BOSNIA - HIGHREP USES BONN POWERS TO STRENGTHEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001503

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE (STINCHCOMB, HOH),
S/WCI (WILLIAMSON/LAVINE); NSC FOR BRAUN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2011
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ICTY KAWC KCRM KJUS PREL BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA - HIGHREP USES BONN POWERS TO STRENGTHEN
WAR CRIMES LAWS

REF: A. SARAJEVO 1212

B. SARAJEVO 677

Classified By: DCM Judith B. Cefkin. Reason 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Only the second week into his tenure as High
Representative, Miroslav Lajcak will use the Bonn Powers on
July 10 to amend state-level legislation in order to
strengthen Bosnia,s ability to cooperate with the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY). Lajcak will also call upon Republika Srpska (RS) and
Federation governments to harmonize their entity-level laws
with the changes he is imposing at the state-level. In
addition, Lajcak will announce the removal of a senior RS
police official at ICTY,s request, the opening of 99 new war
crimes investigations, including 79 related to Srebrenica,
and the suspension of 36 RS police officers. Goran Vasic,
head of the Criminal Investigative Division of the RS Police,
is supposed to appear at the July 10 press conference with
Lajcak to signal RS government support for the HighRep,s
actions. The cooperation of key RS officials represents the
fruit of several weeks work by the Deputy HighRep prior to
Lajcak,s July 1 arrival, but also Lajcak,s decision to lay
the political groundwork for his use of the Bonn Powers
during a recent visit to Banja Luka. The impositions are a
welcome signal that the new HighRep, unlike his predecessor,
is prepared to use the Bonn Powers, and that he has the
political skills required to use them effectively. END
SUMMARY

Strengthening War Crimes Prosecutions, Witness Protections
-------------- --------------


2. (C) On July 6, newly-appointed High Representative
("HighRep") Miroslav Lajcak informed the Peace Implementation
Council (PIC) Steering Board ambassadors that he planned to
exercise the Bonn Powers on July 10, imposing amendments to
the BiH Criminal Procedure Code (CPC),the BiH Law on the
Execution of Criminal Sanctions (the penal code) and the BiH
Law on Travel Documents and Identification (LTDI). The
amendments, which have previously received strong but
ineffectual support in Bosnian legal circles, will expand the
investigative resources available to the prosecutor and
impede suspects from fleeing the country to escape justice.
The HighRep plans to justify his use of Bonn Powers by
arguing that the legislation is needed urgently to facilitate
action by Bosnian prosecutors and is unlikely to be adopted
by state-level government in time to benefit new
investigations or prevent the escape of suspects.

Strengthening State-Level Laws to Tackle War Crimes
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Amendments to the CPC will broaden the definition of
"investigator" so that evidence gathered by a wider range of
court officials will be admissible in court. They will also
empower BiH authorities to seize the passports of suspected
war criminals once they are formally under investigation.
The amendments to the LTDI will provide the basis for the
HighRep to order government official to seize passports and
travel documents in order to prevent activities which
obstruct, or threaten to obstruct, implementation of the
Dayton Accords (i.e., the possible flight of war crimes
suspects). (Note: Prosecutors and war crimes victims have
long been frustrated with suspects' ability to flee to safety
across the border. End Note).


4. (C) The HighRep's amendment to the BiH Law on the
Execution of Criminal Sanctions will require the state penal
law to be applied to persons convicted by State Court, but
serving their sentences in entity prisons because there is no
BiH State Prison. Under this provision, convicted war
criminals and other serious offenders will be excluded from
eligibility for weekend passes, work release and other
unsupervised opportunities to interact with the public, and
potentially to intimidate victims, retaliate against
witnesses or flee the country. These changes are related
directly to the Stankovic escape, which continues to generate
widespread public outrage (REF A). The HighRep will ask the
Federation, RS and Brcko District law makers to harmonize

SARAJEVO 00001503 002 OF 002


their criminal procedural codes and laws on the execution of
criminal sanctions in line with the State-level changes being
imposed.

RS Agrees to Suspend Srebrenica List Suspects
--------------


5. (C) After announcing these amendments to State-level law,
the HighRep will immediately use his new authority to order
local authorities to confiscate the passports of 86
individuals whom the ICTY and BiH prosecutors have identified
as flight risks. The 86 individuals are among 99 into whom
the State Prosecutor has recently opened war crimes
investigations, including some 79 related to Srebrenica (REF
B). Lajcak will make public that these investigations have
been launched. The HighRep also informed the Steer Board
that, following a series of discussions with RS Prime
Minister Milorad Dodik and his government, the RS has agreed
immediately to suspend 36 RS police officers. These are
among the 99 individuals now being investigated by the State
Prosecutor. OHR reports that RS Police Director Uros Pena
has already begun this process, and the RS Ministry of Civil
Affairs is prepared to seize their travel documents upon
receiving the HighRep's order. Finally, acting on the July 5
written request from the ICTY Prosecutor's Office, the
HighRep also plans to remove a senior RS police official
accused of obstructing ICTY cooperation and assisting a
Person Indicted for War Crimes (PIFWC). Goran Vasic, head of
the Criminal Investigative Division of the RS Police, will
appear with Lajcak at his press conference announcing the
impositions in order to underscore RS support for his actions.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) In direct contrast to the hands-off approach of his
predecessor, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, newly-appointed
HighRep Lajcak has moved swiftly to use the Bonn Powers, a
welcome development from our perspective. Lajcak's
apparently deft political management of the imposition also
contrasts favorably with the ham-handed approach his
predecessor took with the Potocari law (REF . Lajcak's
decision also suggests that under his leadership, the OHR
intends to be more proactive on war crimes issues,
particularly the Srebrenica list. The timing of his
announcement, one day before the July 11 commemoration of the
Srebrenica massacre, is no doubt intended to reinforce this
message, which should be welcomed by many in Bosnia.
Nonetheless, OHR officials are anxious that Bosniak political
leaders might downplay the significance of Lajcak's measures
or turn this into an occasion to attack the Serbs and the RS,
which could undercut the work OHR has done to secure Serb
cooperation.
MCELHANEY