BOSNIA: MILETIC IN JEOPARDY AGAIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001127 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KJUS PINR KCRM BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA: MILETIC IN JEOPARDY AGAIN REF: A. SARAJEVO 121 ¶B. 06 SARAJEVO 3185 Classified By: CDA Judith B. Cefkin for reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Attempts to oust Federation Police Chief Zlatko Miletic continue. On May 29 the Federation Parliament plans to vote on the legality of the last-minute mandate extension of the current Independent Supervisory Review Board (ISRB) and its decision to re-appoint Federation Police Director Zlatko Miletic (ref A). The May 29 vote will likely overturn the mandate extension, impanel a new ISRB, and annul decisions of the previous Board. In this context it appears highly unlikely Miletic will remain in his current position for long. Unlike previous procedural attempts to unseat Miletic (ref B),a Parliamentary vote on his appointment has a clear legal basis and will be binding. Miletic will be eligible to compete for the position again. However under a new ISRB dominated by SDA and HDZ members with political grievances against him, Miletic faces uncertain prospects for being reselected. End Summary. New Federation Parliament: ISRB Illegal -------------- ¶2. (C) Prior to its dissolution, the previous Federation Parliament failed to appoint a new Independent Supervisory Review Board (ISRB) charged with overseeing personnel decisions for Federation law enforcement agencies. In the absence of a new Board, a Parliamentary subcommittee extended the ISRB mandate until the completion of the Police Reform process. However, in late February the Commission for Selection and Appointments of the newly seated Federation Parliament released a report calling for the election of a new Independent Supervisory Review Board (ISRB) and declaring illegal all decisions by the previous ISRB after the end of its formal mandate on October 5, 2006. If Parliament approves the report, the re-appointment of Federation Police Director Zlatko Miletic will be annulled. The vote could also call into question the legitimacy of activities of the Federation Police over the previous 8 months. SDA and HDZ opposition to Miletic -------------- ¶3. (C) Miletic enjoys the support of SBiH and a number of SDA members. However, HDZ and a vocal wing of the SDA remain fervently opposed to Miletic's tenure due to his investigation of corrupt party members (ref A) including Dragan Covic. Miletic continues to actively pursue corruption investigations of political leaders and officials. On May 22, members of the Federation Police arrested several high ranking Herzegovine-Neretva Cantonal officials on corruption charges. Cantonal Prime Minister Miroslav Coric, Cantonal Interior Minister Tomislav Martinovic and Acting Police Commissioner Dragan Brkic were arrested on charges including the illegal trade in automobiles and other corruption charges. Ironically, Brkic was himself an HDZ candidate to replace Miletic as Federation Police Chief. These arrests promise to fuel the already strong HDZ opposition to Miletic's reappointment SDA members have also long harbored grievances against Miletic for his investigations of senior party leaders. In the context of joint SDA and HDZ opposition to Miletic, it seems likely that the Parliament will approve the Committee Report and the new ISRB will be staffed with SDA and HDZ members. Our Support for the Independence of Law Enforcement -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) The outgoing Parliament's failure to appoint a new Board on time has raised a host of legal issues beyond the Miletic appointment including the legality of all law enforcement work by the Federation Police since October. Despite the legal ambiguities surrounding the previous ISRB there has been a lack of consensus between OHR, EUPM, and others in the international community on an appropriate response. Whereas the Embassy has defended against previous efforts to remove Miletic on political grounds, OHR has been hesitant to use Bonn Powers to formally re-appoint the ISRB or temporarily extend the Board's mandate. EUPM is focused on ensuring that the work of Federation Police under Miletic is deemed legal and binding. ¶5. (C) We have discussed preventing any disruption of Federation police work with former Federation Interior Minister Mevludin Halilovic, new Federation Interior Minister Muhidin Alic, Federation Vice President Mirsad Kebo, Federation Parliament Commission for Selection Chairman Ismet Osmanovic, Committee Member Ante Colak and have raised the SARAJEVO 00001127 002 OF 002 question of SDA opposition to Miletic with SDA President Sulejman Tihic. Despite differing opinions on the legitimacy of the previous ISRB and Miletic's performance, there is general consensus that it is within the authority of the Federation Parliament to appoint a new Board which, in turn, is empowered to name a new Police Chief. Several parliamentarians and members of the Federation government have expressed interest in tasking the new ISRB to retroactively extend Miletic's old mandate until a new Police Director is appointed. We would support this approach as a means to prevent any legal challenges to arrests or other law enforcement work by Federation Police since October. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Chances are good that the Federation Parliament will approve the committee report. Post will carefully scrutinize the appointment of new ISRB members to ensure that the candidates have the appropriate credentials and background to exercise their responsibilities in support of the rule of law in Bosnia. We will seek to ensure that the new ISRB will conduct an impartial competition for a new police director. Post believes that Miletic remains by far the most qualified candidate for the position and, should he choose to reapply, we will seek to ensure he receives due consideration. Regardless of decisions on the leadership of the Federation Police, we will underscore to Federation parliamentarians and officials that they must ensure that their actions do not call into question the legitimacy of police work over the past eight months. End Comment CEFKIN