EXBS: SERBIA, ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - JUNE, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 BELGRADE 000805 SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/ECC - YWONG ACHURCH AND RBALDWIN ISN-EXBS-AMT-DL USDOE/NNSA FOR TPERRY DPAL CPB/INA FOR SMARSH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP PBTS SNAR KCRM SR BK MW SUBJECT: EXBS: SERBIA, ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - JUNE, 2009 ¶1. BROAD AREAS OF INTEREST TO ADVSORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS -- The technical correspondence for the complete definition of the Montenegrin Maritime Surveillance System integrated software package is getting close enough to develop an RFQ. This system should provide a "fused" situational picture of the entire maritime border. The system functional requirements have been developed during this reporting period. Further discussions with the Maritime Section of the Border Police will be necessary to refine the desired operator control interfaces and the Central Monitoring Center shifts to other command locations. A follow-on visit to Estonia may still be advisable to finalize the system configuration, based on actual working Estonian systems. -- 22-23 JUNE. International Seminar on National Non-Proliferation Obligations: MFA of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Jahorina, BiH International and non-governmental organizations recognize the mutual support requirement implementing international arrangements and treaties against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and WMD-related terrorism. Many UNSC Resolutions have developed the scope of State responsibilities and the management of the consequences of any WMD use. The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) includes provisions for assistance, protection, and member rights and responsibilities. OPCW is a key CWC implementor. Seminar Objectives: - Formulate comprehensive and consistent national strategies in meeting WMD threats on national and regional levels. - Facilitate Western Balkan cooperation in implementing WMD agreement obligations. - Ensure support and engagement of international organizations in building national and regional response systems against WMD proliferation and terrorism. The Seminar was opened by Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH; additional keynote statements were made by the representatives of international organizations and Western Balkan Governments. WMD and anti-terrorism experience and expertise in the Western Balkan region, including that of international organizations, NGO's and other stakeholders was presented at the seminar. BiH is a party to most important WMD non-proliferation agreements. Despite its commitment, BiH does not now possess enough resources to implement all obligations. Concluding Plenary Session Outcomes: a.) The CWC and OPCW are examples of how national measures can be developed and implemented. The associated broad spectrum of requirements takes a holistic formulation of policies and strategies, closely coordinated with all stakeholders and neighboring countries. b.) An integrated approach to WMD non-proliferation, taking actual needs into account, is essential for countries with limited resources, otherwise, there is risk of institutional overload and loss of overall direction. c.) A national BiH anti-WMD and anti-terrorism strategy development and implementation project was proposed as a pilot for the Western Balkans. It was the most tangible and practical outcome of the workshop, and will be pursued actively. Note: This seminar was the largest of its kind in the region thus far, and the GoBiH intends on making this an annual event of this scale. Based on the attendance and quality of presentations, it would be useful for all stakeholders to consider participation in this initiative. A full list of attendees and most principal presentations are available. End note. BELGRADE 00000805 002 OF 007 ¶2. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD -- On 08 June EXBS met with the DG of MNE Customs, Miodrag Radusinovic for both an office call and equipment turn-over (see section 4) - this went very well. The DG indicated that Montenegrin Customs was embarking on a different educational format for inspectors, one that included a field OJT and concurrent (visiting) instructor training. Since they would optimize the instructor visits, perhaps two sessions a year, the students would be concentrated in just a few central ports. This would be an ideal time for both an IPIT and a bit of practical equipment training, as well as other practical training that can be identified as an integral part of their intended training. This approach would provide more focused practical applications, a US inspector's perspective and an exposure to US and international methodology. Duly coordinated with the host government, training support along this line might be considered for future planning. The DG was very much in favor of this approach, but it would almost necessarily have to be conducted on a national, or an extremely limited regional basis (some exchange students). -- On 23 June EXBS made a brief courtesy call on the director of the BiH State Investigation and Protection (Security) Agency (SIPA) in Sarajevo. Mr Mirko Lujic indicated that they conduct not only intelligence gathering and analysis, but Risk Management and complex analyses for the tax authority and ITA. They try to maintain a reasonable level of intelligence and information sharing with other cognizant agencies. They do a lot of organized crime surveillance and use special investigative measures that have also led to information on AT and WMD related issues. -- On 23 June EXBS met briefly with BiH MOI Minister Muhidin Alic. Minister