BOSNIA - DAS JONES' MARCH 1-4 VISIT TO SARAJEVO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 07 SARAJEVO 000317 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR (JONES),EUR/SCE (HYLAND/FOOKS) E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - DAS JONES' MARCH 1-4 VISIT TO SARAJEVO REF: A. STATE 18262 ¶B. SARAJEVO 223 ¶C. SARAJEVO 241 Classified By: Charge Judith Cefkin for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY During his March 1-4 visit to Sarajevo DAS Stuart Jones met with leaders of all major political parties, members of the presidency, Defense Minister Cikotic, Prime Minister Spiric and Foreign Minister Alkalaj. He also met with representatives from international financial institutions and ambassadors from PIC countries. Jones stressed that the U.S. would remain strongly engaged in Bosnia, that the U.S. supports the Prud process, that conditions have not yet been met for closing the Office of the High Representative (OHR),and that the U.S. could not accept secession by the RS or even constitutional provisions for a referendum on secession. These themes were all highlighted in the extensive local media coverage of the visit. ¶2. (C) Party for Democratic Action (SDA) President Sulejman Tihic drew a dark picture of the Bosnian political scene, and argued against closing OHR. Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Dodik was conciliatory during his meeting, said parliamentarians from his party would support a constitutional amendment on Brcko, and argued that a solution on the state property problem is possible. Dodik added that he would like to visit Washington this spring. Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) President Silajdzic stuck to his familiar script, saying that his party opposed the current proposed constitutional amendment on Brcko, that the Dayton Agreement has not been implemented, and that RS PM Dodik is "continuing Milosevic's project" of creating a political unit based on ethnic cleansing. Social Democratic Party (SDP) President Lagumdzia stressed the need to fight corruption in the Bosnian political scene, and said he would join constitutional reform discussions only if the three "Prud" partners could first develop a package more comprehensive than the 2006 April package. Croatian Democratic Movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) President Covic expressed optimism about the Prud process, while Party for Democratic Progress (PDP) President Mladen Ivanic said that Serbs might agree to piecemeal reform of the constitution. ¶3. (C) Bosnian Serb Chairman of Presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic endorsed the Prud process and lamented the failure of the April 2006 constitutional reform package. Croat Member of the Presidency Zejlko Komsic argued that the new High Representative needed to have strong personal authority or come from a strong country that would back him. Defense Minister Cikotic told Jones that he hoped to send Bosnian units to Afghanistan by the end of this year, and said ethnic integration of the Bosnian armed forces is going faster than he expected. Foreign Minister Alkalaj told Jones he would work on facilitating the travel to Bosnia of Kosovo's representative to the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC),and expressed support for Valentin Inzko to be the next High Rep. Prime Minister Nikola Spiric said he would work to create conditions for Bosnia to be able to accept more infrastructure loans from international financial institutions. At their dinner with Jones, several European ambassadors expressed concerns about the procedural mistakes made in the investigation of corruption in the RS, and said this would distract from the international political agenda here. Representatives of international financial institutions said that Bosnia has not been able to take advantage of 1 billion USD in possible loans because of government inefficiency and political infighting. END SUMMARY SDA President Tihic -------------- ¶4. (C) DAS Jones thanked Tihic for his efforts in the Prud process. Tihic drew a dark picture of the Bosnian political scene, and said it would be difficult to make further progress on Prud, because RS politicians appeared unwilling to accept a compromise on state property. However, he said he had spoken with RS PM Dodik since February 21 when Dodik walked out of the meeting on Prud issues in Mostar, and Dodik said he is still willing to discuss the census issue and state property. Tihic argued that many local media oppose his efforts on Prud, portraying him as a traitor to fellow Bosniaks because of his willingness to compromise. He said he's getting the impression that "more people are ready to raise rifles than to compromise." SARAJEVO 00000317 002 OF 007 ¶5. (C) Tihic argued against closing OHR. He said that meeting "5 plus 2" requirements was not enough to justify closure. OHR should remain, he argued, until constitutional reform had created a functional government. Otherwise, he said, government processes would be blocked as they have in the past by ethnic interests and no mechanism would be in place to unblock them. The result could easily be chaos and violence. Tihic also said that absent constitutional reform there would be no institution in place