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

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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

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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

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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

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7. (SBU) The TIP Coordinator's reaction to this year's report
stands in sharp contrast to the angry private and public denials

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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