BOSNIA - BRCKO AMENDMENT PASSES IN FIRST READING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 000279 SIPDIS EUR/SCE (HYLAND, FOOKS); NSC FOR HELGERSON; OSD FOR BEIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KDEM BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - BRCKO AMENDMENT PASSES IN FIRST READING BUT ENCOUNTERS A FEW STUMBLING BLOCKS REF: SARAJEVO 258 Classified By: CDA Judith Cefkin. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The House of Representatives (HoR) on March 4 approved -- with only one vote opposed -- the proposed amendment on Brcko District (Reftel) in its first reading, thus introducing the amendment into parliamentary procedure and opening the process for debate and proposed changes. The House of Peoples (HoP) in its first reading unanimously endorsed the amendment the following day. Despite the large majority of affirmative votes, the deliberations in the sessions of both Houses prior to the votes highlight the uncertainty of a number of parties -- particularly the Serb Democratic Party (SDS),the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP),the Democratic Peoples' Alliance (DNS),the Bosnian Patriotic Party (BPS),and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)-1990, all of whose leaders had previously promised us they would support the amendment -- on whether they will vote for the text in the second, final, reading. The SDS and DNS delegates in the HoR expressly stated that they would condition their support in the second reading on changes to the text -- focusing particularly on the stipulation allowing Brcko to bring a case to the Constitutional Court against "one or more entities," rather than "one or both entities" -- that they will propose in the coming weeks. Republika Srpska (RS) PM Milorad Dodik's Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) still claims to support the amendment but is seeking assurances that the UN, as well as the Dayton signatories, will acknowledge the change to the Dayton Accords if the amendment is adopted. Although Haris Silajdzic's Party for BiH (SBiH) voted for the text in the first reading, its delegates predictably declared that SBiH would oppose the text in the second reading without a substantial "de-blocking mechanism" incorporated into the amendment, as well as the written approval of Chief Arbiter Roberts Owen. Parties will be able to propose changes to the text from March 5 through 20 -- coterminous with five public debates on the amendment -- for review during the second reading, planned for March 25 in both Houses. END SUMMARY. Both Houses Give Nod in First Reading -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The House of Representatives (HoR) on March 4 approved the amendment on Brcko with 38 votes in favor and one opposed. (Note: Three delegates were absent from the vote. End Note.) The House of Peoples (HoP) unanimously endorsed the amendment on March 5. The lengthy deliberations that preceded the votes, though -- particularly in the HoR -- underscored uncertainty among a number of the parties whose leaders had previously guaranteed their support. The Party of Democratic Action (SDA),Social Democratic Party (SDP), HDZ-BiH, and SNSD reaffirmed their full support for the amendment. However, the SDS HoR delegate declared that his party would condition its support in the second reading on the outcome of a series of changes it plans to propose, including changing "one or more entities" to "one or both entities." PDP's HoR delegate did not condition his party's support on changes to the text but vaguely noted that PDP would insist on eliminating legal ambiguities. The HoR delegates from DNS and BPS also walked back from previous commitments to support the amendment, with DNS attaching its support in the second reading to a series of amendments it plans to submit. HDZ-1990 delegates in both Houses balked at the amendment, and the HoP delegate insisted that the party would seek the resolution of "the issue of equality of all constituent peoples in Brcko District" and "a change in the Brcko District statute, which does not treat Croats equally." SNSD Seeks Assurances -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The SNSD delegates in both Houses insisted that SNSD would vote for the amendment in both readings, with the HoR delegate admitting that the reason for the party's support is its desire to close Supervision. He expressed concern that the text of the amendment does not sufficiently emphasize that its adoption would change the Dayton Agreement, and he therefore recommended -- and SDA and SDP rejected -- that the BiH Presidency: -- Notify the Supervisor that the final condition for closure of Supervision had been met; SARAJEVO 00000279 002 OF 002 -- Notify the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, and Dayton signatories that the amendment would change Dayton and would therefore need to be incorporated into the original agreement; and -- Notify the UN Secretary General that the Bosnian government lost its copy of the original Dayton Agreement and will need a new one. SBiH Calls for De-Blocking and Owen's Approval -------------- - ¶4. (C) Beriz Belkic, HoR Speaker and SBiH delegate, announced that SBiH supports resolving Brcko through an amendment but that the party will propose a change to the text before the second reading. Two of Silajdzic's advisors told us that this suggested change will take the form of a third paragraph that contains a "de-blocking mechanism" so that in the event that one group in Brcko was unable to secure the requisite one-fifth delegates of the other groups, a Presidency member or the chair or deputy chair of either House of Parliament could bring a case to the Constitutional Court on Brcko's behalf, following a request from one-fifth of his or her constituent people in Brcko. Belkic also stated that SBiH would only support the amendment in the second reading with written confirmation from Chief Arbiter Roberts Owen that the proposed amendment would provide for Brcko's stability and ability to function. (Note: We understand that Owen does not plan to take a public position on the amendment, as he assesses it would conflict with his obligations as Arbiter should an issue come to the Tribunal in the future. End Note.) Next Steps -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The amendment's approval in the first reading of both Houses officially launched a 15-day public debate period, which will run from March 5 through 20 and will include formal debates in Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka, Brcko, and Tuzla. (Note: We will attend all five debates and report on them septel. End Note.) The Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committees (CLACs) of both Houses plan to convene on March 23 to prepare and submit their final reports. Both houses then plan to hold the second -- final -- reading on March 25. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) The amendment's nearly unanimous passage in the first reading is an important victory, but the most daunting challenges will come over the next several weeks. The deliberations in both Houses underscored that the support of HDZ-1990, SDS, PDP, and some of the small parties is by no means certain, and we may have to contend with a host of proposed changes that would be difficult to reconcile in Parliament. We will need to anticipate those changes and develop strong legal counter-arguments in advance of the second reading to assure these parties that the amendment adequately protects Brcko's interests and theirs. We also will need to manage SDS and PDP -- who may well be balking at this amendment to stick a finger in Dodik's eye -- by convincing them that Dodik will not be the only RS beneficiary of this amendment. We probably can continue to count on SNSD's support, notwithstanding its proposals for securing affirmation on changing the Dayton Accords, but those proposals may add one more unnecessary element of contention to the deliberations this month. SBiH's proposed changes will not be helpful, but as long as SDA leaders continue the support they professed in Parliament this week, Silajdzic probably will not gain traction outside his party. CEFKIN