BOSNIA- RS LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS HIGH REP'S LEGAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 002277

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE(FOOKS/STINCHCOMB)
NSC FOR BRAUN
OSD FOR BEIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA- RS LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS HIGH REP'S LEGAL
EXPLANATIONS


Classified By: Ambassador Charles English for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. On October 25, Bosnian Serb Member of the
Tri-Presidency Nebojsa Radmanovic told the Ambassador that
the RS leadership still had reservations about the
constitutionality of the recent High Representative measures
to facilitate decision-making in state-level institutions.
Radmanovic said that "RS legal experts" had reviewed the High
Representative's legal explanation of the measures and
concluded that they were still inconsistent with the Dayton
Accords. Radmanovic professed his willingness to work
constructively with the Ambassador to find a way out of the
crisis before the Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA)
meets on October 29. The Ambassador suggested that he work to
find a way to accept OHR's explanation. In a separate
conversation, Prime Minister Nikola Spiric told the
Ambassador that he had no role to play in provoking the
crisis, and doubted that he could be of assistance in finding
a solution. The Ambassador also spoke with RSNA Speaker and
Acting RS President Igor Radojicic who asked that OHR amend
the decisions to address concerns about outvoting. The
Ambassador informed Radojicic that amending the decisions was
a bad precedent and not an option, and requested his
assistance in backing the RS away from a confrontation with
the United States and the international community. End
Summary.

RADMANOVIC: OHR EXPLANATIONS NOT GOOD ENOUGH
--------------


2. (C) The Ambassador called President Radmanovic October 25
to tell him that the situation in Bosnia remained critical,
and RS PM Milorad Dodik needed to step back from a
confrontation with the United States and the international
community. The Ambassador reminded Radmanovic that the
President had told him the day prior that the legal
explanations "provided Dodik the opportunity to end the
conflict," and told him that the OHR analysis clearly
demonstrated that the measures "pose no threat to the
interests of the RS." The Ambassador also urged Radmanovic to
use his influence to call off the October 29 extraordinary
RSNA session before it passed decisions that further
escalated the political crisis.


3. (C) Radmanovic told the Ambassador that "no one is happy"
with the High Representative's legal explanations. A team of
RS "legal and technical experts" determined that the
explanations do not address the RS concerns that the measures
violated the Dayton Accords, Radmanovic explained.
Radmanovic said he was personally disappointed by this
development, and recognized that the looming confrontation
with the international community was not in the "interests of
BiH or its people." As for the RSNA session, Radmanovic said
it would be legally and mechanically difficult to cancel the
October 29 session, but suggested that the tone of the debate
and its conclusions could be mitigated. In closing,
Radmanovic again said that he was "hopeful that this will end
positively" and pledged to continue discussions with the
Ambassador to attempt to end the crisis. The Ambassador
urged him to find a way to accept the OHR explanation.

SPIRIC: "HURT" AND IGNORED
--------------


4. (C) The Ambassador raised the same points with Chairman of
the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Nikola Spiric,
who had just returned from an official visit to the United
States. Spiric told the Ambassador that he had had no role
in provoking the crisis, and that he was "hurt by all sides"
for failing to consult him on the matter. Considering the
level of tension, Spiric told the Ambassador that he wished
he had not returned to Bosnia. Spiric said he recognized the
seriousness of the crisis and that the international
community was determined to see the decisions implemented.
Considering his limited role in the confrontation to date,
Spiric suggested that his "greatest assistance would be to
get out of the way." The Ambassador reminded Spiric that his
position as Prime Minister made him central to the debate,
and that he needed to actively seek a way out of the crisis.
Spiric agreed to be responsible in all of his public
statements.

SARAJEVO 00002277 002 OF 002



RADOJICIC: AMEND MEASURES TO CALM SERB FEARS
--------------


5. (C) The Ambassador also spoke by phone with RSNA Speaker
and Acting RS President Igor Radojicic. Radojicic, who is
currently in Germany, told the Ambassador that he had not
seen the OHR legal explanations, but said he did not believe
that they would be enough to satisfy RS officials. Radojicic
said that while he supported the intent of the measures,
"legal holes" in the decisions existed that stoked the fears
of RS leaders and citizens. Radojicic claimed that while
there was no concern in the short-term, the new measures left
open the possibility that in the future a "crazy nationalist"
could exploit them to detriment of RS interests. Radojicic
was not precise as to what were the problems with the
measures, but claimed that adequate protections did not exist
to prevent outvoting and "pure majority rule."


6. (C) Radojicic suggested that the High Representative amend
the measures to take account of these "concerns and fears"
and expressly provide assurances that RS interests would be
protected. The Ambassador told Radojicic that amending the
measures would be "precedent setting in the extreme" and that
such an approach would be unacceptable. Radojicic again made
an appeal for "a joint approach to fix the holes," and said
that he hoped the United States and other foreign
representatives would constructively engage with RS leaders
before the RSNA session to diffuse the crisis. Radojicic
pledged that the RS leaders "would not give any radical
messages in the near-term" while working for a way out of the
confrontation.
ENGLISH