to interpret Dayton after OHR left. ¶6. (C) Tihic said he would probably meet with EU High Rep for Foreign Policy Solana in Brussels on March 18 or 19 to convey his concerns about Bosnia. Jones suggested that Tihic consider traveling to Washington to ensure that the voice of his party is being heard there, and urged Tihic to meet both with government officials and representatives of civil society. Tihic said he would be happy to visit Washington. SNSD President Dodik -------------- ¶7. (C) RS PM and President of the Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) Milorad Dodik was conciliatory throughout his meeting. Jones said international financial institution representatives in Sarajevo had told him that a billion USD in credit was potentially available to Bosnia for infrastructure development if Bosnians could work out the mechanics of how to divide it up and use it. Dodik said he was interested in infrastructure development, and added that the RS was already cooperating with the Federation on these issues. For example, he said, the Federation and the RS were jointly building a power plant, and the RS and Federation were making progress in reaching agreements in the Fiscal Council. ¶8. (C) Dodik noted that SNSD parliamentarians would support a constitutional amendment on Brcko. They would attempt to delete language in the amendment about "one or more" entities, but would support the amendment even if the text were not changed. The Ambassador discouraged Dodik from suggesting changes to the text because it might induce others to propose revisions. Regarding the Prud process, Dodik said he feared that he and his "Prud" partners Sulejman Tihic and Dragan Covic might have endangered the positive achievements of the negotiations by introducing discussion of constitutional reform. Dodik said a solution on the state property problem was possible, adding that a commonly agreed inventory of the property under discussion would help considerably to resolve the issue. ¶9. (C) Jones said he was glad to hear that Dodik was pursuing the path of dialogue, but noted that the newspapers were full of talk of secession, and said this was inconsistent with the "second condition" for closing OHR (a "positive assessment" of the situation in Bosnia). Dodik said he is "not an adventurer," and argued that if the RS had the possibility to secede anchored in the constitution it could develop better relations with the Federation. Jones said a public statement to the effect that Dodik is not pursuing the secessionist path would be welcome. ¶10. (C) The Ambassador noted that SNSD members such as RS National Assembly Speaker Igor Radojicic and President Radmanovic have participated in NGO led-discussions on constitutional reform. While the Ambassador stressed that he was not suggesting a new condition for closing OHR, he said that SNSD participation in this NGO-led process would contribute to a better political atmosphere and would be a way to help convince the new administration that the job of OHR is done. Without directly responding, Dodik said he is interested in dialogue, adding that he would like to visit Washington in the spring after the March PIC. SBih President Silajdzic -------------- ¶11. (C) President Silajdzic said he was glad to see the new administration getting deeply involved in Bosnia, and added that he had a good meeting with former President Clinton while in the United States last month. Silajdzic presented a list of grievances, saying that the Dayton Agreement has not been implemented, particularly provisions regarding returns, and that RS PM Dodik is "continuing Milosevic' project" of SARAJEVO 00000317 003 OF 007 creating a political unit based on ethnic cleansing. When DAS Jones asked why refugees were not returning, Silajdzic asked rhetorically whether Germans would go back if the Gestapo were still in place. ¶12. (C) Jones noted that the USG was concerned about conditions in Bosnia and wanted to see the political rhetoric dialed back. He asked how Silajdzic planned to address Dodik's desire for protection through an entity in a constitutional framework. Silajdzic said he believed common ground could be found with Dodik; he committed to make compromises but insisted that common ground would not be a "mechanical meeting half way." Silajdzic said Bosnia must become a normal democracy without ethnic blocking mechanisms. In return, Silajdzic said, all constituent peoples could be guaranteed minority rights to protection of their language, culture and religion. He asked Jones to pass on the message to the Secretary that if constitutional reform talks were started, Silajdzic and his party would do everything possible to see that they succeeded, but he added that the April 2006 package should not be the starting point for these talks. ¶13. (C) Regarding Brcko, Silajdzic said that his party opposed the current proposed constitutional amendment. He said Foreign Minister Alkalaj had erred when he told Deputy Secretary Steinberg (Reftel) that SBiH would support the Brcko amendment if former presiding arbitrator Roberts Owen could support it. Silajdzic's legal advisor Damir Arnaut later presented a revision to the amendment that would allow SBiH to accept it. Amb. English agreed to review the amendment but offered no