BOSNIA SLOW TO ADJUST TO RCC HOST RESPONSIBILITIES

UNCLAS SARAJEVO 000342 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/ACE AND EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PREL BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA SLOW TO ADJUST TO RCC HOST RESPONSIBILITIES ¶1. (SBU) In a conversation with Charge on March 17, Foreign Minister Alkalaj confirmed that the Foreign Ministry would forward its proposal regarding Kosovo travel documents to the Council of Ministers in the next few days. He was confident that there would be a resolution to the problem of Kosovo government officials traveling to Sarajevo for Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) meetings by the end of the month - by which time the UNMIK travel documents issued to Kosovo citizens will expire. The MFA will recommend the "Greece" model, where an entry stamp, separate from the individual's passport, is used in lieu of an official visa. Alkalaj told Charge that until this matter is resolved, however, there is no mechanism other than UNMIK passports to allow entry to Kosovo representatives, despite the RCC-BiH Host Country Agreement. ¶2. (SBU) POL and ECON met with the RCC on March 16 (Deputy SG Jelica Minic, Poitical Advisor Alenka Hudek and Chief of CabinetMiroslav Papa). According to Papa, the RCC stays n constant communication with the MFA regarding their proposal to the Council of Ministers on the osovo document issue. RCC Secretary General Hido Biscevic intends to meet with the Presidency members once the proposal has been submitted and is in contact with Alkalaj to move the proposal forward. As Papa explained, the Kosovo travel document issue is an example of the RCC's broader problems in educating Bosnian officials regarding their responsibilities as a host nation. They have had problems regarding Bosnian officials not respecting the inviolability of their offices, other officials insisting that the RCC could not have its independent IT system, getting the RCC flag flown in front of the government building they are in, etc. Things are getting slowly better after numerous demarches, but there is no single point of contact and even MFA cannot resolve problems within the responsibilities of other Ministries. He said the biggest problem is a lack of communication within the Bosnian government and described one issue where he had to start from scratch three times with three separate MFA officials. We said we would help on specific issues and more generally by broadening our contacts within the RCC and seeking opportunities to include the RCC staff in events with Bosnian officials, such as receptions, lunches, etc. COMMENT -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Post will continue to press the MFA to ensure that their Kosovo travel document proposal is forwarded to the Presidency and continue to press the need for a positive decision by the end of the month. We will highlight their obligations as the host country to the RCC as the driving need for the decision. Although Alkalaj believes a decision will occur before UNMIK passports expire, based on experience, his assertion is ambitious. We believe pushing the Bosnian officials on this decision, as well as monitoring the RCC efforts, is the best way for post to move the issue forward. ENGLISH