CROATIAN PM'S "SUCCESSFUL" VISIT TO SARAJEVO

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000317 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL HR BH SUBJECT: CROATIAN PM'S "SUCCESSFUL" VISIT TO SARAJEVO ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Croatian PM Ivo Sanader and the Croatian press are portraying his March 29-30 official visit to Sarajevo as a success, pointing to a "good atmosphere", agreements on dual citizenship and border control, and potential rapprochement between dueling Bosnian Croat political parties. A synopsis of Croatian press coverage follows. Ambassador and A/S Fried will discuss this and other regional issues with the PM on April 5 in Zagreb. End summary. ¶2. (U) Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader told the press on March 30 that his first official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina was successful. He cited the good atmosphere during the talks, and noted that agreements on dual citizenship and border control were important results of the visit. During his visit to the Croatian cultural society "Napredak", Sanader asserted that Zagreb's aid to Bosnian Croats would be reflected in direct talks with Sarajevo, the international community, and Bosnian Croat political leaders. ¶3. (U) Noting that he had met on March 30 with Dragan Covic, leader of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) and Bozo Ljubic, chief of HDZ 1990 parties, Sanader said he expected the divided Bosnian Croat politicians to start closely cooperating soon. After the talks, Ljubic and Covic told reporters that they agreed that the two parties in Bosnia needed to establish a closer cooperation so as to improve the position of the Croat people in Bosnia and to be able to make a joint position for the coming debates on constitutional reforms. ¶4. (U) The international community's High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, met Sanader in Sarajevo on March 30 for talks on the overall situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The High Rep's press statement indicated that Schwarz-Schilling informed Sanader of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the extension of the High Representative's mandate, and the latest developments with regard to implementation of key reforms. The High Representative drew Sanader's attention to the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitutional reform, the support this process would receive from the international community and the international community's role in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the future. Schwarz-Schilling encouraged Sanader "to continue to play a constructive role with regard to resolving all outstanding bilateral issues between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia," said the statement. ¶5. (U) Sanader also visited two towns in central Bosnia, where he discussed the situation in the area with Croat and Muslim municipal officials. Nineteen thousand Bosnian Croats lived in Travnik municipality before the 1990s war, but only 7,000 have returned. Sanader said it had been agreed that a municipal delegation should visit Croatian Transport and Communications Minister Bozidar Kalmeta to agree on how the Croatian government could help the municipality, notably the return of Croats. In the village of Nova Bila, Sanader visited a new hospital. Croatia financially assisted in its construction and the premier said Croatia would invest another HRK5 million in it. ¶6. (U) Referring to the Croatian-Bosnian border control agreement signed March 30, Sanader said it was very important for both countries as it gave them European legitimacy. He highlighted the importance of building the Vc road corridor through Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying it would be of outstanding importance for the southern Croatian seaport of Ploce. Sanader refuted allegations in some Bosnian print media to the effect that the state presidency had rejected his proposal that Croatia give Bosnia and Herzegovina the most privileged nation treatment in Ploce. Sanader said that one member of the three-man presidency had said that such a proposal was a bit obsolete, but that this did not mean that the proposal was rejected. He said Croatia would send Bosnian authorities a detailed proposal later on. BRADTKE