Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SARAJEVO3188
2006-12-18 14:08:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sarajevo
Cable title:  

BOSNIA: PIC POLITICAL DIRECTORS STRESS POLICE AND

Tags:  PGOV PREL BK 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3530
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVJ #3188/01 3521408
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 181408Z DEC 06 **ZDK**
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5065
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 003188 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: PIC POLITICAL DIRECTORS STRESS POLICE AND
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AS WELL AS ICTY COOPERATION

REF: A. SARAJEVO 2752

B. SARAJEVO 1464

SARAJEVO 00003188 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: AMBASSADOR DOUGLAS MCELHANEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 003188

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: PIC POLITICAL DIRECTORS STRESS POLICE AND
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AS WELL AS ICTY COOPERATION

REF: A. SARAJEVO 2752

B. SARAJEVO 1464

SARAJEVO 00003188 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: AMBASSADOR DOUGLAS MCELHANEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary: During its December 6-7 meeting in Brussels,
the Political Directors of the Peace Implementation Council
(PIC) Steering Board emphasized the need for Bosnian leaders
to achieve concrete progress on a wide reform agenda
including constitutional, and police reform. EUR DAS
Rosemary DiCarlo highlighted the need to fully implement
defense reform and urged PIC political directors to continue
pressuring Bosnian leaders to make progress in that area.
PIC political directors privately debated the timing for a
second phase of constitutional amendments, but urged Bosnian
leaders to adopt the April package immediately. Although a
Post-PIC police reform meeting was hampered by poor
attendance of Bosnian political parties, PIC directors
unanimously impressed upon Bosnian leaders the need to enact
police reform in line with the three EC principles. DAS
DiCarlo and several other Political directors urged increased
cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). OHR informed PIC directors that
plans for a June 2007 closure were on track, but a number of
PIC members and the OHR High Representative expressed concern
that circumstances in BiH and the region would force a delay.
PIC members agreed a through review of the situation would
be necessary to guide the February decision. OHR updated the
PIC on key steps still needed regarding Brcko, Mostar, and
financial reform. Bosnian leaders presented their parties,
views on government formation, police reform, and the April
constitutional reform package. End Summary

Defense Reform still vital after PFP Membership
-------------- --


2. (C) PIC Political Directors used their December 6-7
meeting to press Bosnian political leaders to continue with
defense reform efforts. EUR DAS Rosemary DiCarlo hailed
Bosnia's recent invitation to join Partnership for Peace
(PFP) as recognition of the success of defense reform and

NATO's confidence in Bosnia as a partner and future full
member of the alliance. However, she impressed upon Bosnian
leaders the need to move ahead with several crucial but
lagging elements of defense reform implementation. OHR also
underscored to PIC Political Directors the need to counter
the perception that the invitation to PFP membership meant
that defense reform was complete in Bosnia, and urged all IC
representatives to encourage Bosnian political leaders to
complete the process.

Constitutional Reform
--------------


3. (C) PIC Political Directors unanimously encouraged Bosnian
political leaders to adopt the March package of
Constitutional amendments without delay. DAS DiCarlo urged
the quick adoption of the March package as a critical first
step in an incremental process of modernizing Bosnia's
constitution. Germany, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands,
and Russia joined the U.S. call for Bosnian political leaders
to move ahead in adopting the March package.


4. (C) During the closed session of the Steering Board
meeting, High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling
recommended initiating a dialogue on a further phase of
reforms in January by establishing a constitutional reform
secretariat to help promote widespread civil society
participation. According to Schwarz-Schilling, this was
important for bringing the Bosnian Croats around to
supporting the process. Representatives from the European
Commission and France agreed with OHR that public discussion
on the second phase could begin before the adoption of the
March package. DAS DiCarlo urged political directors to
refrain from public preparations for a second phase, as to do
so would effectively doom any prospect of passing the
existing amendment package.

Police Reform Deadlock Endangers SAA
--------------


5. (C) Members of the PIC Steering Board made it clear to
Bosnian political leaders that there would be no EU
Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) until Bosnia
concluded police reform in line with the three EC principles.

SARAJEVO 00003188 002 OF 003


The German delegation expressed hope that police reform
could be concluded in time to sign the SAA during the
upcoming German EU presidency, but put the responsibility of
to do so upon Bosnian political leaders. DAS DiCarlo
reminded Bosnian leaders that the EU, like NATO, wants Bosnia
as a member, but police reform is a prerequisite.
Representatives from OHR, the EC, UK, Netherlands, Italy, and
Japan also urged the Bosnian political leaders to not let
disagreement over police reform delay the SAA. The Turkish
Ambassador specifically warned against using external events
in the region to block Bosnia's road to reform.


