Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ZAGREB908
2007-09-28 12:10:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Zagreb
Cable title:  

CROATIA SHOCKED BY ICTY VERDICT ON "VUKOVAR 3"

Tags:  PGOV KAWC PREL HR ICTY 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHVB #0908/01 2711210
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 281210Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8192
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000908 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO, EUR/SCE HOH, BALIAN; S/WCI
WILLIAMSON, LAVINE; L/EUR JOHNSON; INR MORIN
NSC FOR BRAUN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV KAWC PREL HR ICTY
SUBJECT: CROATIA SHOCKED BY ICTY VERDICT ON "VUKOVAR 3"

REF: ZAGREB 853

Classified By: Kirsten Selinger, POLOFF, Reasons 1.4 B/D

SUMMARY AND COMMENT
--------------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000908

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO, EUR/SCE HOH, BALIAN; S/WCI
WILLIAMSON, LAVINE; L/EUR JOHNSON; INR MORIN
NSC FOR BRAUN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV KAWC PREL HR ICTY
SUBJECT: CROATIA SHOCKED BY ICTY VERDICT ON "VUKOVAR 3"

REF: ZAGREB 853

Classified By: Kirsten Selinger, POLOFF, Reasons 1.4 B/D

SUMMARY AND COMMENT
--------------


1. (U) SUMMARY: The ICTY ruling on 27 September against the
so-called "Vukovar Three," former Yugoslav army officers
accused of war crimes in Vukovar, caused widespread shock,
disbelief, and anger in Croatia. One officer received 20
years imprisonment, but another, who personifies the crime
for the Croatian public, received only five years, and the
third was acquitted of all crimes. The three officers were
charged with allowing the massacre of at least 264 civilians
and POWs who sought shelter in the Vukovar hospital during
the siege of the town in 1991. In November of that year,
prisoners and patients were taken to the Ovcara pig farm,
tortured, and killed. The Ovcara massacre became the iconic
event of Croatian suffering during attacks from Serbs - and
the three accused were the face of the deeds. PM Sanader
called the verdicts "shameful" and immediately traveled to
Vukovar to participate in a peaceful protest. He told the
press that the GOC will send strong protest letters to the
UNSC and to the ICTY president. President Mesic called the
sentences "utterly unacceptable." All other major
politicians condemned the verdict and questioned the ICTY's
credibility.


2. (C) COMMENT: The ruling is a blow not only to the victims
of this crime, but to local perceptions of the ICTY and the
willingness of Croatians to prosecute ethnic Croats
domestically. The GOC has paid a significant domestic
political price for its full cooperation with the ICTY,
including assistance in the arrest and hand-over of Croatian
General Ante Gotovina in 2005. The Croatian public has
always suspected an unfair bias against Croats in The Hague
(aggravated by the non-verdict in the Milosevic trial). This
week's decision will likely discredit the work here of the
Court on future cases. Further, it will undoubtedly diminish

the public's willingness to prosecute Croats in domestic war
crimes cases, and present political leaders with a greater
challenge in encouraging equal prosecution of Croats and
Serbs in the courts. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.

Light Sentence for JNA Officers
--------------


3. (U) On September 27, the Trial Chamber of the ICTY
sentenced Mile Mrksic to 20 years for aiding and abetting
murder, torture, and cruel treatment, Veselin Sljivancanin to
five years for aiding and abetting the torture, while
Miroslav Radic was found not guilty of all counts. These
sentences were for their involvement in the November 1991
killing of 264 civilians and wounded fighters taken from the
Vukovar hospital to the Ovcara pig farm, where they were
beaten, tortured, and killed. The Ovcara massacre, along
with the shelling of Dubrovnik, has become the iconic example
of war crimes committed against Croats during the war, and
Sljivancanin, who appeared on camera personally blocking
international observers (including former Secretary of State
Cyrus Vance) and the Red Cross from entering the hospital,
was the face of the crime for the Croatian public.
Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for all three
officers. The indictment charged Mrksic with ordering
commission of the crimes and the withdrawal of JNA forces to
permit the massacre by others. It also said the accused had
acted together in the murder of prisoners from the hospital.
Although no written verdict is yet available, the Court found
that there was no direct evidence to establish the three men
participated in a "joint criminal enterprise" to massacre the
group, although it did find that Mrksic gave an order, which
was implemented by Sljivancanin, to take the prisoners from
the hospital to the Ovcara farm. Sljivancanin has been in
detention for four and a half years, and therefore will be
released in the coming months.

