BOSNIA: PARLIAMENT VOTES TO DISMISS SDA SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 000894 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR(JONES),EUR/SCE(HYLAND/FOOKS); NSC FOR HELGERSON/WILSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM KDEM KJUS KCRM BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA: PARLIAMENT VOTES TO DISMISS SDA SECURITY MINISTER TARIK SADOVIC REF: A. 07 SARAJEVO 1071 ¶B. 07 SARAJEVO 1583 ¶C. SARAJEVO 747 Classified By: Ambassador Charles L. English. Reasons 1.4(b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: On July 22, the BiH House of Representatives, acting on a request from the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) Presidency, voted to dismiss SDA Minister of Security Tarik Sadovic. This vote ends two months of speculation about Sadovic's removal and a public fight between SDA President Sulejman Tihic and Sadovic, following Sadovic's refusal to heed a July 3 SDA Presidency request for him to resign. Sadovic and former SDA Vice President Bakir Izetbegovic publicly rejected Tihic's claims that Sadovic was an ineffective minister and instead accused Tihic of caving in to OHR and US pressure to remove Sadovic. Over the past two years Sadovic's attempts to politicize the work of the Ministry of Security and his overall mismanagement earned him rebukes from OHR, which threatened him with possible removal in 2007 unless he improved his performance. Day to day management of the Security Ministry will be taken over by HDZ-BiH Deputy Minister Mio Kresic until a new Minister is appointed. Several names had been put forward as possible successors, including BiH House of Peoples Delegate Hazim Rancic and Federation Vice President Mirsad Kebo, but the SDA presidency on July 23 approved only House of Representatives Delegate Halid Genjac and Deputy Minister of Civil Affairs Senad Sepic for further consideration. End Summary Parliament Votes to Remove Sadovic -------------- ¶2. (C) Late on July 22 after a marathon session, the BiH House of Representatives honored a request by SDA leadership to remove Minister of Security Tarik Sadovic. Twenty eight members supported the motion to remove Sadovic, seven opposed, and there were three abstentions. During the lengthy debate Parliamentarians considered a letter from the SDA Presidency citing the reasons for their initiative to remove Sadovic, including his poor performance as a manager and his poor cooperation with international institutions as well as with local enforcement agencies. The letter also cited passages of US State Department reports, critical of Sadovic's performance, but also intimated that assistance to the MoS had been halted due to Sadovic's ineptness (Note: the former is correct, but the latter is not, at least in the case of USG assistance. End Note) At one point in the debate SDP legislators threatened to abstain. However, last minute lobbying on the margins of the session helped ensure positive votes from this party. In the end SDP, SNSD, HDZ-BiH, HDZ-1990, SDS, PDP, and BPS legislators voted for Sadovic's removal. All SDA delegates toed the party line and supported the removal except for Bakir Izetbegovic and Salko Sokolovic who abstained (as did DNZ delegate Rifat Dolic). All SBiH delegates present at the debate voted against Sadovic's removal. Sadovic Politicizes the Ministry of Security -------------- ¶3. (C) Soon after taking over as Security Minister in January 2007, Tarik Sadovic's poor managerial style, which excluded non-Bosniaks from decision making, politicization of security issues such as appraisals of possible terrorism in BiH, and desire to stall the deportation of foreign fighters drew negative attention from both our law enforcement experts and those at OHR (Ref A). On several occasions international community interlocutors suggested to SDA leadership that Sadovic was not a competent minister and should be removed, but SDA leadership, including SDA President Sulejman Tihic, balked at such a move and instead promised to counsel Sadovic to improve his performance. At one point, OHR gave Sadovic an ultimatum to improve his performance or face removal (Ref B). Sadovic then toed the line enough to avoid removal, but continued to work closely only with Bosniak advisors at the Ministry. As late as May 2009 Sadovic verbally assaulted both the Director and the Deputy Director of the Foreigners Affairs Service after the FAS successfully cooperated with Federation Police to detain several former foreign fighters, who had been deemed threats to the national security of BiH (Ref C). SARAJEVO 00000894 002 OF 002 SDA Investigates Sadovic and Asks Him to Step Down -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) In early May 2009 rumors emerged that SDA leadership was considering dismissing Sadovic and that Federation Vice President Mirsad Kebo might replace him. Kebo, along with several other SDA officials, including BiH House of Representatives Delegate Semsudin Mehmedovic, met at length with senior civil servants in the Ministry and came away with many examples of how Sadovic's mismanagement was destroying the Ministry. As early as June 11 local press carried reports that the SDA Main Board had asked Sadovic to resign, and subsequent reports listed Kebo and BiH House of Peoples Delegate Hazim Rancic as possible replacements. On July 3 the SDA Presidency formally asked Sadovic to step down, and speculation began about what sort of position he would receive as a consolation prize. Sadovic Refuses to Resign and Blames OHR and US -------------- -- ¶5. (C) However, Sadovic refused his party's request and publicly demanded first that the SDA leadership list the reasons for their dissatisfaction with him and admit that they were taking the action due to OHR and US pressure. On July 14 Bakir Izetbegovic, who unsuccessfully challenged Sulejman Tihic two months ago for the party presidency, sided with Sadovic against Tihic. Izetbegovic publicly dismissed the SDA leadership's arguments about Sadovic being an ineffective minister and characterized as "humiliating" Tihic's willingness to replace an SDA Minister simply because "foreigners want him to do it." On July 14 SDA leadership expressed their disappointment with Sadovic's refusal to comply with their wishes and SDA started formal proceedings to have him removed. In compliance with removal procedures, the SDA leadership delivered a formal request to Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikola Spiric, who forwarded it on to Parliament on July 20. What's Next -------------- ¶6. (C) SDA leadership is now in the process of assembling a list of possible names to be the new Security Minister. Sources close to Tihic tell us he had wanted to appoint his trusted confidant Mirsad Kebo, but strong opposition, especially among more conservative SDA members, appears to have prevented this. Another named previously suggested -- SDA Delegate to the House of Peoples Hazim Rancic -- also appears to have fallen out of contention. We have been told that at the present time Tihic and the SDA Main Board are considering two possible nominees: SDA House of Representatives delegate Halid Genjac, who may have some skeletons in his closet and appears not to be a favored candidate by law enforcement professionals and Senad Sepic, a rather youthful and unknown quantity, currently serving in a deputy ministerial position in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It is yet unclear how long the process will take to install a new Security Minister, especially if Serb or Croat parties decide to block the nomination process. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) It is unfortunate that Sadovic refused to step down quietly and chose to try to blame his removal on the OHR and the U.S., thus sparking an ugly public row within the SDA. However, his removal should allow the Ministry of Security to better fulfill its mandate, which includes several important responsibilities necessary for EU integration. An end to Sadovic's political interventions in the operational work of law enforcement will hopefully make it easier for BiH authorities to better implement BiH immigration legislation, including the deportation for former foreign fighters. However, much will depend on SDA's choice of successor, who hopefully will have better management skills and will not pursue a strictly Bosniak agenda. End Comment ENGLISH