ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - DECEMBER 17, 2008

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000864 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD, EUR/RPM AND EUR/ERA OSD FOR POPOVICH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV HR SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - DECEMBER 17, 2008 ¶1. (SBU) CROATIAN TROOPS DEPLOYED TO ISAF RECEIVE ADDITIONAL 150 IMPROVED FIRST AID KITS FROM U.S.: On December 11 Croatian troops deployed to Afghanistan received another 150 Improved First Aid Kits (IFAK) from U.S. forces. When used in trained hands, the kits give soldiers a greatly improved chance of survival of combat injuries. The kit is a vast improvement over previous individual first-aid packs, and focuses on quickly treating the two most urgent medical crises faced on the battlefield in the case of an injury - severe bleeding from a wound to an extremity and a blocked airway. Acquiring more of the kits was Post's highest priority, both to protect the lives of our partner's soldiers and, in the case of loss of life, to know that every effort had been made to obtain the best equipment possible; and ultimately, to strengthen Croatia's commitment to ISAF. (CDavis) ¶2. (SBU) U.S. BRIEFING ON MILITARY INTELLIGENCE IN PEACE-KEEPING OPERATIONS: The U.S. Army Southern European Task Force in Vicenza, Italy provided Croatia with a particularly well received team of briefers from their Military Intelligence (MI) Detachment. The team presented a familiarization event on Intelligence in Peacekeeping Operations. The audience, mainly Croatian military officers in the field of intelligence, soaked up the presentations, which focused on recent Afghanistan experiences. The best indicator of the relevancy and currency of the topic was a request by a Colonel representing the Croatian MOD Intelligence Department (J2) that, before the team returned home, a portion of the talk on a 15-month deployment to an Afghan province be presented again to a select senior audience assembled from the J2. (CDavis) ¶3. (U) GOLF LAW CREATES CONTROVERSY: On December 15, the Croatian parliament adopted two laws, one on management of arable land, and the other on development of golf courses. Opposition members walked out of the session, deeming the laws unacceptable. The walk-out also included members of the Croatian Serb SDSS party, which belongs to the ruling coaltion. Whether the walk out over these laws will shake the ruling coalition is still unclear. The opposition does not support the two laws because they enable investors to expropriate land from private owners and local governments in order to build golf courses. Some also object to higher fees imposed for the conversion of agricultural plots into commercial land. The largest oppostion party, the Social Democrats, argues that the two laws offer excellent grounds for corrupt acts because of a lack of transparency for decisions to change the zoning of land. Three prominent NGOs have announced that they will file a complaint with the Constitutional Court to investigate the constitutionality of the laws. (DMatijas-Venger) ¶4. (U) GOC AND EC AGREE ON TERMS OF SHIPBUILDING PRIVATIZATION; UNIONS DISPLEASED: In a meeting with union leaders on December 15, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Damir Polancec said the GOC had achieved its main goals in negotiations with the European Commission (EC) over shipyard privatization: survival of the shipbuilding industry and maintaining as many jobs as possible. He said the GOC and EC agreed private investors should accept at least 40 percent of restructuring costs and that capacity for each shipyard should be reduced 25 percent from its best results in the past three years. The unions, however, have threatened to strike because the tenders will not prohibit potential investors from closing the shipyards and using the property for other activities. Meanwhile, press reports indicate the industry needs to repay 4.5 billion HRK ($850 million) in debts by the end of the year and requires an additional 1.5 billion ($280 million) in loans for sufficient liquidity to maintain production. With three of the shipyards reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy, Polancec suggested the unions should direct their energy toward finding a way to keep the industry operating until restructuring can be completed. The GOC expects the EC to finish analyzing the proposed tenders by January 9. It will then invite bids beginning January 20. (SLitke) BRADTKE