BOSNIA: DODIK CROSSES THE LINE WITH ATTACK AGAINST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 001862

SIPDIS

EUR (JONES),EUR/SCE (HYLAND, FOOKS, STINCHCOMB),S/WCI
(WILLIAMSON, VIBUL-JOLLES),INR (MORIN),INL (MARNEY); NSC
FOR HELGERSON; OSD FOR BEIN; DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
(ALEXANDRE)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM KDEM KCRM KJUS BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: DODIK CROSSES THE LINE WITH ATTACK AGAINST
THE STATE COURT'S "MUSLIMS"

REF: A) SARAJEVO 1803 B)SARAJEVO 1789 C) SARAJEVO
1795 D) SARAJEVO 1738 AND PRIOR

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Classified By: MICHAEL J. MURPHY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The conflict between Republika Srpska Prime
Minister Milorad Dodik, his government, and state-level
judicial institutions over the State Prosecutor's preliminary
investigation into corruption in the RS rose to new heights
the week of December 8. Dodik, whose government has been on
the offensive following the State Court's refusal of the RS
appeal of a temporary seizure order obliging it to hand over
documents to the State Prosecutor's Office, created a
firestorm with inflammatory comments that "Muslim" judges at
the State Court have no right to adjudicate cases involving
the RS government. These comments received extensive press
coverage in the Federation and provoked swift, unequivocal
criticism from us and HighRep Lajcak. Meanwhile, contacts at
the State Prosecutor's Office told us that they are still
reviewing the documents submitted by the RS, and that based
on their review of these documents, they may have to seek
another temporary seizure order from the State Court for new
documents. END SUMMARY.

The RS on the Offensive
--------------


2. (C) The RS government has been on the offensive
following the State Court's decision the week of December 1
to reject its appeal of a temporary seizure order that
obliged the RS to hand over documents the State Prosecutor's
Office needs for its preliminary investigation into
corruption in the RS (Refs A and B). This offensive began
with a private message delivered to us by Seljko Mirjanovic,
the Caucus Chief of Dodik's party, Alliance of Social
Democrats (SNSD),in the RS National Assembly, during a
December 8 meeting. Mirjanovic pointed out that the
consensus view in the RS was that the State Prosecutor's
preliminary investigation was politically-motivated. In a
new twist, he justified halting the investigation on the
grounds that it was an obstacle to Dodik's attempts to
advance Bosnia's integration into the EU and reduce the
animosity Serbs harbor towards the U.S. and the EU.
Mirjanovic repeatedly implied that there would be
"consequences" if the State Prosecutor's investigation
continued, but did not elaborate on what those consequences
could be. It was important that the international community
not "create more animosity" and that it "choose the lesser of
two evils," Mirjanovic said.

Debate over the U.S. Law Firm
--------------


3. (C) During a December 10 lunch with us, Zoran Korac,
Dodik's close friend and unofficial advisor, maintained that
Dodik was innocent of any crimes. He argued that Dodik had
the right to hire any law firm he wished, and that that there
is no law in Bosnia that prevented Dodik from hiring a
foreign firm from representing him in legal matters, domestic
or otherwise. Separately, the RS Bar Association publicly
challenged Korac's assertions. On December 11, the RS Bar
Association questioned the legality of having the U.S. law
firm retained by the RS government, Dewey and LeBoueuf,
represent the RS government before any court in the RS or any
state court on matters related to the State Prosecutor's
investigation (Ref D) because it was not registered in the RS
or Federation. The daily Dnevni Avaz on December 11
published the statements of the RS Bar Association President
Jovan Cizmovic, and reported that, according to the
information published by the RS government, the law firm may
have been paid up to approximately 3.4 million USD for its
services.

RS Justice Minister Selman on the Drumbeat
--------------


4. (U) On December 9, Fokus, the RS-based daily with a
strong Serb-nationalist editorial line, published statements
by the vocal RS Justice Minister and Dodik ally Dzerard
Selman in defense of the RS government's position. Minister

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Selman insisted that the State Court's rejection of the RS
government's appeal was groundless, repeating the RS
assertion that the State does not have jurisdiction in the
investigation because it involved alleged violations of the
RS Criminal Code. Minister Selman also suggested that the
State Court had reached a speedy decision because it was
prejudiced against the RS. Minister Selman claimed that,
though the RS had to comply with the State Court's temporary
seizure order, the RS had nonetheless scored a victory
because representatives from his Ministry had been invited to
the State Prosecutor's Office for the opening of the
documents.

