U.S. ORGANIZED DAYTON COMMEMORATION EVENTS FOCUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 002971

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR FOR DICARLO, EUR/SCE FOR HOH, FOOKS AND STINCHCOMB, NSC
FOR BRAUN, OSD FOR FLORY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2012
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ODIP BK
SUBJECT: U.S. ORGANIZED DAYTON COMMEMORATION EVENTS FOCUS
ON THE FUTURE


SARAJEVO 00002971 001.4 OF 002


Classified By: Ambassador Douglas L. McElhaney. Reason 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (U) SUMMARY: On November 21, the 11th anniversary of the
signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, Embassy Sarajevo
sponsored and/or hosted several events in and around
Sarajevo. The highlight of the day was an event for more
than 500 guests at the National Theater, which featured
speeches by the Ambassador, Tri-Presidency Chairman Nebojsa
Radmanovic, and a youth activist, as well as a performance by
the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra. Earlier, the Ambassador
and chiefs of mission from the EU, UK, Germany, France, and
Russia met jointly with the new members of the Bosnian
Tri-Presidency and released a joint statement following the
meeting calling on the newly elected Bosnian leaders to
commit themselves to early reform. The U.S. message was
clear -- the continued commitment of the United States o
Bosnia; -- the need to move swiftly to implemet key reforms,
including police reform, constituional reform and various
economic reforms; -- thedecision on Kosovo's status will
represent a final resolution to the status of the successors
to Yugoslavia; -- the future of the Republika Srpska must be
within Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Embassy also sponsored
two events highlighting the USG's commitment to Bosnia's
future, including a career center for youth at Sarajevo
University and a microlending network (both funded by USAID).
END SUMMARY.

Commemoration Event at the National Theater
--------------


2. (U) The highlight of the Embassy's Dayton commemoration
was an event at the National Theater in Sarajevo, attended by
a standing-room only crowd of political, economic, cultural
and academic leaders. Newly elected Tri-Presidency Chairman
Radmanovic was the first speaker and opened the evening with
a speech that called on all the leaders of Bosnia to work
together for a brighter future. Absent from the speech was
any of the ugly, nationalist rhetoric that characterized the
election campaign, and many of our interlocutors expressed
pleasant surprise to us at the inclusive and optimistic tone
of Radmanovic's speech. Following Radmanovic's speech, Ivana
Kesic, a youth activist who participated in the
U.S.-sponsored Benjamin Franklin Fellowship program, spoke
about her experiences in forming a multi-ethnic youth
organization aimed at educating young people about their
civil rights and responsibilities. She also called on the
leaders of Bosnia to fulfill their responsibilities and
promises to the citizens who elected them by focusing their
time and energy on the country's future rather than its past.


3. (U) Ambassador McElhaney spoke last, and delivered a
focused and powerful message to the political leaders of
Bosnia that while much has been accomplished since Dayton,
Bosnia is entering a new era of responsibility and
independence. He emphasized the urgency to move forward
right away with key reforms, including police reform and
constitutional reform, and told the parties they must
continue to work to consolidate the gains already achieved on
defense reform. He pointedly told the Serbs that Republika
Srpska's place was inside Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he told
the political party leaders to begin to form a government. A
major exception to the favorable reviews the U.S. message
received came from members of the Party for BiH (SBiH).
Bosniak Tri-Presidency member and SBiH President Haris
Silajdzic did not attend the event, citing illness. The
reaction from the breakaway HDZ-1990 was diplomatic, but
HDZ-1990 President Bozo Ljubic did ask whether rumors
circulating in Mostar that the U.S. wanted to keep HDZ-1990
out of government were true. We underscored that the USG was
not guiding coalition talks and stressed that government
formation was the responsibility of the political leaders.


4. (U) Press reaction to the event, and in particular to the
U.S. message, was generally favorable and focused on three
major points: -- first, that the U.S. continues to strongly
support Bosnia's future; -- second, the decision on Kosovo
will represent a final resolution to the status of the
successors to Yugoslavia; -- and third, the future of the
Republika Srpska must be within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Tri-Presidency Meeting with Dayton Signatories
-------------- -


5. (U) The day's events began with a meeting between the
Ambassador and ambassadors from the signatory

SARAJEVO 00002971 002.4 OF 002


countries/institutions of the General Framework Agreement for
Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (The GFAP includes the EU,
France, Germany, Russia, and the UK) and the newly-elected
members of Bosnia's Tri-Presidency. The GFAP ambassadors
stressed their continued commitment to Bosnia, including the
country's aspirations for membership in Euro-Atlantic
institutions, but emphasized that their relationship with
Bosnia would change as the Office of the High Representative
(OHR) closed. Responsibility for Bosnia's future would rest
squarely in the hands of its new government, and the
ambassadors urged the Tri-Presidency to move quickly to
implement the reforms necessary to ensure all Bosnians a
peaceful and prosperous future. After the meeting the GFAP
ambassadors released a joint statement, which underscored
these same points. (Note: Text of the statement has been
e-mailed to EUR/SCE. End Note.)


6. (C) Nebojsa Radmanovic, the Serb member of the
Tri-Presidency and current Tri-Presidency Chairman, and
Zeljko Komsic, the Croat member of the Tri-Presidency
response to the GFAP Ambassadors was consistent with the
spirit of the day, stressing their gratitude for the
international community's support for Bosnia over the past 11
years and underscoring their commitment to guiding Bosnia
towards a Euro-Atlantic future. Perhaps predictably, Haris
Silajdzic, the Bosniak member of the Tri-Presidency, struck a
sour note. He criticized the international community for its
failure to finish its work in Bosnia and argued the summer
2007 closure of OHR would jeopardize Bosnia's achievements
since Dayton. The OHR, with full Bonn Powers, should remain
in Bosnia in order to deal with Bosnia's "political
blockages." The international community could no longer
afford to take a "line of least resistance" approach to
Bosnia, Silajdzic said.

Visit to USAID-Sponsored Programs
--------------


7. (U) Earlier in the day, the Ambassador attended the
opening of a web-based Youth Career Portal sponsored by
USAID. The center is the first comprehensive youth
employment and entrepreneurship web resource in Bosnia and is
based at Sarajevo University. With this project, USAID hopes
to address the gap in resources and help create a favorable
environment for the development and promotion of youth
employment and entrepreneurship in Bosnia. The Ambassador
also participated in a signing ceremony for USAID grants to
four local micro-credit organizations. Each of the four
organizations received two million USD for agricultural
lending. Their programs are focused on giving loans to small
agricultural producers, many of whom are minority returnees.
Since the program's inception in 2004, it has lead to the
creation of 1,247 new jobs and helped to sustain another
9,982 jobs throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both of these
projects are central to helping to create incentives for
young, educated Bosnians to stay and help build the domestic
economy rather than seeking employment abroad, and to
creating an environment for sustainable returns for people
dislocated by the Bosnian war.
MCELHANEY