SENATOR VOINOVICH PROMOTES PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 000417

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE - ENGLISH, BELL
DEPT FOR H - PLEASE ADVISE OFFICE OF SENATOR VOINOVICH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2016
TAGS: OREP PREL PGOV SR YI HR
SUBJECT: SENATOR VOINOVICH PROMOTES PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR
NATO, CROATIAN MODEL FOR KOSOVO STABILITY

REF: A. ZAGREB 398


B. ZAGREB 384

C. ZAGREB 356

D. ZAGREB 337

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Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Greg Delawie for reasons 1.4 (b)
& (d).


1. (U) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Senator Voinovich met March 23
with President Stjepan Mesic, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, and Parliamentarians from across
the political spectrum to discuss NATO accession, Article 98
(ref A),and Croatia's potential role in resolving Kosovo's
final status. The Senator reinforced previous USG calls for
increased public education regarding NATO membership. The
visit was also an effective way to prompt more local
discussion about how Croatia, as a leader in promoting
regional stability, can contribute to a lasting solution for
Kosovo. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.

PUBLIC SUPPORT KEY TO NATO ACCESSION
--------------


2. (U) Senator Voinovich congratulated Croatian officials on
progress toward NATO membership, particularly the arrest of
ICTY indictee Ante Gotovina. However, he expressed his
concern about low support for NATO among the Croatian public
and called for a robust public discussion of the benefits and
obligations of NATO. The Senator said he sees NATO and the
EU as the glue that will keep the region together.


3. (C) President Mesic said that he believed support for NATO
was relatively strong in Croatia, although he agreed with
Voinovich,s suggestion that he take a more assertive role in
explaining the benefits of membership to the public. Mesic
said that there was broad consensus that Croatia,s future
lies in Euro-Atlantic institutions and that only a
recalcitrant political fringe (he was alluding to the extreme
right) is intent on keeping Croatia isolated. While
acknowledging that he and the government can do a better job
of promoting NATO, Mesic said that he believes that if
membership were put to a referendum today it would pass.


4. (C) Tonino Picula, Member of Parliament from the
opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) and former Minister
of Foreign Affairs, agreed that effective public support for
NATO membership was critical, adding that the public must
realize that armies are not invited to join NATO, but rather
democracies.


5. (C) Milorad Pupovac, MP of the Independent Serbian
Democratic Party (SDSS),said Parliament should have more
active discussions on NATO membership which can serve as the
basis for public debate. He pointed out that Croatians'
number one overwhelming concern is security, and because of
terrorism, they see NATO as a security risk rather than a
security provider. Croatian leaders have the responsibility
to change this view, he said.


6. (C) Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) Parliamentarian Tonci
Tadic said politicians must do for NATO membership what they
did for EU membership: declare a multi-party political pact,
establish a special parliamentary committee, and focus
government resources. Kresimir Cosic, Croatian Democratic
Union (HDZ) MP and head of Croatia's delegation to the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly, said he will pursue a resolution at
the next Parliamentary Assembly in Paris calling on NATO
leaders to hold an expansion summit at the earliest
opportunity.

FOREIGN MINISTER ON CROATIA'S EURO-ATLANTIC STRATEGY
-------------- --------------


7. (C) While not specifically addressing the issue of public
support for NATO, MFA Grabar Kitarovic stressed Croatian
commitment to reform. She said Croatia is playing a
leadership role in regional stability and economic
development and increasingly active in peacekeeping missions
in other parts of the world. As a past beneficiary of
international peacekeeping, Croatia feels an obligation now
to contribute and pay this back.


8. (C) On EU accession, the Minister added that Croatia is
working hard to keep up momentum despite expansion fatigue
among certain members and has screened 50 percent of the
legislation that needs to be harmonized with the aquis
communitaire before accession. She said Croatia will oppose
the introduction of any intermediate status for aspirants
before full EU membership, stressing that membership is key

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to stability in the region and the driving force behind
reforms. Grabar Kitarovic explained that Croatia is now
focused on fighting corruption, a key accession issue. The
GoC recently unveiled a national strategy to combat
corruption (ref B) and will stress this fight along with law
enforcement cooperation during its upcoming chairmanship of
the South East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP).