Alic pointed out that this year the focus of LE education was centered on the Border Police. They are trying to identify and establish more directed courses and curricula, and to better match instructors with the necessary experience. They would welcome guest US instructors at either BiH LE academy in (Banja Luka and Sarajevo). The principal differences between the US and Balkan regional educational concepts lie in the US use of experienced practitioners rather than academics, and the US training center concept is more applications oriented than are the region's LE academies. This matter has arisen before, in the joint regional LE Academies coordination meeting earlier this year. Several of the region's agencies and training centers have asked for assistance and guidance in curriculum assessment and development - this is an initiative worth pursuing. -- On 23 June EXBS met with the BiH State Intelligence Agency Assistant Director. Agency personnel have occasionally participated in ICE courses (advanced),and asked about other relevant courses EXBS could offer. A considerable amount of responsibility for WMD-related detection and tracking lies with the intelligence and security agencies. By far the greatest number of seizures occurs as a result of intelligence information rather than random border searches. These agencies also provide the security for seized WMD-related items. The Assistant Director explained that a WMD interdiction and handling Concept exists as a process, but recent exercises have shown that many rough edges need to be worked out. The exercises were successful, but the various cases were approached too "flexibly" (not repeatable) in practice, with each situational scenario bordering on ad hoc. He indicated that some refinements to WMD and associated BiH legislation were recommended by the EU. -- On 24 June EXBS met with BiH Border Police leadership; DG Vinko Dumancic reported that there were several recent BP contraband seizures. In the area of Brcko (Croatia),2.5 Kg of heroin were seized; this was done by the BP roving patrols covering avenues coming away from the border that are used either by locals (whom they BELGRADE 00000805 003 OF 007 know) or by smugglers, since these routes are generally inefficient for legitimate transiting travelers. (Targeting and risk assessment/analysis.) In another operation, a major attempt to smuggle 120 pigs was intercepted on the Drina River. The smugglers scattered, jumping in the river and were not caught - the pigs were left to their fate with the BP. BiH BP leadership asked about the possible EXBS donation of a patrol boat suitable for their small Adriatic sector (Neum Bay and about 20 Km of seacoast); this item has been mentioned before by BP DG Dumancic. This was also the main subject of a brief follow-up call on ICITAP, Sarajevo; the purpose was to discuss their previous input regarding the EU donations of boats (written up in earlier reporting),and the Bosnian maintenance issues and capability. This was also the outcome of some dismay expressed on part of the EU reps. concerning the current state of their previous boat donations (2005 and 2007: ten boats total). There was a discrepancy between the BP assessment of boat operability and that of the EU. In principle it indeed appears that the EU donation was mishandled on several counts: - EU reps. did not consult with the BP regarding the types of boats needed to accomplish their mission(s). - The donation occurred without adequate notice to the BP - ergo, there was a delay in their requesting and receiving funding for operation from the GoBiH, and arranging maintenance provisions (no spares or other initial sustainability measures) were provided. - Training was not provided either operationally or for maintenance. In fact, the boats were poorly suited for most BiH missions; they and their motors were not supportable in BiH; they had to be sent to Croatia for maintenance or get Croatian techs to BiH, an inefficient, expensive, and cumbersome proposition (also bureaucratically, in transporting BiH Government property across state borders). Despite this, and the fact that some of the boats are over five years old, BP still operate (arguably) most of the boats as best they can. A BP patrol boat for the Adriatic, Neum Bay area would cover BiH's only coast line sector of about 20 Km and not venture into the open sea beyond six Km. The EU donated boats are inadequate and inappropriate for Adriatic Sea duty. There are no boats in the BP inventory capable of performing this mission. A good low-cost candidate for this would be a boat of the type used by the Serbian BP on the Danube. This is a boat with a Zodiac RHIB platform, about 30 feet long, with a locally manufactured cabin module moderately suited for year-round bay and near-coast operations. The boats use two 175 Hp outboard motors and have a relatively low cost (COTS) instrumentation package comprised of a VHF radio, short-range commercial radar system, GPS, a commercial depth sounder, and a LE lighting package. The overall package, including instrumentation and a trailer (necessary for transport, maintenance, and slip operations) is NTE 160K Euros (delivered); this amount should also include basic spares and a complete warrantee on all parts and equipment. The BP assigned it a top priority (also in timing); note, no EXBS commitments were made at this time. Over the last several meetings with DG Dumancic, we had discussed maintenance, responsibility and accountability for government donated equipment in general, and specifically this boat (in the context of perceived dissatisfaction of the state of the EU boat donation). This point was emphasized throughout, and Mr. Dumancic confirmed BP commitment to proper funding, staffing and care of this boat. These discussions