GOC PLEDGES CONTINUED COOPERATION WITH ICTY; PM TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000933

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NOFORN
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DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO, EUR/SCE HOH AND BALIAN
DEPT FOR S/WCI WILLIAMSON
DEPT FOR INR/MORIN
NSC FOR BRAUN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017
TAGS: KAWC ICTY PREL PGOV HR
SUBJECT: GOC PLEDGES CONTINUED COOPERATION WITH ICTY; PM TO
ATTEND UN REVIEW OF ICTY TO PROTEST OVCARA VERDICT

REF: ZAGREB 908

Classified By: POL/ECON Rick Holtzapple, Reasons 1.4 B/D

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Parties from across the political spectrum in Croatia
have denounced the ICTY's verdicts on the "Vukovar Three"
(reftel) as "shameful", but only fringe groups have called
into question Croatia's continued cooperation with the ICTY.
Nonetheless, public frustrations continue to simmer, and
politicians continue to maneuver to find the most effective
way of responding. PM Sanader sent a strongly-worded protest
letter to the UNSC and to the ICTY President. At a
parliamentary debate on the ruling, however, Sanader insisted
that cooperation with the ICTY must and will continue.
Sanader plans to attend the UNGA's review of ICTY activities
in New York on October 15, but told the Ambassador on October
8 "not to worry." President Mesic, who unsuccessfully urged
Sanader not to raise the stakes by going to NY, has also
called the verdicts "absolutely not acceptable" and suggested
efforts to try the three men in Croatia. In an October 5
meeting with visiting S/WCI Clint Williamson, Mesic
acknowledged none of the men was likely to ever be extradited
to Croatia. Nonetheless, renewed legal proceedings against
the men in Croatian courts are likely. In our view, the more
serious risk is that the light Ovcara sentences, if upheld on
appeal, will influence current domestic trials of alleged
Croatian war criminals, making convictions and stiff
sentences in those cases very difficult to secure. END
SUMMARY.

MESIC: VERDICTS "NOT ACCEPTABLE"
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2. (U) President Mesic, in repeated public statements, has
expressed his disappointment at the ICTY verdicts against the
Vukovar Three (one acquittal, one five-year sentence, and one
twenty-year sentence for a crime with 194 murders) and
indicated his hope that the appeals chamber would reach a
different conclusion. Mesic added that he wanted to see the
three individuals indicted by Croatian prosecutors and to
re-establish the chain of command responsibility for events
in Vukovar in 1991. While he recognized that they could not
be charged again for the Ovcara massacre, the same
individuals could be indicted domestically for the siege and
destruction of Vukovar. (Note: All three individuals are
among those indicted by Croatian State Prosecutors in 2002
for crimes associated with the Ovcara massacre and crimes in
Vukovar. Two remain in detention in The Hague and the third,
now in Serbia, cannot be extradited under Serbian law as he
is a citizen of that country.)


3. (C) In an October 4 meeting with visiting EUR/SCE Director
Hoh, Presidential advisor Tomislav Jakic said Mesic had been
disturbed by some of the domestic political reaction to the
Ovcara verdict. "We should not even dream of ending our
cooperation with the ICTY," Jakic said. Jakic added that
Mesic's relations with Prime Minister Sanader were
"momentarily strained" due to Mesic's opposition to Sanader's
plans to attend the October 15 UNGA session on ICTY. Mesic
was particularly concerned, Jakic said, that Sanader would
attempt to "politicize" the trip, and felt that while the
Croatian PermRep at the UN should register Croatia's
disappointment at the verdict, the GoC should not raise the
stakes any higher. (NOTE: While the opposition leader, SDP
President Zoran Milanovic, has complained publicly about
Sanader manipulating the issue, SDP officials have told us
privately that they feel that, at least so far, Sanader has
gained political respect locally for his deft handling of the
issue. END NOTE.)


4. (C) President Mesic met on October 5 with War Crimes
Ambassador-at-large Clint Williamson, who was in Croatia for
a conference on regional cooperation in war crimes
prosecution. Williamson noted his personal surprise at the
verdict and noted there is a chance the sentences will be
increased upon appeal. Mesic expressed his appreciation for
Williamson's public statement, and reiterated his expectation
that Croatia would continue to seek legal avenues to
prosecute the perpetrators of Ovcara and Vukovar, even though
he acknowledged it was unlikely they would ever be extradited
to Croatia.

SANADER: PROTEST TO ICTY, WILL ATTEND UN SESSION

ZAGREB 00000933 002 OF 002


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5. (U) For his part, PM Sanader sent a protest letter the day
after the verdict was released to the UN Secretary General
and the ICTY expressing his disappointment with the
"shameful" verdict. "The time has come to seriously
re-examine all the aspects of the work of the Hague tribunal,
particularly in the context of its failure to serve justice
in a balanced, even, and objective manner," the letter read.
Sanader asked for the letter to be distributed to member
states, and announced he planned to attend the UNGA on
October 15, when a debate is already scheduled on the ICTY,s
work.


6. (U) Sanader, however, is clearly aware of the worries in
some quarters that an excessive Croatian reaction would
damage Croatia's own international standing. At the October
3 parliamentary debate on the verdict, Sanader reaffirmed the
GOC,s commitment to cooperate with the ICTY. He reminded
parliamentarians that the reaction to the verdict should not
only be emotional, but required "both heart and mind." He
opposed, as did a majority of parliamentarians, a right-wing
party's effort to call for a referendum ending GoC
cooperation with the ICTY. The GOC, he stressed, has the
right to continue cooperating with and, at the same time,
criticising the ICTY. Sanader proposed the establishment of
an international assembly of international law experts to
assess the verdict and the performance of the tribunal,
although he did not provide details. He also echoed Mesic,s
call for the start of a domestic trial against the three,
along with several others who were indicted for crimes
associated with Ovcara and Vukovar.


7. (C/NF) In a brief October 8 chat, Sanader told the
Ambassador, "don't worry about New York." He had MFA State
Secretary Biscevic follow-up with a phone call to stress that

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Sanader would be "careful" in his UNGA presentation, and
would focus on the victims of Ovcara and their need for
justice, and the broader context that verdicts such as this
one do not damage the principle that perpetrators of such
crimes all around the world need to be held accountable.
Nonetheless, FM Grabar-Kitarovic (protect) in a private
conversation told the Ambassador that she saw little to gain
from the PM's trip to New York since his intervention may
only serve to highlight the GoC's inability to do anything
more to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS CONTINUE, BOTH IN CROATIA AND SERBIA
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8. (SBU) On 4 October, Croatian State Prosecutors requested
the detention of Miroslav Radic (the acquitted ICTY indictee)
and police issued an international arrest warrant for him
based on other crimes committed in Vukovar in 1991. The case
may begin next month, presumably in absentia, since Radic is
unlikely to be extradited by Serbia. Serbian State
Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, in Croatia for the war crimes
conference, also expressed understanding for the anger in
Croatia over the verdict. He added, however, that his office
continues to pursue those responsible for Ovcara and another
set of killings in the town of Lovas.
BRADTKE