hope that the USG could support it. HDZ BiH President Covic -------------- ¶14. (C) HDZ BiH President Covic expressed optimism about the Prud process and the resumption of talks with Tihic and Dodik. He noted that he planned to meet Tihic immediately after his meeting with DAS Jones and that he would talk with Dodik within the next two days. Covic attempted to dispel the media hype about the three leaders' meeting in Mostar on February 21 (Ref B),arguing that the atmosphere was not confrontational and that the three men spoke openly about the personal obstacles each of them faced. Covic noted that although Dodik is vitriolic in the media, he is an easy interlocutor in private. Covic promised that the three men would convene again before the March PIC and would probably discuss state property and constitutional reform, on which they had planned to deliberate in Mostar. ¶15. (C) When DAS Jones asked about the impact of the three leaders' talks on Covic's political reputation, Covic replied that the talks have hurt him in Croat political circles but that he has worked to explain Prud to all Croat parties. He expressed concern about the specter of opposition from the Catholic Church, which he is also working to ameliorate. He emphasized the need to eventually bring Lagumdzija into the fold on Prud and other future agreements, as "three nationalist parties and one leftist party" could appeal to the broadest possible population. Covic noted, though, that Lagumdzija was a difficult interlocutor and would be particularly intransigent in the run-up to SDP's party congress. Covic echoed other leaders' comments that the role of the USG would be essential to keeping confrontation at bay and managing the Europeans' "different opinions and approaches." ¶16. (C) Covic also was positive about the prospect for a resolution of the state property issue. He noted that he had met earlier that day with a key official on the State Property Commission, who told him that the Commission would meet on March 10. Covic said he believed all members of the Commission would support the draft law that the Commission has prepared and that the law could move quickly into the Council of Ministers to begin the approval process. Covic added that he would like to see Parliament pass the law before the PIC so that, even if the transfer agreement and inventory were still outstanding, all elements of the Prud Agreement would have been wholly or partially implemented before the PIC. SDP President Lagumdzia -------------- ¶17. (C) Social Democratic Party (SDP) President Lagumdzia stressed the need to fight corruption in the Bosnian political scene and strengthen the rule of law. He cited the SARAJEVO 00000317 004 OF 007 case of the Federal Development Bank, whose manager, Lagumdzia said, is favoring clients of his private auditing firm with development loans. Regarding the investigation of corruption in the RS, Lagumdzia said the complaint that SIPA officials had not cleared their criminal report with SIPA Director Lujic before forwarding it to the Prosecutor's office is a red herring. According to Lagumdzia, "anyone" in Bosnia is entitled to forward a criminal report to the Prosecutor. ¶18. (C) Lagumdzia congratulated the USG for the way it had moved ahead with the Brcko constitutional amendment. Regarding constitutional reform, Lagumdzia said he would join constitutional discussions if the three "Prud" partners could first develop a package that went beyond the 2006 April package in creating a functional state. He said that the EU's candidate for HighRep, Valentin Inzko, could do a good job here. He opined that Dodik's long term strategy is to see if a "silent majority" of Bosniaks can be created that would go along with secession of the RS. PDP President Mladen Ivanic -------------- ¶19. (C) PDP President Ivanic said Bosnia is stagnating and declared that no real progress is feasible before the 2010 general elections. He did express optimism, though, on resolving the Brcko and state property issues, assessing that both could be resolved by summer. On constitutional reform, he said that the Serbs are ready and willing to negotiate but will probably balk at the competencies proposal suggested by Tufts University professor Bruce Hitchner. He suggested, though, that if the key leaders--with Embassy advice--could agree on a straightforward list of proposed changes, it should pass and could be implemented in a piecemeal manner. Ivanic stressed that throughout the country politicians like Tihic and himself who are ready for compromise are having a hard time bringing other credible politicians from the same ethnic group on board. ¶20. (C) He suggested the Bosniaks possibly may turn to SDA VP Bakir Izetbegovic to be "their Milorad Dodik," although he opined that Izetbegovic probably would not defeat Tihic in the SDA party congress in May. The Ambassador asked what we should expect from Dodik following the SIPA report, and Ivanic reiterated past statements to us that Dodik takes his conspiracy theories seriously. Ivanic asked why SIPA filed its report now, when Bosnia is close to an agreement on Brcko and state property, to which DAS Jones replied that the USG had nothing to do with SIPA's filing the report. Finally, Ivanic commended the international community