CROATIA AS MODEL FOR MINORITY RIGHTS IN KOSOVO?
-------------- --


9. (C) During all meetings, Senator Voinovich expressed his
fear that a mishandling of Kosovo's final status could bring
extreme nationalists back to power in Belgrade, creating
problems for SaM, the region, and the larger international
community. He suggested that Croatia could offer to Kosovo a
model for ethnic cooperation and reintegration.


10. (C) President Mesic did not respond directly to the
Senator's suggestion, but said that he did not believe the
problems in Kosovo were intractable, although he noted that
the tensions there predated even Milosevic,s rise to power
in Serbia. NOTE: Mesic has expressed interest in the past in
playing a coordinating role among regional leaders, having
called for regional summit in Tirana to discuss Kosovo's
future, but he did not raise this with the Senator. END
NOTE.


11. (C) MP Pupovac shared the Senator's concerns regarding
Kosovo and the right wing in Serbia, but expressed confidence
in new Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku. He called for
intensified contacts between Pristina and Belgrade, saying
these negotiations must create the space for solutions.
According to Pupovac, Croatia has a strong interest in
assisting in Kosovo. Several parliamentary committees are
actively engaged with Belgrade and Pristina, he noted,
particularly the Committee for European Integration.


12. (C) Pupovac cautioned, however, against seeing Croatia as
a directly transferable model for Kosovo. He pointed out
that the situation regarding minorities and refugee returns
in Croatia, while technically similar to Kosovo, was
symbolically much different, particularly with regard to
Zagreb and Pristina's differing historical relationships with
Belgrade. He did offer, however, to assist the ethnic Serb
community in Kosovo in being "strong enough to negotiate" --
seeing that they can exist as a minority and have their
rights protected.


13. (C) MP Cosic, as a former JNA general with experience in
Kosovo dating back to the 1970s, noted the huge differences
in culture and mentality between ethnicities in Kosovo, and
said the mentality of the common people must be changed. He
cited the dramatic change in public opinion in Croatia during
the past 15 years. Today, he said, the majority of Croats
believe minority rights for Serbs are important, not just
politically, but for the good of society. Cosic noted that
Kosovo PM Ceku worked for him during his JNA days. He is
extremely professional, Cosic said, and can change these
attitudes. According to Cosic, he needs to focus on the
young Albanian population.


14. (C) MP Picula called Kosovo the heart of the southeastern
Europe crisis, and warned that we cannot isolate
Belgrade-Pristina relations without thinking of entire
region. All countries in the region share the same foreign
policy target -- EU membership -- but they suffer from
fragmented, biased relations within the region. He called on
the international community in general and the EU in
particular to play a greater role and serve as an umbrella
for all countries in the region. Picula noted Croatia's
special interest in stability -- there will be no increased
foreign investment or tourism if Croatia is seen as living in
a bad neighborhood. Instead, Croatia must be seen as part of
the solution.


15. (C) MFA Grabar Kitarovic stressed that peace and
stability must be the goal in any solution. Croatia does not
take a position on what the final solution for Kosovo is, she
said, just that it is done with stability in mind. It is
clear we cannot return to the pre-1999 situation, she
emphasized. The Minister said she does not believe the
region could sink into another armed conflict, because the
radicals are not as strong as they try to show themselves to
be. While another rabidly nationalist government in Belgrade
would be terrible for Serbians, Kosovars and Montenegrins and
would bring regional cooperation to a standstill, these
forces do not have the strength to mobilize again for
territorial gains. With that in mind, she said, we must

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remember that losing Kosovo would be a strain for Belgrade
and it is important for us to help them accept a resolution.
For its part, Croatia is trying to avoid creating any other
difficult situations for Belgrade, instead focusing on
positive bilateral relations, agreements, and high-level
visits.
FRANK