BOSNIA: BOSNIAKS MORE SENSITIVE ABOUT U.S.

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 002575

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

OSD FOR FLORY, NSC FOR BRAUN AND HINNEN, DOJ FOR FBIHQ, DHS
FOR ICE/OIA (SHEA, ALVAREZ),VIENNA FOR DHS/ICE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2011
TAGS: PTER PINR PHUM PGOV PREL BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: BOSNIAKS MORE SENSITIVE ABOUT U.S.
COUNTERTERRORISM POLICIES

REF: A. 05 SARAJEVO 2930 B. SARAJEVO 2072 C. SARAJEVO
2042

Classified By: DCM Judith B. Cefkin. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S) SUMMARY: In the past, Bosniak (i.e., Muslim)
politicians and the Bosniak public have been strong
supporters of U.S. counterterrorism policies. This includes
the work of the Citizenship Review Commission (CRC),one of
our top counterterrorism priorities in Bosnia. Criticism of
the CRC generally came from extremists, whom Bosniak
officials and the general public largely ignored. For
several reasons, the atmosphere has deteriorated over the
past several months. First, during the recent election
campaign, Bosniak politics shifted markedly to the right,
with Bosniak candidates often seeking to establish their
Muslim credentials by criticizing U.S. and GBiH
counterterrorism initiatives, including the CRC. Second,
radical Muslims, including associates of former mujaheddin
(the CRC's target),are now better organized and more adept
at shaping public debate. Third, the screening of "The Road
to Guantanamo" at the Sarajevo Film Festival renewed local
debate about the "Algerian Six," including more widespread
condemnation of U.S. policies. The radicals' aim appears to
be to turn the "Algerian Six" into a Bosniak cause celebre
and link this case to other initiatives, particularly the
CRC, in order to discredit them. Growing sympathetic
attention to the "Algerian Six" from outside Bosnia has
indirectly aided their cause. This controversy has the
potential to become on-going irritant in USG-GBiH relations
and to hamper cooperation on other important bilateral
issues, particularly the CRC. With this in mind, it would be
helpful if Washington could provide early warning to Post
when there are major developments in cases involving the
"Algerian Six" before they become public. END SUMMARY.

Background: "Algerian Six," CRC
--------------


2. (S) In January 2002, the BiH government rendered Algerian
nationals (Belkacem BENSAYAH, Hadj BOUDELLA, Lakhdar
BOUMEDIENE, Mustafa Ait IDIR, Sabar LAHMAR and Mohamed
NECHLA) to U.S. authorities. All claim Bosnian citizenship
and are being held as enemy combatants in the Guantanamo Bay
detention facility. The six are linked to the radical
Algerian terrorist organization GIA (Armed Islamic Group),
and suspected of plotting terrorist acts in Bosnia. Though
U.S. counterterrorism policies, including U.S. detention
policies at Guantanamo Bay, have been the subject of
widespread criticism within Europe, the vast majority of
Bosnians, including Bosniaks (i.e., Bosnian Muslims),have
shown little critical interest in these policies or the
"Algerian Six." The absence of sustained, serious public
criticism has helped maintain a favorable political climate
for cooperation with Bosnian authorities on a range of
counterterrorism priorities, including the Citizenship Review
Commission's work. The CRC was established in January 2006.
Its mandate is to remove BiH citizenship from former
mujaheddin, or foreign fighters, who obtained it improperly
following the 1992-95 war (Ref. A). (Note: The CRC is
reviewing the citizenship claims of the "Algerian Six," and
we are told that there is a high likelihood that at least
some will have their citizenship stripped. End Note)

Mainstream Bosniak Politics Shifts Right
--------------


3. (C) Bosniak public attitudes towards the "Algerian Six"
and the CRC have become perceptibly more skeptical in recent
months. During the recent election campaign, Haris
Silajdzic, now President-elect for the Bosniak member of the
Tri-Presidency, ran an overtly nationalist campaign. Though
Silajdzic built his campaign around an anti-constitutional
reform message, a key subtext was that he and his party were
"better Muslims" than their opponents and would better
protect Bosnia's Muslims from outside threats. These
messages resonated and traditionally moderate Bosniak
politicians felt compelled to beef up their Bosniak
credentials by, among other things, criticizing the

SARAJEVO 00002575 002 OF 003


government's handling of the "Algerian Six" and attacking the
CRC. One immediate consequence for the U.S. counterterrorism
agenda was a reluctance by Bosniak members of Parliament to
adopt an amendment to the Law on Citizenship that would close
a loophole that, if left open, could undercut the CRC's work
and GBiH efforts to ensure the most dangerous foreigner
fighters are deported from Bosnia (Ref. B). With the
election behind them, Silajdzic and his opponents may steer
Bosniak politics back to the center, but how long this
process might take is unclear. Right now, moderate Bosniaks
are shell-shocked and reluctant to support policies that
could be construed as "anti-Muslim."