Dodik Crosses the Line
--------------


5. (SBU) On December 10, PM Dodik created an uproar by
making inflammatory comments about State Court judges during
a press conference in Banja Luka and in a separate Vecernji
List interview on December 11. Dodik said that it was
"unacceptable for Republika Srpska to be judged by Muslim
judges, and for them to reject an appeal which is legally
grounded." Dodik then laid out a litany of complaints related
to the corruption investigation. He accused the State
Prosecutor's Office of acting illegally and of joining those
who want to "paint a negative picture of the RS to the rest
of Europe." He echoed Minister Selman's concerns about the
speed with which the State Court had rejected the RS
government's appeal. He alleged that two unnamed embassies
had interfered in the State Prosecutor's preliminary
investigation and criticized the role of foreign judges and
prosecutors in the case. According to Dodik, these
foreigners should not remain on the case since his government
had filed complaints against them with the High Judicial and
Prosecutorial Council (HJPC). (Note: We assume Dodik meant
the Slovene Prosecutor who is leading the preliminary
investigation. We have no information about complaints the
RS government may have filed with the HJPC's Office of
Disciplinary Counsel. End Note) Finally, Dodik suggested
that the RS is being attacked because it is making greater
progress than the Federation.

And Creates a Firestorm
--------------


6. (U) Dodik's comments about "Muslim" judges at the State
Court received little coverage in the RS media but grabbed
headlines in the Federation and prompted strong responses
from HighRep Lajcak and from us. HighRep Lajcak stated that
Dodik's comments about Bosniaks appeared chauvinistic and had
no place in Bosnia. The comments are an attempt to interfere
in the judicial process, an act, which, in a democratic
country, is taboo, Lajcak said. In a normally functioning
democracy, statements such as Dodik's would destroy a
politician's career, Lajcak observed. We also issued a press
release in which we stated the following, "We are deeply
disturbed by the remarks made by PM Dodik. There is no place
for ethnic or religious politics in the administration of
justice. The USG rejects any effort to introduce it. We
similarly reject political interference of any kind in the
administration of justice."

Dodik Apologizes (Sort of)
--------------


7. (U) The following day (December 12),Dodik responded
publicly to our and HighRep Lajcak's criticism. Dodik
maintained that he was not trying to make "Bosniaks feel
uncomfortable" because he is "not that type of person."
Dodik argued that he was "just defending the right of the RS
to respect the laws of this country" and asserted that his
statement had been "taken out of context...I apologize to all
those who, maybe, understood it the wrong way." Dodik said
he did not want to apologize to those who intentionally
"misused' his statement, however. Dodik also argued that
"there are some judges who are ready to violate the laws of
BiH under pressure of certain embassies in BiH and
international structures." Finally, Dodik's "apology"
included an assertion that the State Court had been created
unconstitutionally, and that its Bosniak judges were biased

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against the RS.

The Latest on the Investigation, the RS Complaint
-------------- --------------


8. (C) In the meantime, the State Prosecutor's Office is
reviewing documents the RS government handed over to the
State Investigation and Protection Agency on November 26.
Our contacts at the office told us that the process will take
a few weeks and that, based upon a review of these documents,
it is likely that the office will need to submit another
request for a temporary seizure order from the State Court
for new documents. Our contacts also pointed out that they
are still waiting for the RS to hand over some missing
documents. They also discussed the RS government's actions
against the State Prosecutor's Office against Acting Chief
Prosecutor Milorad Barasin, Principal Deputy High
Representative Raffi Gregorian, and seven others. They
clarified that the RS government had filed a "criminal
complaint" (and not a lawsuit) against the group and that the
head of the General Crimes Division (Jadranka
Lokmic-Misiraca) will determine whether there was probable
cause to initiate an investigation against those named in the
complaint, including Barasin, her superior (Ref A).

Comment
--------------


9. (C) Dodik has been dogged by allegations of corruption
for months, including from several international and local
NGOs, such as Transparency International. The Serb
Democratic Party (SDS) made this a theme of its municipal
election campaign against Dodik, at one point, putting up
posters that contained a photograph of the ostentatious new
RS government building next to a poorly equipped RS hospital.
We understand that it was these earlier allegations as well
as the provision of some documents to state-level law
enforcement institutions by individuals from the RS that
prompted the State Prosecutor's Office to initiate the
preliminary investigation. While Dodik's criticisms of the
judiciary are not new, Dodik crossed the line with his
ethnically-charged statements about judges at the State
Court. They suggest the extent to which Dodik feels
genuinely threatened by the ongoing preliminary
investigation. This anxiety suggests that we should expect
to see continued intensified rhetorical attacks on
state-level judicial institutions (the State Court, State
Prosecutor's Office, and the HJPC),attempts to intimidate
judicial officials, and RS obstruction of the State
Prosecutor's preliminary investigation at every step.

ENGLISH