BOSNIA - SILAJDZIC SUGGESTS RAISING SREBRENICA AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001211

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR(DICARLO),EUR/SCE(HOH/FOOKS/STINCHCOMB),
IO/UNP AND S/WCI(WILLIAMSON/LAVINE); NAC FOR BRAUN; USNIC
FOR MCLEAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2015
TAGS: PREL PINR PGOV KAWC KJUS UN BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA - SILAJDZIC SUGGESTS RAISING SREBRENICA AT
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY


Classified By: Acting DCM Mike Reinert. Reason 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Srebrenica Initiative Board announced
plans to hold a public demonstration in front of parliament
on June 11 in support if its demand for secession from
Republika Srpska. Spokesmen for all three major Bosniak
parties endorsed the demonstration. Earlier in the week, the
Party for Democratic Action (SDA) and Party for Bosnia and
Herzegovina (SBiH) formally tabled a constitutional amendment
that would create a "Special District" for Srebrenica and
surrounding municipalities under the state's jurisdiction.
In a conversation with the Ambassador, Bosniak member of the
Tri-Presidency Haris Silajdzic claimed that he had talked
Initiative Board members out of making a unilateral
declaration of independence on June 11, but warned tensions
were rising. He repeated earlier arguments in favor of
creating a special district and signaled that he planned to
bring the issue before the UN General Assembly (UNGA) this
fall. Separately, a controversy over a draft Law on the
Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial is simmering. OHR Special Envoy
for Srebrenica Cliff Bond has warned that OHR may have to use
the Bonn Powers to break a potential deadlock. Special Envoy
Bond is also arranging Srebrenica-related donors coordination
and business investment events. Tensions over Srebrenica had
been declining in recent weeks, but the introduction of a
constitutional amendment removing it from the RS threatens to
reignite nationalist passions. END SUMMARY

Srebrenica Special Status Protest Planned for June 11
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2. (C) Haris Silajdzic asked to see the Ambassador on June 1
to discuss plans by the Initiative Board for the Special
Status of Srebrenica to stage a protest outside the Bosnian
parliament on June 11. Silajdzic told the Ambassador that he
had met with members of the Initiative Board earlier in the
week and talked them out of issuing a unilateral declaration
of "independence" from Republika Srpska (RS). Silajdzic
implied that it was a difficult conversation, but that his
argument that the USG was trying to help the people of
Srebrenica and his warning that any precipitous action risked
upsetting the Kosovo final status process won over most
Initiative Board members. The exchange highlighted how angry
Bosniaks and the people of Srebrenica remained over the
international community's failure to react to the February 26
International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict. Recent reports
that the security situation in Srebrenica had improved were
inaccurate, Silajdzic asserted.

Planning for a Srebrenica Resolution at UNGA
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3. (C) Silajdzic told the Ambassador that it was "(his)
responsibility" as the Bosniak member of the Presidency to
support demands from Srebrenica's citizens for special status
outside the RS. Srebrenica is not "just any other" place;
"genocide occurred there," he continued. He was able to
accept Srebrenica's incorporation into the RS at Dayton
because there had been no "official determination" in 1995
that genocide took place from July 11, 1995 in Srebrenica.
The ICJ changed "the facts on the ground," and he planned to
"exhaust every legal avenue to revise the results of
genocide." In response to a question from the Ambassador
about what he meant by "every legal means," Silajdzic said
that he would start at the UN General Assembly, but would not
elaborate.

Bosniaks Introduce Constitutional Amendment on Srebrenica
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4. (C) Separately, the SDA and SBiH formally introduced a
constitutional amendment in the House of Representatives that
would create a special district for "Srebrenica and other
municipalities in Eastern Bosnia" under the "exclusive
competence of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its institutions."
(Note: Bakir Iztebegovic, SDA, and Azra Hadziahmetovic, SBiH,
are the amendment's co-sponsors. End Note.) The amendment's
explanatory text includes language asserting that the RS and
its institutions were determined to be responsible for the
genocide in and around Srebrenica by the ICJ. Based on the

SARAJEVO 00001211 002 OF 002


verdict and "international law principles," specifically the
International Law Commission's articles on the
"Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts,"
it "was necessary" to create a special district for
Srebrenica and surrounding municipalities. In his exchange
with the Ambassador, Silajdzic argued that the amendment was
necessary to calm the political climate and address the
grievances of Bosniaks in Srebrenica. He conceded that the
amendment was unlikely to pass.

Bonn Powers Possible for Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Law
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5. (C) In addition to special status, Bosniaks are pressing
for legislation that would transfer authority for the
Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial to the state. The International
Community Assessment Group on Srebrenica, which was set up by
OHR shortly after the ICJ verdict, also recommended such
legislation. The initial Bosniak proposal contained several
provisions that appeared to create a special district outside
RS jurisdiction (i.e., reference to borders, creation of a
memorial assembly). OHR Special Envoy for Srebrenica Cliff
Bond is working with OHR legal advisors to revise the law.
There is widespread consensus within the international
community that legislation should be passed prior to the
annual July 11 ceremonies and burials at the memorial, but
the Serbs have signaled they might oppose any legislation.
Special Envoy Bond plans to discuss the issue with RS PM
Milorad Dodik in the coming week, but has signaled to
Steering Board Ambassadors that the HighRep may need to use
his Bonn Powers to impose the law.

Srebrenica Donor Coordination and Investment Events
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6. (C) Special Envoy Bond also hopes to finalize several
other initiatives prior to the July 11 Srebrenica
commemorations. He has concluded that additional financial
support for Srebrenica from international donors is not
needed at this time, but that there is scope for improving
donor coordination and information sharing. In order to
address this, he has persuaded UNDP to work with the recently
established Bosnian government Srebrenica coordination group
and host a donor event in Srebrenica before the end of June.
Bond hopes that the conference will, inter alia, address
criticisms that international funding has not been
accountable or shown visible results on the ground. He also
plans to use the donor event as a spring board for a business
promotion and investment event. Srebrenica officials and
residents have generally focused their economic energies on
reviving old socially-owned enterprises and/or reversing past
privatizations, but according to Bond, the solution to
Srebrenica's economic problems is new investment.

Comment
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7. (C) In recent weeks, some of the wind has been taken out
of the sails of the Srebrenica special status movement. The
appointment of Special Envoy Bond, our efforts to resolve the
Bratunac burial controversy and attract American investment
to Srebrenica, and tangible progress on RS PM Dodik's pledges
have had an impact. The exposure of the alleged attack by
Serbs on a Bosniak from Ljeskovik as a hoax has also hurt the
credibility of the Initiative Board and its supporters. The
decision by SBiH and SDA to press ahead with their
constitutional amendment removing Srebrenica and other
municipalities from the RS threatens to ratchet up tensions
once again. It is not surprising that Silajdzic and his
party are unconcerned with the risks associated with going
down this path, but SDA President Sulejman Tihic had
suggested to the Ambassador that he had been reconsidering
this approach.
MCELHANEY