Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PODGORICA166
2008-06-11 06:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Podgorica
Cable title:  

DISPLEASED BY TIP RANKING, GOM BITES BACK

Tags:  ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MW 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6115
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPOD #0166/01 1630629
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110629Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0823
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 0908
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PODGORICA 000166 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, INL, DRL, AND IWI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MW
SUBJECT: DISPLEASED BY TIP RANKING, GOM BITES BACK

REF: STATE 58434

PODGORICA 00000166 001.2 OF 002

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PODGORICA 000166

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, INL, DRL, AND IWI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MW
SUBJECT: DISPLEASED BY TIP RANKING, GOM BITES BACK

REF: STATE 58434

PODGORICA 00000166 001.2 OF 002


1.(SBU) SUMMARY: The downgrading of Montenegro to Tier 2 Watch
List has been front page news here. Local media accurately
reported the findings of the TIP report, and GoM officials
expressed deep surprise in private while publicly criticizing
the report's conclusions. Montenegro's National TIP Coordinator
told us he was "very surprised" and "very disappointed" at the
ranking, and later told the press he would lodge a formal
complaint with the Ambassador over the issue. Foreign Minister
Rocen told the Ambassador on June 6 that he was puzzled and
disappointed, while the weekend press reported sarcastic
comments by the Prime Minister and the TIP coordinator
questioning the report's veracity. END SUMMARY.



2.(SBU) On June 3, per reftel, PolOff delivered the news of
Montenegro's downgraded Tier 2 Watch List ranking to National
TIP Coordinator Bojan Obrenovic. PolOff also informed the
Coordinator that there would be an interim assessment for
Montenegro and that we hoped to work closely with his office to
ensure that Montenegro improved its anti-trafficking efforts.
Obrenovic expressed surprise at the ranking and claimed there
was no trafficking phenomenon in Montenegro. He also said there
was no evidence of trafficking victims in the country. He did
admit that Montenegro still had to adopt repatriation
legislation, but said victims were encouraged to participate in
prosecutions. Overall, he contended that Montenegro was a
successful regional example and that Montenegro could be
"nothing but proud" of the way victims were treated. He ended by
stating that the ranking would neither motivate nor demotivate
his office, as he and his staff had always done their very best.



3.(SBU) Foreign Minister Rocen told the Ambassador on June 6
that he was puzzled and disappointed by the ranking, which he
suggested came as a big surprise. The Ambassador told him that
Ambassador Lagon would be briefing Ambassador Vlahovic in more

detail about the report in coming days.



4.(U) Major Montenegrin dailies ("Vijesti" and "Dan") reported
factually about the report on June 4. Under the a large
front-page headline, "Under U.S. Surveillance Again," Vijesti,
the country's largest circulation newspaper, wrote that
"Montenegro and Albania are the only states from the region that
are not making enough efforts to combat TIP." The opposition
paper "Dan," seeing a chance to attack the GoM, headlined its
article, "Government Does Not Prevent Trafficking" and
highlighted the report's conclusion that Montenegro does not
comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking, as the authorities had identified only one
trafficking victim during 2007.




5. (U) Over the weekend, press reported that PM Djukanovic
sarcastically commented that Montenegro's performance on TIP
issues was "100 percent worse" in 2007 as compared to 2006,
since TIP cases had gone from zero to one during the reporting
period. Djukanovic also said "other countries would be lucky to
have a TIP problem similar to Montenegro's." DPM Gordana
Djurovic was quoted stating she had "some reservations about the
veracity of the statistics in the report." She added that
Montenegro would carefully analyze those assessments and compare
them with their own statistics. (Note: Post requested
statistics from the National Coordinator's office, the
prosecutor's office and the police in preparing the 2008 TIP
report and received three different sets of statistics related
to prosecutions, investigations and convictions for trafficking
in persons.)




6. (U) The press also reported that TIP Coordinator Obrenovic
strongly criticized the as "sharp and unjust." He questioned
information gained from local NGOs, stating that sources should
be limited to "legitimate" state bodies. (Note: In preparing
the report, post spoke with local NGOs, including the director
of the government-sponsored anti-trafficking NGO, as well as the
International Organization for Migration.)



Comment

--------------


PODGORICA 00000166 002.2 OF 002





7. (SBU) As expected, the GoM reacted with surprise and
indignation to Montenegro's downgrading, focusing on the small
number of potential victims rather than the GoM's general
efforts to combat trafficking. The National Coordinator was
particularly defensive, despite the fact that we pointed out
repeatedly to him that his office had called no inter-agency
meetings during the reporting period, and that this period had
witnessed a reduced number of prosecutions, a failure to address
child begging, unclear statistics, and the disbanding of the
special anti-trafficking police force. We will continue to
stress to the GoM the importance of addressing trafficking more
aggressively. In the meantime, we reiterate our earlier
requests that G/TIP brief the Montenegrin Ambassador in
Washington about the TIP report.
MOORE