with the DG included various scenarios for maintenance (local vendors, parts and service availability, facilities: slips, docks, extraction possibilities for dry maintenance, etc.) to match requirements with support available in BiH - this also included the development of BELGRADE 00000805 004 OF 007 organic BP maintenance capability. The other advantage of this choice of boat is that it does not go too far technologically (and therefore in maintenance costs as well) to badly outstrip BP maintenance potential in staffing and funding. -- On 24 June EXBS met with BiH Prosecutorial Section of the Ministry of Justice in Sarajevo; several of our previous CBP and ICE seminar attendees were present, including the principal prosecutor for export control violations, Deputy State Prosecutor Jadranka Lokmic-Misiraca. They commented on the utility of our courses and the anticipation of more. The group was told that they added much value to the working groups and group exercises by explaining proper procedures and keeping the groups thinking about the correct legal manner in which to pursue cases. Note: As a rule, the prosecutors play a key role in both investigations and the overall conduct of cases, being plugged into the process much earlier than usually done in the US, and carry greater authority and control throughout the process. They commented favorably on the SIPRI (EXBS) provided export violations, investigations and prosecutions courses, featuring prosecutors and actual export control cases from around the EU. As the lead agency on legal and investigative matters, the Prosecutor's Office could play a substantive role in an Industry Outreach program: describing and explaining legislation its intent, and giving an overview of industry's legal responsibilities, and also the potential penalties. The Prosecutor's Office also routinely oversees and evaluates the performance of the Ministry of Trade. -- On 24 June EXBS had a follow-up meeting regarding the OPCW Seminar with Asst. Min (Amb.) Branimir Mandic in Sarajevo. Ambassador Mandic was the main driving force behind this Seminar, and indicated that this was the largest and most widely attended of the OPCW seminars to date - as planned. This will now become an annual event, with these serious issues discussed in a wide international forum. This Seminar was designed to initiate a "pilot project" in the arena of WMD (CW/BW) by first working out its definition and initial steps. The GoBiH will prepare a full report on this seminar and its results to be submitted to the UN in October. Ambassador Mandic indicated his intent to establish a National BiH body for this (WMD) purpose, and to identify all regional stakeholders and their interrelationships, and identify all factors in implementing this project. Amb. Mandic provided a draft seminar plenary session outcome note. See Section 1: OPCW Seminar section. ¶3. TRAINING CONDUCTED DURING REPORTING PERIOD -- 08-12 June: Podgorica Airport, Montenegro; IPIT (International Passenger Interdiction Training) Regional, Customs and Border Police from Serbia, BiH, and Montenegro; DHS/CBP/EXBS. Unfortunately, the course started on a negative note with one of the three instructors leaving prematurely when his luggage did not arrive by the second day (he was not able to get satisfaction from the local Airline); he was offered EXBS and host nation agency assistance. This occurred after EXBS had increased funding for this training in order to cover the cost of adding a third instructor when CBP/INA recommended doing so to ensure quality training for the 24 participants. The course was opened by the Director General of Montenegrin Customs, Miodrag Radusinovic and US DCM Stephen Kontos. Both gentlemen made statements to the press during a short press conference at the opening session. EXBS Advisor also made some remarks. Press coverage was provided to the Embassy and EXBS. The remaining two CBP instructors indicated that this course was intended for inspectors with three or less years experience - something inconsistent with the received cable information stipulating "Line officers", "Supervisors", with an emphasis on "practical exercises at the airport". This was not prepared for or BELGRADE 00000805 005 OF 007 provided. There was no real practical exercise at the airport - with no operational exposure in the inspection areas or involving any passenger flow areas, and the nature of the basic practical scenario was not relevant to local issues and conditions. There was some manner of disconnect between the instructors, course content, their understanding of it, and the concepts to be presented. The instructors were essentially unprepared to provide higher level instruction, i.e. that for more experienced line personnel consistent with cabled and catalog criteria. -- 15-19 June: Belgrade, Serbia; Equipment Applications and Instructor Training; Serbian Customs and Border Police; EXBS. Training was conducted by TDY EXBS Advisor Larry H. Adkins. Instructor training was conducted at the Learning Center of Serbian Customs Headquarters building in Belgrade. Customs personnel were very accommodating and went out of their way to set-up the training room for classroom training on Tuesday and provide everything needed for the training. Initially, instructors were trained (six Serbian Border Police officers and six Serbian Customs officers, designated by their respective agencies as Training Officers),then they, in turn, overseen by the EXBS instructor, instructed personnel at various actual duty locations: Belgrade Inland Customs Terminal, Belgrade River Port, Belgrade International Airport. Equipment trained included radiation devices (MiniRad-D's and Exploranium GR-135 RIID's),density deviation search device (K-910 "Buster"),and search/enforcement kits including: