BOSNIA - YOUTUBE, FORMER BOSNIAN COMMANDER DELIC,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001990 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (QUOTE MARKS, ADDED COMMENT) SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE (FOOKS, HOH),S/WCI (WILLIAMSON, LAVINE) E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2017 TAGS: PTER PGOV PHUM PINR PREL KAWC KCRM BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - YOUTUBE, FORMER BOSNIAN COMMANDER DELIC, AND THE MUJAHEDEEN SARAJEVO 00001990 001.3 OF 002 Classified By: Political Counselor Michael J. Murphy. Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 14, a video clip of Rasim Delic, the highest ranking Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY),addressing mujahedeen surfaced. Delic is accused of not preventing war crimes committed by mujahedeen during the 1992-1995 war. Delic, whose trial began on July 9 in The Hague, has maintained that subordinates dealt with the mujahedeen but the video clip seems to suggest otherwise. The clip appeared just one week after Ali Hamad, a former mujahedeen, testified in Sarajevo that the mujahedeen were under Al Qaeda,s command during the war, but coordinated their actions closely with the Bosnian Army. Ali Hamad said that Delic knew of the atrocities committed by the mujahedeen and could have prevented them. The clip received wide press coverage, though political leaders have thus far refrained from commenting on it. Some speculate that former mujahedeen posted the clip to get back at Bosniak political leaders who support efforts to strip them of their Bosnian citizenship. Regardless, it is likely to reinforce perceptions among the Serb general public, which Dodik and others have sought to foster, that the 1992-1995 war was waged to protect Serbs from Islamic extremists and that they still need to protect themselves from Bosniak politicians who they claim allied themselves with Al Qaeda. End Summary. Background: Delic and the Mujahedeen -------------- ¶2. (U) Rasim Delic, commander of the Bosnian Army (ABiH) from 1993-1997, is the highest ranking Bosniak indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY). ICTY indicted him in 2005 for "violations of the laws or customs of war," specifically for his failure to take proper steps to prevent and punish war crimes committed by the mujahedeen in 1993 and ¶1995. The 1993 crimes involve the massacre of 35-40 Bosnian Croats in Bikosi after ABiH forces attacked Croat Defense Forces (HVO) in Travnik municipality. Most of the 1995 crimes took place in Kamenica camp, which was located near �A;Zavidovici and operated by soldiers from the El Mujahed unit that the indictment alleges was part of the ABiH 3rd Corps. The Kamenica crimes include beheadings, suspected massacres of Bosnian Serb soldiers who had surrendered, and rapes of Bosnian Serb civilians. Delic, whose trial began on July 9, voluntarily surrendered himself to the Tribunal shortly after he was indicted. Ali Hamad Claims Delic Knew of Crimes -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Delic,s attorneys sought unsuccessfully to have their client's case transferred from The Hague to Sarajevo under ICTY rule 11(bis). Nonetheless, Delic,s lawyers and a team of prosecutors appeared at the State Court in Sarajevo from September 7-9 to hear the testimony of Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad, a Bahraini and former mujahedeen commander. Ali Hamad, a witness for the prosecution, is serving a 12-year prison sentence for planting a car bomb in Mostar in 1998. Ali Hamad told the Court that mujahedeen in Bosnia were under Al Qaeda,s command during the 1992-1995 war, but coordinated closely with the Bosnian Army. He also claimed that Delic could have prevented the mujahedeen,s crimes, asserting, "It is impossible that the army could not stop a small group of mujahedeen." Delic's defense team attacked Hamad's credibility, particularly his self-professed ties to Al Qaeda, citing his criminal past, including the Mostar car bomb, and an alleged sexual assault of an underage girl. Youtube Video Clip of Delic and Mujahedeen -------------- ¶4. (SBU) A day after Ali Hamad,s testimony, Republika Srpska President Milan Jelic visited Vozuca and expressed hope that those responsible for crimes committed would be punished, adding that individuals who claim that the RS was built on genocide can now say the same for the entire country. Less than a week later, on September 14, a video clip appeared on Youtube that appears to undermine Delic's SARAJEVO 00001990 002.3 OF 002 defense that several levels of command existed between him and the mujahedeen and that he was not always aware of what took place on the battlefield. The video clip shows Delic standing before a group of mujahedeen, praising them for their contributions to Bosnia,s defense and describing them and their units as part of the Bosnian Army's command structure. Delic thanked the mujahedeen for their service and vowed that Bosniaks would "never forget what they did." The video ends with a message attacking the Bosniak political leadership as "false believers" who sold out Islam and Muslims to secure their current political positions. ¶5. (SBU) The video clip's release received widespread press coverage, and was featured on the influential Federation Television news magazine, "60 minutes." The "60 minutes" piece noted that the mujahedeen were once ideal partners, but have become a liability to the Party for Democratic Action (SDA) and the Party for BiH (SBiH),the two leading Bosniak political parties. Esad Hecimovic, a former ABiH press officer and now a journalist, speculated that the tape had been released by former mujahedeen who are angry about Bosniak support for the Citizen Review Commission (CRC),which has stripped several former foreign fighters of their Bosnian citizenship. Several of these individuals may be deported from Bosnia. Despite the press coverage, leading politicians refrained from commenting on the story. However, an ICTY spokesperson has expressed interest in examining the video clip as possible evidence for use against Delic. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: The Youtube video's authenticity is unclear. The choppy editing has given rise to speculation that it is a forgery, but Hecimovic claimed that Delic did make a speech to the mujahedeen at the end of 1995 or the beginning of 1996 in Zenica. The tape was posted by a "Hattab," who we understand has posted other extremist videos in the past. It is certainly plausible that its emergence now is "payback" to Bosniaks for their support of the CRC process, but we cannot be certain. Regardless, the YouTube video and the Ali Hamad testimony provide an opportunity for the Bosnian Serbs to present themselves as victims and criticize Bosniak claims of holding the moral high ground over the 1992-1995 war, as Jelic did in Vozuca. It will also reinforce among the general Serb public statements Dodik and other Serb leaders have made over the last several months linking Bosniaks to terrorism, specifically the threat posed by so-called "white Al Qaeda" in Bosnia. END COMMENT MCELHANEY