SERBIAN DAILY PUBLISHES MLADIC DIARY EXCERPTS

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000510 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KWAC SR SUBJECT: SERBIAN DAILY PUBLISHES MLADIC DIARY EXCERPTS Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) A local daily newspaper published on June 5 and 6 excerpts of International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indictee Ratko Mladic's diary, containing notes on meetings and plans to bribe U.S. officials. Officials from the Serbian government and the ICTY confirm that the excerpts are part of diaries obtained in a Serbian government raid and handed over to the ICTY to prosecute other defendants. Serbian officials do not seem concerned by the story, and it does not seem to have aroused much interest in the public. End Summary. Mladic Says He Can Buy U.S. Officials -------------- ¶2. (U) Blic daily published on June 5 the first of what it described as a series of excerpts from ICTY indictee Ratko Mladic's diary from ¶1995. The excerpts consist of three pages of handwritten notes on meetings with Serbian officials, as well as meetings he had planned to have with such "influential" Americans as Illinois Senator Paul Simon, Kyle Vandenen, and someone named Bill whose last name begins with "s" but was illegible. Mladic also wrote that he was close to Congressman Lee Hamilton and had photos with him; he described Hamilton as "the key person for the purchase of arms and military equipment." Mladic discussed apparent plans to attempt to bribe U.S. officials, because "politics is business." (The notes do not indicate if the meetings ever took place.) ¶3. (U) Mladic also quotes a Tab or Gab Lajos, described as the president of the Democratic Party in Chicago, as saying that he would bring a group of Senators to Belgrade so that Mladic could give them money. He also noted that "Chicago Democrats always pick the U.S. president." Mladic wrote that on the eve of the Dayton Accords he had suggested defining new borders and relocation of people, at a cost of $8 billion to be split between the U.S. and the EU, and that President Clinton had accepted the idea. Mladic wrote that Clinton had also agreed to lift sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro in exchange for $50 million, from the $200 million frozen in the U.S. under sanctions. Serbian Government Confirms Authenticity -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Officials have confirmed the authenticity of the excerpts. President of the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY Rasim Ljajic told the press that he believed the excerpts were part of Mladic's diary seized by the government, but said that his office did not know how they had become public. National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY Deputy Director Zorana Dimitrijevic confirmed to us that the diaries appeared to be those that the National Council had turned over to the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor. ICTY Belgrade Office Head Deyan Mihov told us the government had obtained the diaries in a raid in December 2008 and had turned them over in March 2009 at the request of Chief Prosecutor Brammertz for use in ongoing cases. (According to media reports, quotes from the diaries were used in the trial of Serbia's State Security Service Jovica Stanisic and his deputy Franko Simatovic on June 10.) Mihov said the diaries were provided to defense attorneys in those trials, "so you can guess how they leaked." Mihov said neither the ICTY nor Ljajic was worried about the appearance in the press of the excerpts. Short-Lived Media Coverage -------------- ¶5. (U) Although Blic had announced a series of excerpts, it published only two additional pages on June 6 with notes from other meetings with Serbs on military and everyday issues. The notes contained a reference to a Mike Pavlovic who had contributed $200,000 for a bridge. A commentary in weekly Vreme on June 10 stated the excerpts showed Mladic was living in a fantasy world, unable to understand political reality as Milosevic was negotiating the Dayton Accords. Tabloid weekly Nedeljni Telegraf on June 10 published an interview with an unnamed Western diplomat, who claimed that the release of the diaries was proof that the government of Serbia was still negotiating with Mladic. Dimitrijevic told us this story was ridiculous. Comment -------------- ¶6. (SBU) While the diary excerpts appear to be authentic, at this point their impact on public opinion in Serbia has been minimal. Most Serbs would not recognize the names of most of the Americans mentioned. Government officials are curious as to how they leaked but are not otherwise concerned. End Comment. BRUSH