CROATIAN PM SEEKS CLOSURE OF ZAGREB OSCE MISSION,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000551

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/RPM, EUR/SCE, S/WCI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2017
TAGS: PREL OSCE KAWC HR
SUBJECT: CROATIAN PM SEEKS CLOSURE OF ZAGREB OSCE MISSION,
OFFERS PLAN TO MONITOR WAR CRIMES TRIALS

REF: ZAGREB 472

Classified By: DCM Greg Delawie for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) MFA State Secretary Hidajet Biscevic gave Ambassador
May 31 a "confidential" non-paper (text para 8) advocating
closure of the Croatia OSCE mission and proposing a mechanism
to ensure that war crimes trials are monitored.


2. (C) The non-paper commits the GOC to fulfill remaining
obligations regarding refugee return (ref),but its focus is
the proposal to close the existing OSCE Mission, presumably
this year, and to set up an "Office of the Personal
Representative of the Chairman in Office" for monitoring
war-crimes trials. The office would consist of 5 - 7 staff
which could be based at OSCE HQ in Vienna or perhaps Croatia.
It would not only monitor ICTY 11bis war crimes trials
(currently there is only one, Ademi-Norac),but would also
monitor domestic trials initiated by Croatian prosecutors.


3. (C) Biscevic said he had run this idea by the ICTY
prosecutor's office in the Hague, and said Carla del Ponte
was "enthusiastic". He had also discussed it with OSCE HOM
Fuentes, who noted that Spanish FM (and OSCE CiO) Moratinos
would be "very firm" in support of the proposal.


4. (C) Biscevic said the GOC would look to the OSCE
Ministerial Council to endorse the Croatian proposal and
welcome the war crimes monitoring idea.


5. (C) PM Ivo Sanader followed up with the Ambassador June 1
at a meeting also attended by Biscevic and the DCM. Sanader
said he had floated the idea with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso when
they were in Zagreb for the SEECP Summit. Both were
favorable, he noted, pointedly contrasting Barroso's position
to the negative view of European Commission Zagreb head of
mission Vincent Degert. Sanader said his main goal was to
close the OSCE Mission; some other vestige of the OSCE could
remain to monitor war crimes cases, but it would have to have
a different form and name from the existing Mission.


6. (C) Comment: In our view, a proposal like this could
satisfy many of the European objections to closing the OSCE
Mission here, in that it would provided a reasonable method
for ensuring that war crimes trials, including domestic
cases, would be subject to international monitoring. It
would probably make more practical and financial sense to
base most of the trial monitors in Croatia, as well as to
find some mechanism to continue to employ the capable and
experienced current members of the OSCE's Rule of Law unit
for this purpose (all are Croatian nationals except the unit
chief) perhaps reporting to one international supervisor
based in Vienna or Warsaw (ODIHR). The GOC may have
unrealistic views on how to get its proposal endorsed by the
OSCE.


7. (C) We will consult with USOSCE with a view to providing
recommendations on a strategy on achieving OSCE Mission
closure while ensuring a residual war-crimes monitoring
function.


8. (C) Text of Croatian non-paper:
OSCE MISSION
Position paper


--1. Croatia holds that the OSCE Mission to Croatia is
successfully nearing completion.

--2. Croatia holds that 11 years of cooperation between the
Government of Croatia and the OSCE has lead to a successful
fulfillment of the mandate of the Mission, to the benefit of
the institutions and society of Croatia as an example of
positive role and effects of the OSCE endeavours at large

--3. Croatia holds that the prospects of the OSCE Mission to
Croatia need to be viewed within the context of the overall
attained international position of Croatia in the recent
period

--4. The prospects mentioned should particularly be reviewed
in light of the accession negotiations with EU membership and
the soon to be extended invitation to join NATO

--5. The prospects mentioned should particularly be reviewed
within the context of the expected strong positive
contribution of Croatia, as the most empowered and stable
democracy, to the efforts of the EU and NATO for a permanent
stabilisation of this part of Europe

ZAGREB 00000551 002 OF 002



--6. Croatia believes that EU and NATO Member States, in
their individual evaluations of the prospects of the OSCE
Mission to Croatia, need to start from such a joint platform
and policy of the EU and NATO themselves

--7. Croatian Government offers full and verifiable
guarantees for its fulfillment of the remaining obligations
concerning the return of refugees (settling the issue of the
former holders of tenancy rights in accordance with the
decisions of the Government as presented and agreed in the
"Platform")

--8. Croatia holds that the decision of the ICTY to transfer
cases to Croatian judiciary, as well as the proceedings
conducted so far, fully confirm the trustworthiness of the
Croatian justice system

--9. Croatia holds that the question of monitoring all war
crime trials can be settled by a decision of the OSCE Council
that, following the closure of the OSCE Mission to Croatia,
the following should be in charge of the fulfillment of this
commitment of Croatia towards the OSCE:

Personal Representative of the Chairmanship-in-Office for
monitoring war crime-trials

As foreseen in the exchange of letters between the ICTY
Prosecutor and the Slovenian Chairmanship in the first half
of the year 2005, the Chairman in Office will appoint his
Personal Representative whose mandate could be defined as
follows:

"To help Croatian judiciary and to monitor the war crime
trials in all the Tribunals where these trials are taking
place. The PR will have at his disposal a team composed of 5
- 7 legal experts. Their task will be to follow the cases
transferred to Croatia pursuant to Rule 11 bis of the ICTY's
Rules of Procedure and Evidence and to report on to the OSCE
and to the Prosecutors Office.

They are also authorized to monitor and to report to the OSCE
on all other war crime proceedings initiated by Croatian
authorities.

The PR and his team will have their Office in (or: will
obtain the logistic support by) the OSCE HQ in Vienna. They
will visit and work in Croatia given the timeline of the
trial's proceedings.

End text of non-paper.
BRADTKE