CROATIA HOSTS SEMINAR ON MULTINATIONAL UNITS

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001109 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MARR NATO HR DEFENSE REFORM SUBJECT: CROATIA HOSTS SEMINAR ON MULTINATIONAL UNITS IN PEACE OPERATIONS. ¶1. (U) Fourteen NATO and Partnership for Peace member nations are attending a 12-15 September seminar on multinational police units in international peacekeeping operations. The Croatian Armed Forces' Military Police Department is hosting the event, held in the coastal city of Split, to expand the knowledge and skills needed in peacekeeping operations and to share the lessons learned by the Croatian military police in the UN peace mission in Afghanistan. Representatives from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Hungary, Serbia, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the United States and Croatia will discuss multinational military police projects, standard operational procedures of the military police, preparations for tasks and missions, and the application of international law and its implications in international peace operations. ¶2. (SBU) COMMENT: The Croatia military is justifiably proud of its military police units' performance to date in Afghanistan. Military policing may in fact be Croatia's best choice as it seeks to develop a NATO "niche" capability. Noting that several hundred Croatian soldiers have now cycled through ISAF deployments, MFA Assistant Minister Pjer Simunovic told poloff Sept. 12 the seminar presents yet another opportunity for Croatia to demonstrate its commitment to the Alliance. He also pointed out that the presence of Serbian military personnel at the seminar, unthinkable just a few years ago, shows how far regional cooperation has come. END COMMENT BRADTKE