BOSNIA - MOVABLE DEFENSE PROPERTY AGREEMENT SIGNED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 000569 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE (HOH, SILBERSTEIN, FOOKS, STINCHCOMB),EUR/RPM DEFENSE FOR FATA, BEIN NSC FOR BRAUN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MARR BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - MOVABLE DEFENSE PROPERTY AGREEMENT SIGNED REF: A. SARAJEVO 529 ¶B. SARAJEVO 307 ¶C. SARAJEVO 246 ¶D. SARAJEVO 162 ¶E. SARAJEVO 150 ¶F. SARAJEVO 129 SARAJEVO 00000569 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR MICHAEL MURPHY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) A ND (D) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) State-level Prime Minister Nikola Spiric, Federation Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic, and Republika Srpska (RS) Minister of Trade and Tourism Pedrag Gluhakovic signed the agreement on movable defense property on March 27 during a ceremony held at the Armed Forces of BiH's (AFBiH) ammunition destruction facility in Doboj. The agreement provides state-level ownership of all military arms, ammunition and explosives, and was a key outstanding element of Bosnian defense reform. With the agreement in place, we and our partners in NATO HQ Sarajevo must be prepared to vigilantly monitor its implementation, and ensure that all parties work to uphold the letter and intent of the agreement. We must also work with the Ministry of Defense to draft the book of rules governing the actions of the commission overseeing the disposition of surplus military items. Attention will now turn to resolving ownership of immovable defense property (real estate). We anticipate that sustained USG engagement will be required to resolve this legally and politically complex issue. End Summary. AGREEMENT SIGNED IN DOBOJ -------------- ¶2. (SBU) State-level Prime Minister Nikola Spiric, Federation Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic, and Republika Srpska (RS) Minister of Trade and Tourism Pedrag Gluhakovic signed the agreement on movable defense property on March 27 during a ceremony held at the Armed Forces of BiH's (AFBiH) ammunition destruction facility in Doboj. The agreement, concluded last week after substantial Embassy effort over several months, transfers the ownership of all military arms, ammunition and explosives from the entities to the state (reftel A). The ceremony itself was a highly positive event, with all parties publicly stating that the agreement was historic in nature and indicating that the state and entities were committed to doing everything possible to secure Bosnia's Euro-Atlantic future. In their remarks at the ceremony, Spiric and Deputy Defense Minister Igor Crnadak also noted that the conclusion of the agreement was important before NATO's upcoming Bucharest Summit, with Spiric stating, "BiH has taken a large step towards full NATO membership." The ceremony was attended by high-level officials from the Bosnian government and the international community, and received substantial positive press coverage. MUST NOW FINISH BOOK OF RULES -------------- ¶3. (C) With the agreement in place, we and our partners in NATO HQ Sarajevo must be prepared to vigilantly monitor its implementation. As a first step, we must ensure that the Ministry of Defense moves to quickly draft and adopt the book of rules for the commissions that will make decisions regarding the disposition of surplus arms, ammunition and explosives. The Ambassador and Dodik agreed on explicit wording for the book of rules last week that provides RS representatives in the commission the right to monitor and comment on any ARMS deals, but limits their "participation" to a non-voting role. We must also ensure that Dodik does not back away from his commitments on the book of rules during the drafting process by trying to provide RS members of the commission with a veto. This would violate our bottom line principle that the state owns the weapons. We have already engaged on the issue with Crnadak, who has pledged to work with NATO HQ to begin to draft the book of rules early next SARAJEVO 00000569 002 OF 003 week. TESTING THE AGREEMENT -------------- ¶4. (C) We will also be watchful for any problems moving military property across the Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL). The process of fully equipping the units of the AFBiH was on hold as commanders had been afraid to move items without resolution of the movable property issue. With the signing of the agreement, this should be a non-issue, and any move by either entity to block the transfer of items will be a clear violation of the agreement. We discussed the issue with AFBiH Support Command Commander Major General Dragan Vukovic (a Bosnian Serb) following the ceremony, and he was optimistic that there would be no problems. Vukovic said that the vast majority of items permanently crossing the IEBL will be NATO-standard equipment moving from the Federation to the RS, and the only substantial item moving in the opposite direction will the air defense equipment that is to be deployed around Sarajevo. Vukovic said he planned to order the transfer of the air defense equipment in the near-term in order to test the parties' commitment to the agreement. Lieutenant General Sifet Podzic (a Bosniak),the CHOD, also told us he would inform us immediately if any problems were encountered in moving military equipment. NOW THE HARD PART -------------- ¶5. (C) The resolution of the ovable property issues was the most pressing, but not the only, element of the defense property transfer called for by the Law on Defense. The state, entities, NATO HQ and we must now turn our attention to immovable defense property (real estate). In both legal and political terms, immovable defense property is a vastly more complex issue that will require substantial engagement at both the technical and political level. NATO HQ officials have already told us that it is unclear who currently "owns" much of the defense real estate, and any deal will have to address conflicting claims of ownership from the state, entities, municipalities, and even private parties. IDEOLOGY VS. KLEPTOCRACY -------------- ¶6. (C) Compounding the difficulty of the issue is that many of the military facilities are old Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) barracks that are located in large population centers. This prime real estate is likely valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Political leaders from both the Federation and the RS understand the financial cost of completely surrendering ownership of these facilities to the state, and will likely seek to limit the extent and scope of any transfer. The resolution of immovable defense property will also likely split opinions within the Federation - with some Bosniak politicians seeking a complete transfer of ownership to the state for ideological reasons (to support state building),while others will seek greater entity control for pecuniary motives. (Note: It will be interesting to see where President Silajdzic comes down on this debate. End Note.) The battle lines have already been drawn, with Dodik publicly stating this week that the RS will never give up immovable defense property and Brankovic telling the audience at the Doboj ceremony that the movable property agreement established "principles" for the resolution of immovable property. COMMENT: A WIN FOR USG INTERESTS, BUT MUCH LIES AHEAD -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) The conclusion of the movable defense property agreement is a major step forward for defense reform, and a positive development in an otherwise bleak political climate. The agreement would not have been possible without direct and sustained engagement from the USG. That said, we must pay equal attention to its implementation, and me must vigilantly guard against any party, particularly Dodik, trying to walk SARAJEVO 00000569 003 OF 003 back from the letter and spirit of the agreement. We are also aware that we a face a long fight ahead over immovable defense property, and that the final success of defense reform is dependent on its successful resolution. Resolution of this issue will also require substantial USG energy, focus and commitment. End Comment. ENGLISH