Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SARAJEVO1766
2007-08-13 14:59:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sarajevo
Cable title:  

BOSNIA-THE TREBINJE WILDFIRES, A STUDY IN BAD

Tags:  PREL PGOV SENV HR BK 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8900
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVJ #1766/01 2251459
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 131459Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6845
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 001766 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV SENV HR BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA-THE TREBINJE WILDFIRES, A STUDY IN BAD
GOVERNANCE


Classified By: DCM Judith B. Cefkin for reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 001766

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV SENV HR BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA-THE TREBINJE WILDFIRES, A STUDY IN BAD
GOVERNANCE


Classified By: DCM Judith B. Cefkin for reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) Ambassador discussed the recent series of fires with
local officials in Trebinje where a large number of blazes
and outdated equipment had hindered firefighting. The
problem was compounded by the failure of State-level
institutions, including the Presidency, to provide guidance
and address the emergency effectively. Only the Ministry of
Defense took appropriate action to aid in the firefighting
effort. A political dispute over entity and state-level
competencies in the field of civil protection also hindered
Bosnia and Herzegovina's ability to effectively fight the
fires along its border with Croatia. Republika Srpska (RS)
authorities refused to accept badly needed firefighting
equipment because it was offered through the state level
Department of Civil Protection. NATO is working with state
and Entity level civil protection authorities to forge a
compromise draft of a stalled state level Law on Protection
and Rescue which would establish a nationwide emergency
response system. The fire situation in Bosnia appears to be
improving with most, but not all, blazes extinguished. END
SUMMARY

Ambassador in Trebinje
--------------


2. (C) On August 10 Ambassador traveled to Trebinje and
toured fire damaged areas around Poljice near the Croatian
and Montenegrin borders. A local firefighter gave Ambassador
a detailed account of the unprecedented recent series of
fires. The firefighter said this years fire season was the
worst he had seen in his 27 year career with over 106 fires
reported this month alone, compared to 60 fires all last
year. Although firefighters were able to prevent any deaths
or major property damage, 10,000 hectares had burned. Two
active fires in the western part of Trebinje municipality
were still burning but were not threatening property
according to the firefighter.


3. (C) The fires around Trebinje started on August 3 when a
fire from the south converged with one from the east. The

Trebinje fire department has only 18 firefighters and 15
twenty-year-old vehicles, and the nearest assistance is the
fire department in Neum 100 kilometers to the west. The
Trebinje department was also called upon to combat fires 50
kilometers away in Ravno, which has no fire department.
Along with a shortage of manpower and modern equipment,
landmines hindered firefighting efforts. In Gola Glavica,
for example, hundreds of mines exploded due to the fire. The
firefighter speculated that eighty percent of the fires were
caused by arson. At present all fires have been extinguished
in the eastern part of Trebinje, he said.


4. (C) The firefighter stated that Trebinje had received no
international assistance, but that the Bosnian army had
provided important assistance in battling the fires. In
response to the Ambassador's offer of U.S. help the
firefighter said that the most pressing need is for water
tank trucks. Firefighters in Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro
were preoccupied with their own fires and had not been able
to engage in any major cross border cooperation. However,
limited cooperation did occur on a smaller scale such as when
a Croatian fire brigade aircraft dropped water on the fires
in Trebinje. He said that firefighters on all sides of the
border were ready to cooperate, but politicians were
preventing effective cooperation. The firefighter said the
Trebinje fire department received Stability Pact-sponsored
regional training in 2003 with Croatian and Montenegrin
firefighters.

Presidency Abdicates Responsibility
--------------


5. (C) On August 6, the Presidency declared a state of
emergency in response to the wild fires, but failed gave to
any further direction on how to handle the disaster. Acting
on his own Minister of Defense Selmo Cikotic signed a general
order allowing the use of military forces to help local
firefighters. Following Cikotic's departure for vacation,
Deputy Defense Minister Igor Crnadak coordinated the effort
with eastern RS municipal officials, who called him
personally asking for assistance. Crnadak told us that local
military officials were also being contacted by local

SARAJEVO 00001766 002 OF 003


civilian officials and provided assistance based on the
general order signed by MoD Cikotic. Several Defense
Ministry officials criticized the Tri-Presidency for its
failure to recognize the scope of the problem and organize an
effective BiH-wide response, instead, leaving it to defense
ministry officials to decide what needed to be done.

Ethnic Politics Hinders Fire Response
--------------


6. (SBU) Difficult terrain and a lack of firefighting
equipment initially contributed to RS officials' inability to
control the fire. However, RS unwillingness to recognize the
role of state level civil protection authorities hindered the
deliver of equipment and additional manpower. When the
Ministry of Security's Department for Civil Protection
received a donation of badly-needed firefighting equipment
from the Danish government via NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster
Response Coordinating Committee, we are told the RS refused
to accept it via state level channels requesting instead that
NATO deliver it directly to the RS. Assistant Minister of
Security for Civil Protection Samir Agic lamented that
conflicts between municipal governments in the RS and
Federation had slowed disaster response, but attributed the
current crisis to unwillingness by RS authorities to accept
state level assistance.

Emergency Response System Needed
--------------


7. (C) Since early 2006 a working group of state and entity
civil protection experts has been drafting a state Law on
Protection and Rescue that would establish a national
response mechanism and codify the role of the state
Department for Civil Protection in emergencies. The RS
blocked this process, objecting to the transfer of
competencies from the Entity to the State. NATO supported a
conference in April 2007 designed to reinvigorate the
process, and it produced a draft law, but the RS also
rejected this proposal on the same grounds. In the wake of
this year's fire disaster, NATO hopes to broker a revised
compromise agreement that also covers fire disasters. NATO
has written to RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik seeking his
cooperation in creating a functional state-level emergency
response system.

Bosnia-Croatia Coordination
--------------


8. (SBU) Dunja Jevak, DCM at the Croatian Embassy in
Sarajevo, explained that a Bosnia-Croatia bilateral agreement
on cross-border crisis cooperation exists and provides the
legal framework for addressing the current problem. However,
she claimed that local Bosnian disaster response officials
were either unresponsive or unwilling to cooperate and that
poor inter-entity cooperation further hindered disaster
response. Jevak told us that Croatian Prime Minister Ivo
Sanader wrote a letter expressing his concern over the fires
to his Bosnian counterpart Nikola Spiric and she was still
awaiting the "constructive response" promised by Spiric's
office. Despite the fires, Spiric declined to return early
from his vacation on the Croatian coast and remained out of
the country for most of the disaster. To date, the sole
action by the Council of Ministers to address the obvious
shortcomings of the national fire response has been to
establish a bilateral Bosnian-Croatian working group to
review problems that arose during the disaster.

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


9. (C) Bosnia's poorly coordinated response to the fires
highlights the dangers inherent in the hamstrung and
ineffectual state level government. It also underscores the
urgent need for an effective country-wide disaster response
mechanism. Although the Ministry of Defense stepped forward
on an ad hoc basis to play a crucial role in combating the
fire, the Presidency and other branches of national
government failed completely to mount a credible, or even
coherent, response. RS determination to avoid setting
precedents that could presage transfers of any competencies
to the state caused RS officials to risk lives and property
by refusing of badly needed assistance. Trebinje mayor
Dobroslav Cuk seemed much more concerned with protecting his
political equities and had only a vague grasp of the details
and scope of the wildfires threatening his city. To date,

SARAJEVO 00001766 003 OF 003


few Bosnian commentators have pointed out how ethnic politics
and widespread disdain for the national government almost
resulted in tragedy. However, post intends to ensure that
this message is heard publicly and privately. End Comment
MCELHANEY