ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - MAY 14, 2008

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000385

SIPDIS

FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD, EUR/RPM AND EUR/ERA
OSD FOR POPOVICH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR ICTY MARR ECON HR
SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - MAY 14, 2008

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


1. (U) CROATIA HOSTS ADRIATIC SHIELD 08:
Croatia hosted the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)
exercise ADRIATIC SHIELD 08 in Rijeka 12-14 May 2008, with
the active participation of the USS CARNEY. The event tested
the efficiency of relevant procedures and the level of
preparedness of national agencies to respond to a concrete
proliferation threat. It included a full-cycle scenario,
taking participants from the point of intelligence
acquisition, through sea and port interdictions, analysis of
the evidence obtained, and eventual arrest of the suspected
proliferators. In addition to the practical scenario, GOC
officials participated in a table-top exercise on the margins
of the event. This U.S.-facilitated exercise helped
officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Croatian
Navy and Coast Guard, and intelligence services, among
others, understand the mechanics of the bilateral
shipboarding agreement and the level of coordination required
to perform a successful sea interdiction. (CRhoton)


2. (C) ICTY CHIEF PROSECUTOR MEETS WITH GOC AND DIPLOMATIC
CORPS:
On May 14 ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz met with
government officials and members of the diplomatic corps to
provide an update on the activities of the UN war crimes
tribunal in the region. While Deputy PM Jadranka Kosor
publicly renewed Croatia's commitment to full and open
cooperation with ICTY, Brammertz told diplomats in a closed
door briefing that he was only "partially satisfied" with GOC
efforts to bring war crimes cases to trial. Brammertz noted
in particular that despite numerous requests from ICTY staff
members, documentation from state archives on the Gotovina
case has not yet been provided. In general, Brammertz said
that "more written evidence" will be necessary to bring
outstanding cases to a conclusion. Brammertz also indicated
that since ICTY will "disappear in the near future," he and
his colleagues intend to cooperate closely with local war
crime prosecutors, working to transfer case loads and provide
supporting materials to facilitate prosecutions. He
announced, for example, the creation of an ICTY database to
provide local prosecutors with ready access to information as
they build their cases. (VWalker)


3. (U) ENERGY PRICES PUT HEAT ON GOVERNMENT:
The rising price of gasoline and diesel fuel have fanned
fears of further rises in food prices in Croatia and put the
government on the defensive. The price of a liter of the most
popular fuels in Croatia, premium grade diesel and Euro grade
unleaded are now 9.27 ($2.00/liter or $7.55/gallon) and 8.99
kunas ($1.93/liter or $7.33/gallon),respectively. Minister
of Economy Damir Polancec said that the Croatian government
can do nothing to bring down the price of oil on world
markets, and that fuel prices in Croatia are more or less in
line with those of neighboring countries. While this is
generally true, the government does levy high taxes on fuel -
a surcharge of 2.85 kunas ($.61) per liter on unleaded gas,
and a further 22% value added tax on that amount. All in all,
taxes account for a full 50% of the pump price of a liter of
unleaded in Croatia. The government reduced the surcharge
before the elections last November but, if prices continue to
rise, will come under increasing pressure to do so again as
the specter of inflation looms larger. (NBerliner)


4. (U) MILANOVIC RE-ELECTED AS SDP PRESIDENT:
Zoran Milanovic won re-election as president of the Social
Democratic Party (SDP),Croatia's
leading opposition party, by an overwhelming majority at the
party's convention on May 10.
Outpacing his nearest rival by 7-to-1, Milanovic ended any
questions about his grasp on power
within the party, but some of his key associates did not make
it into the party's new 10-member
presidency structure. The presidency and 103-member main
committee replace the more centralized
party structure of the last years of the late party president
and former PM Ivica Racan.
In addition to Milanovic, the SDP presidency includes two
vice-presidents, Zlatko Komadina
(Rijeka county prefect),and Milanka Opacic (MP); as well as
seven other members: Zeljka
Antunovic (MP, former defense minister),Milan Bandic (Mayor
of Zagreb),Biljana Borzan
(MP and Deputy Mayor of Osijek),Zvonimir Mrsic (MP, mayor of
Koprivnica),Vojko Obersnel
(Mayor of Rijeka),Ranko Ostojic (MP, former national
director of police),Tonino Picula
(MP, mayor of Velika Gorica, former foreign minister)

ZAGREB 00000385 002 OF 002


(TSelinger)
Bradtke