MONTENEGRO REACTS TO TIP REPORT RELEASE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PODGORICA 000150 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KTIP PGOV PREL MW SUBJECT: MONTENEGRO REACTS TO TIP REPORT RELEASE REF: STATE 61091 PODGORICA 00000150 001.3 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: GoM Anti-TIP Coordinator Zoran Ulama expressed disappointment with Montenegro's Tier 2 Watch List ranking, but stressed that the report's criticisms and recommendations were fair. He welcomed the constructive approach. The opposition media reported extensively on the report's release, in one case stretching the report's language to suggest USG knowledge of GoM complicity in trafficking. Ulama's response is a refreshing change from his predecessor's angry reaction to last year's report, and suggests that the GoM is prepared to build on the progress made late in the reporting period. END SUMMARY. Coordinator Regrets "Fair" Ranking, Welcomes Recommendations -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) We presented a copy of the Montenegro TIP Report (reftel) to the deputy of GoM Anti-TIP Coordinator Zoran Ulama on June ¶15. (Ulama himself was tending to an illness in his family.) We also previewed the report's conclusions to members of the GoM's Anti-TIP Working Group, which (coincidently) met on the afternoon of June 15, and to Deputy Foreign Minister Vesko Garcevic. ¶3. (SBU) We discussed the report with Ulama himself on June 16. The Coordinator told us that he was disappointed with the Tier 2 Watch List ranking. However, he recognized that the report and its conclusions were "fair and objective," and said that he had already identified a number of the same weaknesses mentioned in the report. ¶4. (SBU) Ulama remarked that he was heartened by the report's mention of positive steps his office had taken late in the reporting period. He asserted that Montenegro has both the capacity and will to address the concerns mentioned in the report and to curb TIP. He pledged to step up efforts to combat TIP, and expressed the hope that Montenegro's ranking would improve next year. Ulama added that the GoM appreciated USG assistance in combating TIP. His office, he said, welcomes the U.S. recommendations and accepts all constructive criticism. Media: Field Day for Opposition, Silence in Pro-GoM Press -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) The report was front-page news in opposition papers "Vijesti" and "Dan" on June 17, but was not mentioned by pro-GoM "Pobjeda" (and was not covered by the electronic media on June 16). "Vijesti's" coverage highlighted the GoM's lack of progress in combating TIP and the fact that Montenegro had once again been placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. However, both "Vijesti" and "Dan" noted that the report praised positive measures taken by Ulama. ¶6. (U) "Dan" covered much of the same ground, but under the headline "Pimps are Hiding Behind Their Positions." It played up the recommendation that the GoM "vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses to the full extent of the law, including any public officials complicit in trafficking." "Dan" observed that, although the report did not provide concrete evidence of officials in trafficking, this possibility was not mentioned in the reports of other countries in the region. (Note: "Dan's" headline is particularly sensitive here, since GoM officials were accused of trafficking a Moldovan victim in 2001). "Dan" also emphasized that Montenegro's ranking was worse than fellow former-Yugoslav states Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The TIP Coordinator's reaction to this year's report stands in sharp contrast to the angry private and public denials PODGORICA 00000150 002.3 OF 002 of his predecessor to last year's report. Ulama's positive response and assurances are a welcome indication that the GoM is prepared to build on the significant progress made late in the reporting period, and will seriously address the recommendations made in the new report. MOORE