NATO MEMBER AMBASSADORS IN CROATIA AGREE TO SUPPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000180 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE and EUR/RPM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL NATO KPOA HR SUBJECT: NATO MEMBER AMBASSADORS IN CROATIA AGREE TO SUPPORT GOC PUBLIC OUTREACH EFFORTS SUMMARY AND COMMENT -------------- ¶1. (SBU) At a gathering of Ambassadors and military attaches from twenty NATO-member countries on February 9 hosted by Ambassador Frank, the assembled Ambassadors agreed to take a more active, public role in supporting the GoC's public education efforts in support of NATO membership. Hungary - as NATO Contact Point embassy - briefed on the GoC plans to use NATO PD resources to ramp up its public outreach campaign. In a follow up meeting with Ambassador Frank February 10, GoC NATO Coordinator and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Pjer Simunovic explained that the GoC campaign is now getting started in earnest. Simunovic noted that the GoC had no choice but to wait to launch its campaign until Croatia's NATO prospects were clarified by the December 2005 arrest of ICTY fugitive Ante Gotovina. ¶2. (SBU) Post has launched its own effort to complement the GoC public education campaign. We intend to coordinate closely with NATO allies and develop opportunities for joint outreach with a core group of interested Ambassadors from France, Germany, Norway, Canada, Hungary, Romania and Netherlands. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. GETTING THE WORD OUT TOGETHER -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On February 9, Post hosted a gathering of ambassadors and military attaches from all NATO-member countries with resident missions in Croatia. Our objective was to generate allied support for the GoC's nascent NATO public education campaign. The assembled ambassadors agreed that it was time to put an international face on NATO in Croatia. A core group of ambassadors - France, Germany, Norway, Canada, Hungary, Romania and Netherlands - agreed to work together to create opportunities to speak together publicly on NATO themes. GoC in the Lead -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Hungary, as NATO Contact Point embassy, briefed on upcoming public outreach opportunities the GoC had developed in coordination with NATO international staff. In the next seven weeks alone, the GoC will take advantage of visits by DSYG Minuto Rizzo and the NATO IS PARP assessment team and conduct two journalist education seminars to bring better information about NATO to the public attention. The Hungarian Embassy offered to act as a clearing house for tracking public outreach efforts and will host a brainstorming session in April on public messaging on NATO for member-country embassies. ¶5. (SBU) Following post's roundtable, but in advance of his departure for Washington for the Adriatic Charter Ministerial, GoC NATO Coordinator and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Pjer Simunovic briefed Ambassador Frank on GoC's nascent public education campaign. Simunovic said that the GoC believed it could not start the campaign while Croatia's candidacy was effectively suspended pending the capture of ICTY fugitive Ante Gotovina. After Gotovina's arrest December 8, Simunovic explained, the GoC's prospect for an invitation became more realistic, making it possible to build a campaign. ¶6. (SBU) Simunovic admitted that the framework of the GoC public information campaign was only now firming up, but noted that important elements have already been developed and are being deployed. The MFA's NATO web page was fully populated with NATO background information in Croatian and an MFA staffer is updating the site daily and moderating a NATO webchat on the site. A pilot for a series of university discussion seminars was launched at Zagreb University last week drawing on local experts, including former Croatian Ambassador to the U.S. Ivan Grdesic. Simunovic offered to brief our NATO group on his return from Washington. OUR ACTION PLAN -------------- ¶7. (SBU) To complement the GoC effort, Post has developed a six-point message for use as appropriate by embassy staff in all public outreach events on what we believe NATO membership means to Croatia. Our message is that NATO means Community, Capability, Responsibility, Influence, Security, and Sovereignty. We will encourage all U.S. visitors to elaborate on these themes in their public outreach events. ZAGREB 00000180 002 OF 002 In addition to encouraging our allies' embassies to draw on these themes, we will follow up with the most active missions to create opportunities for joint public appearances for ambassadors to help put an international face on NATO in Croatia. FRANK