Disbelief at Ruling
--------------


4. (U) As soon as the verdict was released, the reaction from
politicians was swift and unequivocal. President Mesic, a
long-time supporter of the Tribunal and its work, said the
verdict was "absolutely unacceptable in terms of the duration
of the sentences and the explanation of the verdicts. The
verdicts are partly a result of the indictment, which failed
to cover all relevant elements of the crimes the accused had
participated in." Sanader called the verdicts shameful and

ZAGREB 00000908 002 OF 002


"a defeat of the whole idea of the Hague tribunal." Sanader
traveled to Vukovar in the evening to hold vigil with
residents, who held a peaceful protest at Ovcara. He
announced he would protest the decision to the UNSC and the
ICTY President. War veterans associations, families of the
missing or killed, and former inmates of Serb-run camps all
called the decision shameful and unjust. Another peaceful
protest will be held today in Zagreb.


5. (C) Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic told us that the
verdict is a catastrophe for his work in Croatia to prosecute
war crimes. He explained that it will be extremely difficult
to bring to trial cases against Croatian defendants in this
environment. His deputy, State Prosecutor Dragan Novosel,
noted that it may be increasingly difficult to seek stiff
sentences against Croats for lesser crimes, as this ruling
effectively lowers the standard for war crimes punishments.
He referred specifically to the ongoing trial of an 11-bis
ICTY transfer case of Croatian Generals Ademi and Norac
(Reftel),charged with war crimes against ethnic Serbs,
noting that, while he would need to read the verdict, using
the ICTY's apparent logic could mean neither should be
convicted. Head of the ICTY Prosecutors Office in Croatia
Thomas Osorio too was deeply disappointed, and was concerned
that the decision sets a negative precedent for the region,
negating the ability of prosecutors to charge JNA officers
with a failure to deter paramilitaries from committing crimes
in JNA-controlled areas. He confirmed that ICTY Prosecutors
plan to appeal the ruling.


6. (U) Speaker of Parliament Vladimir Seks called it
unacceptable that the verdicts handed down by Belgrade courts
(to individuals charged with the actual murders) were harsher
than those by The Hague. (Comment: the Serbian Supreme
Court's decision to overturn the December 2005 convictions of
14 paramilitary leaders for conducting the Ovcara massacre
has further fueled the frustration of the Croatian public.)

"The Hague's Shame"
--------------


7. (SBU) Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Zoran Milanovic
called the verdict scandalous, and said the ruling reflects a
lack of credibility in the work of the tribunal. Leader of
the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) Josip Friscic said he was
outraged, adding that the Tribunal applies double standards
when it comes to Croatian generals. One local newspaper
called the decision "the death of the ICTY", disappointing
those around the region who were looking for reconciliation
and assignment of individual responsibility following the
war. Those who hoped that the ICTY would lead this process
and correctly determine guilt are terribly upset, the
editorial said.

Embassy Response
--------------


8. (SBU) Following his conversation with US Ambassador at
Large for War Crimes Clint Williamson, Ambassador Bradtke
released the following statement to the press: "I am
personally surprised and disappointed with the court's
decision. I have not yet seen the details of the decision to
try and understand the judges' rationale, but it is hard to
imagine how these sentences measure up to the enormity of the
crimes that were committed in Ovcara." Ambassador Williamson
is traveling to Croatia next week and will also likely speak
to the press about the verdict. Post urges the Department to
express similar concern.
BRADTKE