CT-30 Enforcement Kit (Fiber-Optics Scope, Disto A3 Laser Range Finder, Inspection Mirror). The goal of this training was to provide these twelve (12) officers with expertise in how to operate the above equipment and effectively utilize the equipment in a law enforcement/border environment. This training went very well as everyone was very involved and interested. All of the Training Officers trained on the first day were present for duty location training. These officers were divided into two groups, with six Training Officers in each group. A total of twelve officers were trained at this port (six Border Police [see next para.] and six Customs). The Border Police decided that the additional six BP officers trained (selected and brought in from remote POE's) would be additional trainers, giving them a total of twelve trainers who could then provide training for the rest of their workforce throughout Serbia. These six officers and the six trained on the first day were the only officers trained by the Border Police. They spent the next two days practicing their training skills and familiarizing themselves with the equipment and training materials. Each officer trained the others on each piece of equipment on a rotating basis - the other instructors would then conduct a critique session for each instructor - very constructive. It was apparent that the Training Officers were becoming more proficient and knowledgeable in their understanding of the operation and practical use of the equipment with each day of training. The EXBS instructor felt confident that they will be able to carry on this training into the future. After the training, there was a brief ceremony presenting the Training Officers with certificates of training. Including the Training Officers, a total of 36 (24 Customs and 12 Border Police) officers received training with the goal of establishing a cadre of trainers who could carry this type of training on well into the future with the capability of training their total workforce. The cooperation by Serbian Customs in providing the training facilities at each location and even providing refreshments for breaks was outstanding. At the Inland Customs Processing Center and the Danube River Port Station, the two officers in charge even BELGRADE 00000805 006 OF 007 allowed the use their offices for training. ¶4. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING REPORTING PERIOD -- The following equipment items were turned over the Border Police of Montenegro on 10 June: Night Vision Binoculars, ATN Night Shadow-2IA (w/spare lithium battery, 3 Volt CR-123a),3 ea.; Handheld Radio, Motorola GP380 VHF, with High Capacity NiMH spare battery; Battery Charger, Motorola, 230 V; Remote Speaker Microphone, Motorola, Whisper Mic, 12 ea.; Military Binoculars, Steiner, 8 x 30, 9 ea.; Laptop Computer, Latitude D531 (w/power cord),3 ea.; Gear Bag, ProPlus, 12 ea.; Telephone Recording Unit, 12 hour, 3 ea.; Wireless Microwave Surveillance Kit, 3 ea. -- The following equipment items were turned over the Customs of Montenegro on 10 June: K910B "Buster" Density Checker, Campbell Security, 2 ea.; CT-30 Inspection Kit, 1 ea.; Gerber Multi-Plier, 12 ea.; Fiberscope Inspection Kit, 3 ea.; Button/Screw Camera Set, 3 ea.; Micro Professional DVR, 3 ea. ¶5. IMMINENT TRAINING or EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE -- 13-24 July: Zvornik, BiH; Advanced Small Boats Training; Regional, Border Police Riverine Units and Customs from Serbia, BiH and Montenegro. The Advanced Small Boats Operations Course has been scheduled as a Regional course on the Serbian - BiH border (Zvornik Reservoir). Since the Basic Course is stipulated as a prerequisite for the Advanced, those who received the Basic Course at Zvornik in 2008 as well as the recent 2009 Serbian Velike Gradiste (Danube) training will be some of the attendees. Based on the results of the "Basic" course some possibility of slightly "tailoring" the course to reflect regional specifics and requirements has been worked by USCG. Some of the tailoring may include a very short maintenance review, and other issues where previous MTT's have recommended additional possible training (e.g. including navigation, maritime border patrolling legal issues). Sequences of related (logically or operationally) courses can be valuable, allowing USCG MTT's to gauge the results of previous instruction, the pace and quality of local maritime force development, and assess their mission performing capability. At the same time, it is very important to assess the ability and capability (personnel, logistically and financially) of all Maritime units to perform cost-effective maintenance, given the size of their force, their assets and resources. EXBS hopes to engage the US Embassies of all three participating nations in the opening ceremony. -- The following equipment items are expected to be turned over the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH in July: vehicle tracking devices (GPS/cell phone technology). ¶6. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY -- Unannounced, the Embassy found out that at long last the Parliament ratified the WMD Agreement on 29 May. The text is posted on the "Skupstina" website. Although the WMD Agreement does not so much affect the EXBS program, it helps the overall WMD assistance picture for both Serbia and the region. The agreement more directly affects DOE and some DOD programs. With a WMD Agreement in place, DOE can now introduce its own MOU's to the relevant ministries to initiate whatever programs their strategic plan envisions for Serbia, such as the Second Line of Defense (SLD). DTRA also requires a ratified WMD Agreement. This will BELGRADE 00000805 007 OF 007 allow activity to now be conducted in a more unified regional context. BRUSH