Radicals Elevate Their Public Profile
--------------


4. (C) As electoral dynamics drove Bosniak politics to the
right, radicals, including advocates for the mujaheddin, made
more frequent and sophisticated efforts to advance their
agenda, particularly raising the public profile of the
"Algerian Six" and discrediting the CRC. Nadja Dizdarevic,
the wife of Hadj Boudella and an outspoken advocate for the
"Algerian Six," joined the hard right People's Bosniak Party,
and ran for a seat in the Federation Parliament. Though
unsuccessful, her campaign gave radicals a new platform for
their extremist rhetoric. Abu Hamza (aka Immad Hussien aka
Imad Al-Husin),the radical Muslim community's
self-proclaimed spokesman, sought to exploit public confusion
about the citizenship review process by mounting a public
campaign that erroneously linked the renditions of the
"Algerian Six" to the CRC. The deportation of Tunisian
national (but non-BiH citizen) Bedrudin el Ferchichi (aka Abu
Malik) in late August gave Hamza's campaign fresh impetus,
even though the CRC had nothing to do with it (Ref. C).
Hamza, Dizdarevic and others lambasted politicians for
supporting policies that they claimed violated Muslims' human
rights. The day before the national elections Abu Hamza and
about 300 parents and children of mujaheddin protested
against the CRC in downtown Sarajevo marching under banners
with slogans such as "do not take away my daddy."
The Road to Guantanamo Stops in Sarajevo
--------------


5. (C) Michael Winterbottom's film "The Road to Guantanamo"
has also had a powerful impact on Bosniak public perception
of U.S. counterterrorism policies and the continued detention
of the "Algerian Six." The film was screened at the 2006
Sarajevo Film Festival, received a standing ovation from over
6,000 people, and won the audience favorite award. It then
ran for almost 6 weeks at Sarajevo's premier cinema, an
unprecedented time for a foreign movie. The film contained
graphic depictions of detainees experiencing short shackling,
sensory deprivation and over-stimulation, and confrontational
interrogations. These images have powerfully shaped Bosniak
discussion of the "Algerian Six," whose "plight" is now
referred to more frequently by media outlets. The images
also raised public concern about deportations, particularly
those related to the CRC's work, and warnings about the
dangers of deporting individuals to countries where they
might be tortured.


6. (C) Winterbottom and the "Tipton Three," the protagonists
of "The Road to Guantanamo," also attended the Sarajevo Film
Festival. They used their appearances to criticize the
Bosnian government's failure to pursue the release of the
"Algerian Six," and to call upon Bosnians to mount a public
campaign to secure their freedom. Efforts from outside
Bosnia to elevate the profile of the "Algerian Six" continued
after the film festival. Most notably on September 27, when
a Boston-based U.S. law firm filed suit against the GBiH in
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on behalf of
Boumediene. The suit, which has attracted widespread
attention in Bosnia, asks the Court to compel the BiH
government to pursue all necessary diplomatic efforts to
return him to Bosnia. According to press reports, similar
suits on behalf of the other five men will be filed as well.

Comment: A Little Help
--------------

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7. (S) Diffusing political opposition to the CRC is critical
to our counterterrorism goals in Bosnia. The tilt to the
right in Bosniak politics, the increasing sophistication of
some radical Muslims, and the growing public profile of the
"Algerian Six" case makes this more difficult than it has
been in the past. In our private conversations with Bosnian
politicians - Bosniak, Serb, and Croat - we have urged them
not to politicize the CRC or the "Algerian Six," or to fall
into the trap set for them by the radicals and link the two
issues. Our public comments on the CRC have generally
stressed that all governments, including the U.S., take
measures to prevent and punish fraud in the citizenship and
naturalization process, as well as the legitimacy of
government action to provide for the security of its
citizens. In Post's estimation, no benefit will result from
engaging locally on the broader Guantanamo debate. However,
we will continue to proactively de-link the citizenship
review process from the "Algerian Six." Our aim is to
prevent the "Algerian Six" from becoming an on-going irritant
in U.S.-BiH relations or from negatively impacting other
important bilateral counterterrorism initiatives. With this
in mind, it would be useful if Washington could provide early
warning to Post when there are major developments in cases
involving the "Algerian Six" before they become public.
MCELHANEY