ZAGREB ACTIVITY REPORT - AUGUST 8

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000590 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EAID HR SUBJECT: ZAGREB ACTIVITY REPORT - AUGUST 8 ¶1. TRADING BARBS OVER OPERATION STORM: Croatia celebrated Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day on August 5, the 13th anniversary of Operation Storm, which liberated Serb-held territories of Croatia. Criticism of the holiday from Serbian and Bosnian-Serb leaders received extensive media attention. Media reported that Serbian President Boris Tadic said Serbs view Operation Storm as a day of grief and unhappiness and called on Croatia to extend apologies for crimes committed during the operation. President Mesic responded, "I have already apologized to everybody on whom members of my people inflicted evil. Being the President of Croatia, I had to do so. I am surprised that advisors of Mr. Tadic have failed to tell him about that." He suggested that whenever Tadic comments on Operation Storm, he should remember that the rebellion of Croatian Serbs was initiated by Belgrade. Prime Minister Sanader said that Serbia should face its own past and finally renounce the Greater Serbia policy of Milosevic and added that "we shall not allow others to write the history of the Croatian Homeland Defence War." ¶2. USAID-SUPPORTED NGO DEMONSTRATES HOW CROATIAN CIVIL SOCIETY CAN SOAR: On August 6, econ officer and PD specialist attended the 15th anniversary celebration of the environmental NGO Caput Insulae Beli (CIB) on the Island of Cres. Originally founded to preserve the island's griffon vulture population, CIB, with support from USAID, has expanded to include educational, biodiversity, cultural heritage, and ecotourism programs. In many ways, CIB is a model of success for other Croatian NGOS: they have achieved tangible program successes, financial sustainability, integration in the local community, and cooperation at the international level. Through their core program, they have rescued and returned to the wild 5-10 griffons each year and tagged about 600 griffons, whose movements they track in cooperation with scientists in Europe and Africa. To carry out their work, they have enlisted the help of nearly 3000 Croatian and international volunteers over the years. Because volunteer programs are still somewhat rare in Croatia, the CIB program makes an important contribution to civil society development. CIB has also developed a strong working relationship with the communities on the island by seeking and promoting ways in which CIB programs support agriculture and tourism, the island's primary economic activities. ¶3. PRESS SPECULATION ON KARADZIC ARREST: EMBASSY CONFIRMS THAT NO REWARD WAS PAID: Based on a report from the Banja Luka-based web portal Press claiming that a 5 million USD payment under the Rewards for Justice program had been made in connection with the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, the Croatian News Agency (HINA) contacted Embassy Zagreb for comment. After coordinating with the Office of War Crimes Issues (S/WCI),the Embassy responded that the State Department did not/not receive any request or make any payment under the Rewards for Justice program for Karadzic's arrest. The Croatian News Agency and all major Croatian media outlets subsequently carried short articles echoing our statement with titles such as "No Reward Paid for Karadzic" and "U.S. Embassy Says No Reward Paid for Information on Karadzic." These articles and S/WCI's August 7 press guidance should help to end press speculation on this issue. Walker