GOC PRESENTS BOSNIAN CROAT PROPOSAL FOR BIH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 001423

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO, EUR/SCE HOH, SAINZ, BALIAN, FOOKS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV BK HR REGIONAL ISSUES
SUBJECT: GOC PRESENTS BOSNIAN CROAT PROPOSAL FOR BIH
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

REF: ZAGREB 1392

Classified By: Political Officer Tom Selinger for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: MFA State Secretary Hidajet
Biscevic briefed Charge d'Affaires November 30 on a
two-option proposal from Bosnian Croat leaders for
modifications that would enable them to support the BiH
constitutional reform plan. Charge cautioned against calls
to reopen the reform package, warning that the entire process
could collapse. Biscevic emphasized that the GoC could only
push for a solution that was endorsed by the Bosnian Croat
community. He argued in favor of an option that would
preserve entity voting but make the Constitutional Court
responsible for protecting constituent peoples' vital
interests.


2. (C) With tightly contested parliamentary elections
expected in Croatia in November 2007 -- elections in which
Bosnian Croats are allowed to vote -- it appears the GoC will
remain unwilling to press Bosnian Croats to accept the
original reform package (reftel). END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.

TWO OPTIONS BISCEVIC SAYS BOSNIAN CROATS CAN ACCEPT
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3. (SBU) According to Biscevic, all Bosnian Croat
parliamentary deputies, with the exception of convicted HDZ
BiH leader Dragan Covic, met recently and agreed on two
options they would consider acceptable. The first, which
Bosnian Croats would prefer but Biscevic acknowledged is
probably too radical for the moment, is to abolish the entity
voting system. Under this proposal, the protection of vital
national interests would be placed in the House of Peoples.
If two-thirds of the deputies of any one constituent people
voted against a given proposal, it would be rejected.
According to Biscevic, the House of Representatives would
serve to represent all citizens in this system while the
House of Peoples would protect each group,s vital interests.



4. (SBU) The second and more realistic proposal in
Biscevic,s view would preserve entity voting, but refer
matters of vital national interest to the Constitutional
Court. If the majority of deputies of a given people object
to a proposal, it would be referred to the Constitutional
Court to determine by majority vote if it actually violates
the essential interests of that group. The majority in the
court must include the two judges from the group in question
for the matter to be rejected. Biscevic stressed that this
would only be invoked in matters like linguistics and culture
that are truly vital interests, and would not disrupt the
political process in routine matters. He was told by Bosnian
Croat leaders that this option was acceptable to RS PM
Milorad Dodik. He did not have information on Bosniak views.

INTERNATIONALS SHOULD BE CLEAR THAT REFORMS NOT OVER
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5. (SBU) Biscevic noted that in addition to either one of
these options, the Bosnian Croat community would look for
clear signals from the international community that this
reform package was not the end of the process. The entity
system, he said, must eventually be addressed, because the
future of BiH is currently in the hands of Belgrade
politicians, who dictate the behavior of RS. A country
cannot be hostage to the politics of another country, he
argued.


6. (SBU) In arguing for modifications to the constitutional
reform package, Biscevic also referred to a Council of Europe
report from June 06 that recommends a complete re-write of
the BiH constitution as the best solution. He acknowledged
that a completely new constitution would take years that we
don,t have, but that Bosnian Croats are not currently
protected as a constituent people under the entity voting
system. They have almost no presence in RS and are a
minority in the Federation, so they are disadvantaged in
comparison to Serbs and Bosniaks. He noted that 80 percent
of Bosnian Croat deputies in the state parliament voted
against the constitutional reform package in April, compared
with the 42 percent of Bosniak deputies and the 8 percent of
Serb deputies who voted against, implying that these figures
showed who benefited in the current package. &We need to
find a way forward for everyone,8 he said.

ENDORSEMENT OF BOSNIAN CROATS IS GoC PREREQUISITE
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ZAGREB 00001423 002 OF 002




7. (SBU) Biscevic made it clear that the GoC is looking to
Bosnian Croat leaders for guidance on this issue and will
only actively lobby for a package that is acceptable to the
Bosnian Croat community. &How can PM Sanader play a big
regional leadership role if he can,t help the Croats in
BiH?8 Biscevic asked rhetorically.


8. (SBU) Charge advised Biscevic of USG views that re-opening
the reform package will upset delicate compromises that took
months to reach, invite other groups to seek additional
concessions, and potentially bring down the entire reform
effort.
DELAWIE