ICTY PROSECUTOR AND PM AGREE ON TRIAL MONITORING

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000690

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KAWC PGOV OSCE ICTY HR WAR CRIMES
SUBJECT: ICTY PROSECUTOR AND PM AGREE ON TRIAL MONITORING


1. (U) In the 16 July letter below, Hague Tribunal Chief
Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte informs OSCE Chairman-in-Office of
her recent discussions with PM Ivo Sanader regarding the
future of the OSCE mission in Croatia and the monitoring of
war crimes trials. Del Ponte notes what she calls the
essential role of OSCE monitoring in the transfer of ICTY
cases to national courts and reports reaching agreement with
Sanader on the following in the event the mission closes:
- trial monitoring capacity should be maintained by the "OSCE
Expert Monitoring Team";
- this team would act under the OSCE flag and consist of
three to five experts plus support staff (not specified
whether team members are international or Croatian);
- if need be, this team could be physically co-located with
the ICTY's Zagreb liaison office.


2. (U) Ministry of Foreign Affairs State Secretary Hidajet
Biscevic confirmed to Ambassador July 18 that Sanader had in
fact agreed to this proposal. While Sanader and Del Ponte
did not discuss the make-up of the expert team in detail,
Biscevic told Ambassador he believes it would be a mix of
locals and internationals.


3. (U) Head of ICTY's Zagreb liaison office Thomas Osorio,
who provided letter to PolOff, explained that Del Ponte's
"co-location" offer is simply sharing the real estate ICTY
already leases in Zagreb and does not imply any change in the
OSCE monitors' reporting structure.


4. (SBU) COMMENT: Biscevic had previously pressed an idea
with us to create a new trial monitoring NGO after mission
closure using the local experts currently employed by the
OSCE. Acceptance of a team that would remain under the OSCE
flag after the mission shuts down represents an evolution in
Croatian views that could offer a more widely acceptable
closure scenario. END COMMENT.


5. (U) BEGIN LETTER TEXT:
Excellency

In a follow up to my letter of 15 June 2007 regarding the
future of the OSCE Mission to Croatia and its capacity to
monitor the war crimes trials and upon return from the visit
to Croatia last week, I would like to communicate to you the
results of my discussions with Prime Minister Ivo Sanadar.

There is obviously no need to repeat in details that the OSCE
monitoring is an essential element of the whole process of
transferring cases from the ICTY to the national courts
within the Completion Strategy of the Tribunal approved by
the UN Security Council.

While in Croatia last week, I had an opportunity to discuss
this issue directly with Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. Leaving
all other aspects of the OSCE Mission's Mandate in Croatia
aside, as not directly related to the work of the Office of
the Prosecutor, we spoke specifically about the possible
mechanisms for the OSCE monitoring of the war crimes trials
(the so called Tribunal's Rule 11 bis case and other war
crimes cases).

We have agreed on the following: if the OSCE decides to close
its Mission to Croatia by the end of the year, as announced
by the Chairman-in-Office, the monitoring capacity in
question can and should be maintained in Croatia by the OSCE
Expert Monitoring Team. The Expert Monitoring Team - acting
under the OSCE flag and administered by the OSCE - may
consist of 3-5 experts with the necessary support staff
(depending on the quantity of work and the OSCE assessment).
Obviously it is for the OSCE to make the relevant staffing
assessments. It was also suggested by me that this OSCE Team
if need be and if physically possible can be co-located in
the premises of my Liaison Office in Zagreb.

Croatian President Stjepan Mesic was also briefed on this
agreement last week.

Taking this into consideration, I would be very grateful to
you to inform me about the ongoing discussions on this issue
and solutions envisaged by the OSCE as the key organization
in the process.

Carla Del Ponte
Prosecutor
END LETTER TEXT.
BRADTKE