered ref A letter from Under Secretary Burns
to PM Dodik, and underscored USG concerns over Dodik,s
comments on Kosovo during his recent visit to Belgrade.
Dodik claimed his meetings in Belgrade focused exclusively on
economic issues; he did not discuss Kosovo with Serbian
leaders; and his Kosovo statements were made only in response
to direct questions from the Serbian press. Ambassador
reiterated to Dodik the importance of refraining from
inflammatory pre-election rhetoric, especially regarding an
independence referendum in the RS. Dodik said he was anxious
to put the referendum talk behind him, but was not sure of
the best course of action. The Ambassador urged Dodik to
focus his campaign on a positive vision for the future of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, rather than using secession threats
to counter his political rivals. On police reform,
Ambassador encouraged Dodik to re-engage with the Europeans,
noting the EU will probably show flexibility in negotiations.
Dodik said he would not be ready to resume political
discussions on police reform until after the elections. END
SUMMARY.

Kosovo not Discussed in Belgrade
--------------


2. (C) Ambassador met Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister
Milorad Dodik in Sarajevo on September 11 to deliver a letter
from Undersecretary Burns (ref A) and raise USG concern over
Dodik,s recent statements about Kosovo and an RS
independence referendum. Ambassador also drew from ref B
points outlining to Dodik USG expectations on the outcome of
Kosovo status negotiations. Ambassador pointed to USG
disappointment over Dodik,s public comment that Kosovo
should remain a part of Serbia after his recent meetings with
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and President Boris
Tadic in Belgrade (ref C). The Ambassador said that Dodik,s

comments had raised concern in Washington and were also
receiving significant attention in the region. Dodik replied
that his Kosovo comments were made only after questions from
Serb journalists. He claimed that the subject of Kosovo did
not come up in any of his meetings with Serbian officials,
which were focused exclusively on increasing economic
cooperation between the RS and Serbia. Dodik asserted that
he is not at all concerned about Kosovo, and that he and
Serbian officials assume that Kosovo will become independent
in some form.

Dodik: Referendum Talk is Election Rhetoric
--------------


3. (C) Citing numerous examples of Dodik,s increasingly
provocative statements on an RS referendum over recent
months, Ambassador warned Dodik that these statements add to
the negative, nationalist tone of the election campaign and
the USG views such destabilizing rhetoric with serious
concern. Dodik claimed not to recall many of the statements
Ambassador cited and claimed the press focused only on his
referendum comments while ignoring statements on his
continued support for the April package of constitutional
amendments. Dodik said his referendum comments were made
only in response to calls from Bosniak politicians,
especially Party for BiH President Haris Silajdzic, for the
abolition of the RS. Ambassador told Dodik that regardless
of his motives, his calls for a referendum were being taken
seriously by other ethnic groups and by the international
community as a serious attempt by Dodik to place in question
the independent, sovereign status of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


4. (C) Dodik claimed he had no intention of calling for a
referendum, and was anxious to remove the issue from public
debate. However, he was unsure how to achieve that without
seeming to back down in the face of Silajdzic,s call to
abolish the RS. The Ambassador urged Dodik to reframe the
debate in terms of his vision for a future, more cohertent,
and agreed, government structure for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ambassador said Dodik should focus on how he sees better
relations between the entities and the national-level
government. Dodik pledged to consider how to rein in
discussion of a referendum. He suggested he could make clear
there was no need for a referendum in the face of
international community reaffirmation of the Dayton
Constitution and the legality of the RS.


SARAJEVO 00002111 002 OF 002


Police Reform: No Re-engagement Until After Elections
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Ambassador told Dodik that the U.S. and UK are trying
to find a way out of the current impasse over police reform.
He urged Dodik not to jeopardize the signing of a
Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU
and Bosnia, adding that the Europeans have expressed their
willingness to be flexible. Dodik said the RS would work
"intensively" on police reform after the elections, claiming
the RS is ready to cede legislative authority on law
enforcement to the state. Ambassador said the U.S. was still
very much engaged in the process, and that the core issue was
the need for state level operational control over the police.
He said he knows the EU has not made its views clear on the
subject, but if that is the crux of the RS, concerns, then
the RS needs to be prepared to discuss it. The Ambassador
reminded Dodik of his agreement to the regionalization of
policing, including regions that cross the Interentity
Boundary Line (IEBL),reached last year between Ambassador,
RS President Cavic and former HighRep Ashdown. He added that
the Europeans are prepared to be flexible, but Dodik must
stop threatening to boycott the Police Reform Directorate in
order for the USG to help get the talks back on track.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) Dodik's assertions that Kosovo, an RS referendum and
police reform are merely tactical campaign issues that will
fade away after the elections are not new. However, we
remain unconvinced of his sincerity, and his ability to walk
back from such highly charged rhetoric after October.
Dodik's public statements have reached a level of audacity
that threatens to undermine the functionality of any new
government. Although Dodik attempts to downplay Belgrade's
influence in RS politics we are troubled by signs that
Serbia, and increasingly Russia, are attempting to advance
their own interests by encouraging Dodik's linkage of Kosovo
and an RS referendum. We note in the press September 13 that
Dodik at least temporarily is saying that the referendum
issue is less timely now that "international authorities"
have asserted that the Republika Srpska's existence is
assumed. End comment.
MCELHANEY