6. (C) OHR urged political leaders not to summarily dismiss
the report of the Police Reform Directorate (PRD).
Representatives of the Bosniak parties opted not to attend a
police reform meeting on the heels of the PIC, claiming that
additional political level talks on police reform would not
be productive until the Police Reform Directorate finished
its report later in December. Ambassador McElhaney urged the
Serb and Croat leaders in attendance to come to compromise so
that they could sign an SAA. Croat leaders professed their
desire to be constructive in coming to an agreement. Serb
leaders repeated accusations that the PRD was working in
violation of the October 2005 agreement and that any PRD
proposal completed without RS participation will not be
considered. General Vincenzo Coppola, Head of the European
Union Police Mission, reminded the leaders that the PRD
report would be general in nature allowing room for
adaptation during police reform implementation over the next
few years. The leaders agreed to meet again after the PRD
completed its report.

Increased ICTY Cooperation Needed
--------------


7. (C) Political Directors called upon Bosnian leaders to
increase cooperation with the ICTY. DAS DiCarlo reminded the
Bosnian political leaders that cooperation on war criminals
remained a requirement for Bosnia's Euro-Atlantic
integration. Turkish and Dutch representatives singled out
the RS for its lack of cooperation.

OHR Closure--Battle lines forming?
--------------


8. (C) OHR announced that plans for a June closure were on
track and that Spain had volunteered to serve as OHR's
'interest representative', a necessary legal mechanism to
protect former OHR officials after closure. Some unfinished
initiatives such as on police reform would be transferred to
the EUSR office for follow up. However, HiRep
Schwarz-Schilling supported by several PIC members, notably
Germany, France, Turkey and the Netherlands, expressed
concern about the lack of progress on reform and the
polarized political environment and the pending Kosovo status
decision as worrying factors and that it was not a forgone
conclusion that the PIC would decide to proceed with closure
in February. The US, UK, Canada, and Russia agreed that a
thorough assessment would be necessary on which to base the
February decision, but stressed the need to publicly
reiterate previous PIC statements in support of the existing
timeline to avoid the false impression that a decision had
been made to postpone.

Financial and Cultural Reforms
--------------


9. (C) Although OHR pointed out progress in some economic
areas, most financial and cultural reform efforts stalled in

2006. Principal OHR Deputy High Representative Larry Butler
praised Bosnia's successful implementation of Value Added Tax
regime, but emphasized the need for a functional National
Fiscal Council to coordinate budgetary expenditures. OHR
lamented the stalled effort to reform public broadcasting due
to a State level Constitutional Court case over the
protection of Croat Vital National Interest. Similarly,
education reform reached deadlock both at the policy and
classroom levels. OHR, UK, OSCE, and Council of Europe urged
the adoption of a state-level education framework law and
supported holding a summit on education reform.

Brcko
--------------


10. (C) OHR Brcko Supervisor Raffi Gregorian briefed the PIC

SARAJEVO 00003188 003 OF 003


on the challenges facing Brcko. After years of functioning
as an independent political unit, there has been a political
radicalization in the District in the aftermath of the post
October 2006 elections and as the end of the supervisor
regime draws near. He asked PIC political directors to
strongly support the continuance of Brcko as a single
multi-ethnic unit after OHR departs. Gregorian further
invited PIC political directors and Ambassadors to attend a
ceremony on March 8 to mark Brcko District Day and the 10th
anniversary of the Supervisory regime. Gregorian highlighted
the need to resolve the outstanding issue of VAT allocation
to Brcko and for the passage of a State Law on the Brcko
District that would regulate the relationship between the
State Institutions and the District. Gregorian informed
political directors that such a law must be adopted and
actually functioning effectively before he will be able to
recommend ending the Supervisor Regime in Brcko District.

Mostar
--------------


11. (C) Due to the lack of tangible progress in unifying the
Mostar city administration, the High Representative appointed
Norbert Winterstein as a special envoy to the city in
October. The Special Envoy is still in the process of making
recommendations on civil service appointments, and the
unification of public utilities as the December 31 end of his
mandate approaches. On an outstanding telecom issue,
Winterstein recommended that Mostar transfer the ownership of
Hercegovine Radio and Television by March 31, 2007 or
initiate bankruptcy procedures. Should Mostar city officials
fail to adopt Winterstein's recommendations, the HR will
consider going against "his practice of interfering" and
using the Bonn Powers.

Bosnian Leaders on Government Formation and Reform Issues
-------------- --------------


12. (SBU) Leaders of the most Bosnian political parties
accepted OHR's invitation to attend the PIC meeting and
presented their views on government formation and reform
issues. SNSD President Milorad Dodik and PDP President
Mladen Ivanic traded accusations with SDA Vice President
Adnan Terzic and SBiH President Haris Silajdzic as to which
political parties were blocking government formation. On
Constitutional Reform, SDA, SNSD, HDZ-BiH, PDP leaders
declared their support for the March package of
Constitutional Amendments with Terzic declaring that his
party will give all nine of its votes to the package if
reintroduced. Silajdzic spoke out strongly against the
constitutional reform package, declaring that retaining the
practice of entity voting was paramount to voting yes to
genocide and ethnic cleansing and that SBiH will oppose any
reform package that maintains this provision. SBIH and
HDZ-1990 both urged PIC leaders to extend OHR with Bonn
powers, which is necessary to overcome dysfunctionality with
Bosnian structures and complete Dayton implementation.
MCELHANEY