for its positive--yet not overbearing--presence in Bosnia, which he suggested would encourage politicians to eventually work together on their own. President Radmanovic -------------- ¶21. (C) Bosnian Serb Chairman of Presidency Nebojsa Radmanovic told DAS Jones that Bosnia's politicians remain committed to the unifying goal of Euro-Atlantic integration, but that their progress towards integration has been slowed by political differences over the future of a Bosnian state. Radmanovic said the Prud agreement offered possibilities for progress, but added that talk of constitutional reforms had made the situation more difficult and should not have been part of Prud. He lamented the failure of the April 2006 constitutional reform package, adding, "We need to talk about Constitutional reform, but it must happen step-by-step." ¶22. (C) Radmanovic applauded the U.S. efforts to reach agreement on a Brcko amendment saying that it would resolve one issue left unsolved in Dayton, fulfill part of the "5 plus 2" agenda, and show that Bosnia's leaders can reach compromise on important issues. He stated that U.S. engagement was key: "When the U.S. tells us to reach agreement, there is no alternative." Radmanovic also said that although he believed OHR should have closed long ago, he understands why it is still open. He stated that EU representatives told him that BiH can make no further progress towards integration with OHR open. "It's a matter of sovereignty," he said. ¶23. (C) Radmanovic expressed concern that the unstable political climate could hold up the closure of OHR even if the 5 objectives are met. DAS Jones responded that if there are still threats of secession, the U.S. would have a SARAJEVO 00000317 005 OF 007 difficult decision determining whether the second condition of the PIC's "5 plus 2," a "positive assessment of the situation in Bosnia," was met. Radmanovic replied that there would be no such rhetoric if there were no "unprovoked by calls for the abolition of the RS." He suggested that the international community could calm the situation with clear statements that BiH is a single country of two entities that can neither secede nor be abolished. President Komsic -------------- ¶24. (C) Croat Member of the Presidency Zejlko Komsic expressed concern about the current political situation in Bosnia. The new High Representative, he said, needed to have strong personal authority or come from a strong country that would back him up. He said that Valentin Inzko would likely be "like Lajcak," and lack the authority to pursue meaningful reforms. He criticized the attempt to address constitutional reforms in Prud, saying that it had further radicalized the political situation in Bosnia, was unattainable, and drew attention from the more realizable aspects of the agreement, an amendment on Brcko and agreement on state and defense property. He was pessimistic that the Prud process would bring true reform, and said that even the progress on Brcko was due only to heavy U.S. engagement. He reiterated SDP's policy on constitutional reforms, that they would not accept a reform package that was less comprehensive than the 2006 April package and would not undertake attempts at constitutional reform during an election year. Defense Minister Cikotic -------------- ¶25. (C) Minister of Defense Cikotic said the public airing of the differences between the U.S. and the EU over selection of a new HighRep was useful, because it reaffirmed for the public that the U.S. wanted to be seriously engaged in Bosnia. He added that Valentin Inzko struck him as a nice person, but not a strong personality. The fact that Inzko does not appear to have strong preconceived views makes Inzko someone who the U.S. might well be able to influence, Cikotic said. Commenting on the investigation of RS officials by State-level prosecutors, Cikotic suggested that if evidence of fraud and wrongdoing became public, people in the RS would gradually give the investigation some degree of acceptance. ¶26. (C) Regarding military issues, Cikotic said the movement of 10 Bosnian military officers to Afghanistan under the auspices of German and Danish forces is proceeding, although not as quickly as Cikotic hoped. Cikotic said he hoped larger Bosniak units could be sent to Afghanistan by the end of the year, but he thought that this deadline might slip. In response to a question from the Ambassador about the effect of new rules requiring forced retirement of certain categories of enlisted soldiers at age 35, Cikotic acknowledged that about 2800 soldiers would have to retire. He argued that the depletion of troop strength could be made up by recruitment over the next several years. In response to a question from DAS Jones, Cikotic said ethnic integration of the Bosnian armed forces is going faster than he expected. He stressed that, although combat battalions are segregated, many support units are integrated. Cikotic noted that a Bosniak general commands the support unit in Banja Luka in Republika Srpska Cikotic said this Bosniak general commands a large number of mixed units. Foreign Minister Alkalaj -------------- ¶27. (C) DAS Jones told Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj that the Obama administration is seeking greater engagement in Bosnia, but