BOSNIA: POLICE REFORM DIRECTORATE REPORT COMPLETE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 003271 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KCRM KJUS EUN BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA: POLICE REFORM DIRECTORATE REPORT COMPLETE - POLITICAL IMPASSE REMAINS REF: A. SARAJEVO 2999 ¶B. SARAJEVO 3188 Classified By: CDA Judith B. Cefkin: Reasons 1.4 (B),(D). ¶1. (C) Summary: The Police Reform Directorate (PRD) issued its final report on December 22, but the process of political approval and implementation remains at an impasse despite US and EU warnings that without agreement Bosnia cannot sign a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) until police reform is resolved. The report failed to answer key questions that will be left up to politicians during the report approval process. Members of the Republika Srpska (RS) government are calling for political talks on police reform, while most Federation-based parties argue political talks are unnecessary and that the government should simply adopt the PRD report. OHR is, again, considering facilitating political talks in January or February but acknowledges that there is no indications the RS is prepared to hammer out a police reform agreement meeting EC requirements. We continue to press Dodik and the Serbs to honor the 3 EC principles and encourage the Bosniak political leadership to participate constructively in the OHR-planned political talks, but we are not optimistic either side is prepared to change their approach, at least in the near term. End Summary Key Questions Unanswered -------------- ¶2. (SBU) At its final meeting on December 22, the Police Reform Directorate Steering Board (PRDSB) adopted a Proposed Implementation Plan for Police Restructuring (Final Report). All PRDSB members joined the consensus adopting the report except for RS observer Uros Pena, who remained silent. After 28 meetings over the course of one year, the PRDSB's Final Report proposed a unified state-level police structure along with a description of individual agency competencies. The Final Report recommends that laws relating to the police and the yearly budget for police structures will be made by the State-level Parliament with some regulations and a State policing plan made by the Council of Ministers and State-level Minister of Security. The Parliament and the Council of Ministers could request reports and investigations into the efficiency and effectiveness of police structures but cannot interfere in the operational work of the police. The Final Report places operational control over police structures in the hands of a Board of Police Directors consisting of the Directors of Police, State Border Service, and State Investigation and Protection Agency. The report did not answer certain key questions including the number and demarcation of local police regions, whether any local police regions would cross the Inter-Entity Boundary Line, and whether the RS Ministry of Interior would continue to exist. According to PRDSB chairman Himzo Selimovic, these questions will be deferred for political resolution during the report approval process. The PRDSB noted that the report fell short of the specific criteria in the October 2005 Agreement but that they produced the best possible product given the lack of political support for their work. An English translation of the Final Report including an organigram for police structures will be sent to the EUR/SCE Desk. Initial Reactions to the Report -------------- ¶3. (U) Initial reactions to the report were positive from the international community, but mixed from domestic political leaders. High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling thanked the PRDSB for the report and claimed that the document paves the way for successful police reform. He asserted that the report fully met the requirements of the October 2005 agreement, but that Bosnian politicians must now carefully consider the unresolved questions and find solutions that conform to the three EU principles. Dimitris Kourkoulas, Head of the EC Delegation to Bosnia, told reporters that the EC looks forward to concrete implementation of the proposed reforms. Prime Minister Adnan Terzic played down the deficiencies of the report saying that the PRDSB's work of defining the organizational structure and competencies of the a state level police structure is more important than resolving the issue of local police regions. Although RS Director of Police Uros Pena had previously said the report was a good basis for further talks, the reaction of RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik has been negative. Dodik was quoted as characterizing the PRDSB as an illegal organization that is inconsistent with the October 2005 agreement. Dodik added that the report is not binding on the RS and would not be discussed by RS authorities. SARAJEVO 00003271 002 OF 002 Report Approval Process -------------- ¶4. (U) According to the October 2005 Agreement, the report must now be approved at multiple levels of government. After Ministry of Security approval the report will be forwarded to the Council of Ministers (CoM) for review. The CoM will have the opportunity to endorse the report and convey it to entity-level governments for consideration, and ratification by Entity parliaments. The report will formally enter into force after its adoption by both entity-level parliaments. The October 2005 Agreement foresees adoption by entity-level parliaments by March 2007. The EU has indicated that parliamentary approval is a precondition for the signing of a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). Political Parties Deadlocked -------------- ¶5. (C) Bosnian political parties fundamentally disagree over the need for further political talks on police reform. RS officials, most notably Milorad Dodik and his Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD),insist that political talks are required to resolve outstanding issues such as budgetary competencies and the role of the RS Ministry of Interior. The majority of Bosniak political parties oppose political talks claiming that the October 2005 agreement is binding and must not be revisited. Key Croat parties have voiced a willingness to enter into comprehensive reform talks in January, to include police reform issues. OHR is again considering facilitating a round of political discussions in January or early February using the report and "Terms" paper to try to bridge gaps in the Report (Ref A) but is unsure when Bosnian political parties may be ready to come to the table. We have been utilizing every discussion with the Federation and RS political leadership, including in the Ambassador's recent rounds of talks with political leaders, to encourage them to engage on this issue to reach a mutually acceptable police reform agreement in line with the 3 EC principles. Comment: -------------- ¶6. (C) Completion of the PRDSB report failed to overcome the long-standing political impasse on police reform. The RS government and Serb political parties remain fundamentally unwilling to make concessions to enact police reform in line with the three principles. Rather, they continue to demand that the report be reworked during political talks to meet their demands, many of which run counter to the EC principles. The Bosniak SDA and SBiH parties refused to attend an interparty meeting on police reform on the margins of the December PIC and, to date, remain unwilling to engage in negotiations required to resolve outstanding political issues. (Ref B) We have warned Federation-based parties that their refusal to engage in political talks allows Dodik to blame them for the failure of police reform. Silajdzic may not care because he likely sees the impasse as more ammunition for his case that OHR should extend its mandate into 2008. Despite considerable expenditures of political capital, OHR has been entirely unsuccessful in brokering any form of political resolution on police reform. Completion of the PRDSB report has not made the prospect of a breakthrough any more likely, although we will continue to press Bosnian political leaders to resolve this issue in line with the 3 EC principles. End Comment CEFKIN