OHR IMPOSED LEGISLATION ROILS RSNA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001429

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2017
TAGS: BK PGOV PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: OHR IMPOSED LEGISLATION ROILS RSNA

Classified By: CDA Judith B. Cefkin. Reasons: 1.4 (b),(d).

Summary
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1. (C) On June 25, High Representative Christian
Schwarz-Schilling invoked the Bonn Powers to impose
legislation placing the Potocari Memorial Foundation and its
property under state government control. The legislation had
been introduced on June 13 in parliament and had been
rejected by the Serb caucus for procedural reasons. The High
Representative's imposition of the law touched off a vehement
response from the government of the Republika Srpska (RS) and
the RS National Assembly including accusations that the law
violated the Dayton Constitution. To date RS criticism of
the law has been based on inaccurate assertions that it
removes the memorial from the territory of the RS and is a
precursor for similar legislation granting Srebrenica special
district status. Ineffective press work by OHR has
compounded these assertions. Although the RS reaction has
been fierce the rhetoric appears to be the result of
intra-party jockeying between SNSD and SDS, rather than a
serious challenge to OHR. Notably, Milorad Dodik who has
been outside the country on leave has not reacted publicly to
the legislation. Embassy officials have been in touch with
various officials to correct misrepresentations in an effort
to calm the waters. End Summary.

HiRep Invokes Bonn Powers
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2. (U) On June 25, High Representative Christian
Schwarz-Schilling invoked the Bonn Powers to impose the draft
"Law on the Center for the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and
Cemetery for the Victims of the 1995 Genocide." The
legislation imposed by the High Representative was an OHR
revision of a draft previously tabled by Party for Bosnia and
Herzegovina (SBiH) parliamentarian Beriz Belkic. The
imposed legislation transfers the Srebrenica-Potocari
Foundation and its memorial and cemetery from private
foundation status to a state-level institution under
administration of the Council of Ministers. The law also
transfers all foundation properties to state ownership and
makes the foundation eligible for funding from the state
budget. The law also specifies that memorial security will
become a state-level responsibility to be exercised by SIPA.

Legislation Background
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3. (C) Legislation establishing the Potocari memorial as a
state-level organization has been discussed for several years
among government officials and the Foundation with little
controversy. Although an early draft written by SBH party
members had attempted to remove the memoial territory from
RS jurisdiction the draft impsed by the High Representative
was a significantOHR revision of the legislation that simply
estalished the Foundation as a government organ under the
authority of the Council of Ministers. Belkic, reacting to
pressure from Srebrenica victims associations to implement
the law before the July 11 commemoration of the 1995
massacre, tabled the legislation in Parliament on June 13
under urgent procedure. The bill failed because the Serb
parliamentary caucus raised procedural objections the
introduction of the legislation.

RS Reaction
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4. (C) The High Representative's decision to impose the
legislation sparked a rapid and vehement response from RS
officials. At a June 26 session the RSNA adopted conclusions
condemning the imposition, urging the Peace Implementation
Council to reverse the decision, rejecting territorial
challenges to the integrity of the RS and exhorting the RS
police to continue to operate within the Potocari Memorial.
RS President Milan Jelic was quoted as stating that the RS
"shall not relinquish any single part of the RS, including
Potocari, or allow anyone to violate the RS constitution
regarding responsibilities of the entity police in that
area." RSNA Speaker Igor Radojicic accused the High
Representative of changing the Bosnian constitution and to
taking the side of Bosniak parties. SDS President Mladen
Bosic, asserted that the decision was the second time, after
the establishment of Brcko District that the RS had been
deprived of its territory. On June 26, Miladin Dragicevic,
RS Government coordinator for Srebrenica, told the press he
had resigned his commission in protest. Milorad Dodik, who
was on private travel outside of Bosnia at the time of the
imposition, did not release an official reaction.


5. (C) Erroneous assertions that the legislation removes the
memorial from RS territory were based, in part, on

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unfamiliarity with the provisions of the law on the part RS
officials. During the RSNA session not a single Deputy or RS
official including RS Ministers of Justice, Trade, or
Refugees were able to explain the contents of the law to
Embassy staff. In an June 27 conversation with Srebrenica
Special Envoy Cliff Bond, Serb Presidency member Nebojsa
Radmanovic acknowledged that he had not yet read the
legislation. In the confusion, the opposition SDS has sought
to exploit the RSNA debate over the legislation to attack
Milorad Dodik for this "loss of authority and territory" and
cast SNSD as part of the group responsible for drafting the
Law.

Senior Serb Officials Downplay Fallout
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6. (C) In contrast, during private meetings with USG
officials, Senior Serb officials have demonstrated an
accurate understanding of the provisions of the law and have
acknowledged the reasons behind its imposition. During these
meetings Embassy officials have worked to support OHR and
correct misunderstandings. The Charge discussed this issue
in a June 27 meeting with PM Nikola Spiric reviewing the
contents of the law and stressing that it enjoyed U.S.
support. PM Spiric agreed that the RSNA conclusions had
interpreted the law incorrectly. He added that he understood
the reasons for imposing the law but regretted that it could
not have been adopted in the context of legislation also
recognizing other sites such as Jasenovac. The Charge also
spoke to RSNA Speaker Igor Radojicic who contended that the
text of the legislation did not track with OHR's explanation
of the law. Both Spiric and Radojicic expressed frustration
that supporters of special status for Srebrenica are not
satisfied by the many steps being taken to improve the
situation in Srebrenica and that they continue to hijack the
debate in unhelpful ways. They both confirmed, however, that
it was important to continue Srebrenica development projects.



7. (C) Ineffectual OHR press work has exacerbated the RS
response by allowing OHR to be drawn into legal bickering
over legal technicalities. In an extraordinary statement,
the OHR Deputy Spokesman invited RS officials to challenge
the imposed law before the Constitutional Court.

Comment:
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8. (C) The level of invective from RS officials over the
imposition of the law appears to be the result of a
confluence of factors. The approaching July 11 commemoration
of the Srebrenica massacre presented the outgoing High
Representative with a final opportunity to invoke the Bonn
Powers in an effort correct his widespread reputation as
ineffectual. SDS Deputies in the RSNA seized upon the
legislation, and the fact that SNSD Parliamentarians had not
objected to the law earlier, as a means to burnish their
opposition credentials in the run-up to internal SDS
elections June 30. State-level Serb officials have
downplayed RSNA invective suggesting it will blow over in the
coming days. We, however, will continue to seek private and
public statements to calm tempers. End Comment.
CEFKIN