Bosnian leaders must tone down nationalist rhetoric and work on the mechanics of reform. Alkalaj agreed to do his part by weighing in with his political party boss and member of the tri-Presidency, Haris Silajdzic. Turning to the selection of the new High Representative, Alkalaj expressed support for Valentin Inzko. DAS Jones informed Alkalaj that Inzko is traveling to Washington for consultations, and that if he is selected for the HighRep slot, he would have full US support. DAS Jones also stressed that the US remains committed to fulfilling the 5 plus 2 PIC agenda and advancing Bosnia's EU accession efforts. In closing, DAS Jones asked for Alkalaj's assistance in facilitating the travel of Kosovo's representative to the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC),whose UNMIK documentation will expire at the end of this month. Alkalaj said that he was already working on the SARAJEVO 00000317 006 OF 007 issue, and that he expects to submit a proposal to the Presidency on the matter within two weeks. PM Spiric -------------- ¶28. (C) In his meeting with DAS Jones, Council of Ministers Chair Nikola Spiric presented a bleak picture of the current Bosnian political environment, saying that politicians have not yet created a culture of dialogue, blame others for their shortcomings and expect others to make decisions for them. The Ambassador and DAS Jones asked Spiric about resolving the continuing political impasse, which makes it difficult, for example, for Bosnia to tap into the nearly 1 billion USD in loans intended for infrastructure and other projects which international financial institutions' representatives say could be made available in Bosnia. Spiric at first said representatives from these institutions had not brought this to his attention, but then promised to work on the issue. Dinner With EU Ambassadors -------------- ¶29. (C) In his dinner with a number of PIC Steering Board Ambassadors Jones noted his concerns about the political direction Bosnia is taking, and the EU ambassadors expressed similar views. The Turkish Ambassador noted that EUFOR would be discussed in early March in Brussels at the EU Political and Security Committee. He said other EU countries were becoming more reluctant to contribute troops, but said that Turkey would continue to supply a large contingent, and would challenge the assumption in Brussels that Bosnia is a "secure environment," given the political problems here. On the other hand, he said he fully expected the Turkish government to support OHR closure, perhaps in June, based on completion of an agreement on state property. ¶30. (C) Several European ambassadors expressed concerns about the procedural mistakes made in the investigation of corruption in the RS. The EC Ambassador said the mistakes made in transferring the criminal report from SIPA to the Prosecutor's office were "very dangerous" and would harm the international agenda here. The British Ambassador and Italian Ambassadors said the problems with the investigation were a "huge" problem whose consequences were as yet not known and would distract from the political agenda here. Lunch with IFIs -------------- ¶31. (C) In a meeting with representatives from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, the Regional Cooperation Council and the OHR, DAS Jones heard many details on the financial and fiscal crisis currently unfolding in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Reftel C). The financial experts continued to paint a bleak picture of Bosnia's economic future and, in particular, the future for the Federation's current political leaders. Due largely to systemic failures of Federation political party leaders, the experts explained that the Federation government is facing a 2008 budget deficit of 280 million KM (1.51 KM = approx USD 1). The World Bank and the EBRD confirmed that Federation Prime Minister Brankovic and Minister of Finance Bevanda have already sought assistance from IFIs and Commercial Banks to cover this debt. EBRD Country Manager Guilio Moreno is skeptical, however, that the Federation would be willing to accept the conditions necessary to accept financial assistance from these institutions. He also clarified that the EBRD, unlike the World Bank and the IMF, cannot provide pure budget support and instead must provide loans strictly for infrastructure projects or through a line of credit for the deposit insurance. ¶32. (C) Moreno noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a total of more than one billion Euros worth of projects that have been approved by all of these institutions, but that the BiH Government has not implemented due to inefficiency and political infighting. EBRD alone has approved projects worth 400 million Euros, largely infrastructure projects that could provide an excellent stimulus to the lagging economy, he said. The biggest political concern expressed by the group was that the uneven financial needs of the Federation and the Republika Srpska, which is still sitting comfortably on privatization proceeds, could force Federation officials to cut deals with the RS that could improve the Federation's budget in the short term, but ultimately result in further disintegration of State-level institutions. SARAJEVO 00000317 007 OF 007 CEFKIN