ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - NOVEMBER 21, 2007

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001028 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD, EUR/RPM AND EUR/ERA OSD FOR WINTERNITZ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV HR SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - NOVEMBER 21, 2007 (U) Sensitive but unclassified; protect accordingly. ¶1. (U) In order to ensure broader distribution to potential readers, Embassy Zagreb is changing the format of its previous email Activity Reports to a weekly cable wrap-up of events at Post in Croatia. Today's cable is the first edition. ¶2. (U) President Mesic Urges Belgrade to Stop Fomenting Instability in Kosovo and BiH: As part of his efforts to promote regional stability, President Mesic on September 20 called publicly on Belgrade to encourage ethnic Serbs in both Kosovo and BiH to participate in local institutions and elections to create their own futures in democratic, multi-ethnic states. He pointed to the Ahtisaari Plan as a good foundation for reaching agreement on Kosovo and said Belgrade's anti-European rhetoric is a disservice to ethnic Serbs there. Regarding BiH, he called on the Government of Serbia to adopt a position toward Bosnian Serbs similar to the GoC's stance toward Bosnian Croats. "Our messages to Bosnian Croats have been clear," he said. "Your home is Bosnia and Herzegovina, your capital is Sarajevo, and you must create your policies there." (TSelinger) ¶3. (SBU) Croatian Officials Concerned About Effect of Regional Developments on Economy: In conversations with ECONOFF and visiting Treasury desk officer, GOC officials at both the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance expressed their concern about the potential negative effects of regional instability on the Croatian economy. First on their minds was the situation in Kosovo and the prospect of violence there. Croatia is highly dependent on tourism (20% of GDP) and the country,s last recession coincided with the Kosovo war. Even though Croatia does not border Kosovo, the fear is that unrest could again fuel perceptions that the whole of the ex-Yugoslavia is unstable, causing foreign tourists to cancel or defer bookings in Croatia. Croatian officials also described Bosnia and Serbia as causes for concern, as both represent important and growing trading partners for Croatia. Serbia is also an important destination for Croatian investment. (NBerliner) ¶4. (U) USEU Visit Sends Transatlantic Cooperation Message: USEU's Jim McAnulty visited Zagreb November 15-18 to speak about US-EU cooperation in battling crime and terrorism at a veterans' conference on European security. McAnulty also spoke to a leading newsmagazine and students active in the NATO membership debate in Croatia. McAnulty's appearances sent a clear message that the USG's strong relationship with the EU is an increasingly important factor in trans-Atlantic security, and that Croatia's NATO and EU aspirations are complementary efforts to increase Croatia's own role in promoting international security. (TSelinger) ¶5. (U) USAID Trains Vukovar Judges: On November 14-15, USAID Zagreb conducted mediation and conciliation training for judges from the Vukovar area. The training supports the ongoing efforts of Vukovar County Court president Ante Zeljko to expand local judges' perspectives on social, economic and political issues through regular public speeches and discussions at the Vukovar County Court Judicial Club. Such judicial dynamism needs support in Vukovar, where the economic consequences of the war and the social tensions between the returned Croatian majority and large Serbian minoity linger on. The training was led by a Boston-area mediator who has conducted past trainings for Croatia's commercial and municipal court judges both in the U.S. and in Croatia. (AJuric) ¶6. (U) Croatian Police Embed with US Marshals: US Marshals in Chicago recently hosted members of the Croatian police's future Fugitive Task Force Unit for an initial training session. Through Post's ICITAP program, the future unit head and his deputy embedded with the Chicago Fugitive Task Force to learn about management, operations, investigations, and to observe active operations. Croatia's task force is being established based on the US Marshal model; in the coming months US Marshals will return to Croatia to assist the police in making their unit operational. Based on prior training with the Marshals and support from Post, Croatian police successfully tested the task force model to apprehend a high-profile narcotics fugitive earlier in the year. (KSelinger) BRADTKE