OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: NOVEMBER 2 - 13, 2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 07 USOSCE 000259

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2019
TAGS: MARR OSCE PGOV PREL GG RU
SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: NOVEMBER 2 - 13, 2009

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Carol Fuller for Reasons 1.4(B)&(D)

CiO facilitates transition to new SR for Protracted Conflicts


1. (SBU) At our weekly meeting with the CiO Nov 3, Greek
Ambassador Marinaki told us the CiO's Special Representative
for Protracted Conflicts, Christopoulus, would meet with his
Kazakh-proposed successor, Nurgaliev, in Vienna on Nov 5 and
they would participate in the informal "Five plus Two"
meeting on the conflict in Transnistria and attend the Nov. 6
special PC. Marinaki said that the recently issued
"Johannitis report" confirmed that the South Ossetians had
granted uninhibited access to the CiO's water and gas expert
in an OSCE vehicle throughout his recent visit. Further, she
said, progress towards agreement for a roving support team in
Georgia was slow, but remained a priority for Christopolous
and would be taken up at the Nov. 11 Geneva discussions.

Support for continuation of OSCE Mission in Croatia


2. (SBU) In anticipation of Croatian FM Jandrokovic's
November 5 address to the PC, Greek Ambassador Marinaki
indicated the CiO's support for keeping the OSCE Mission in
Croatia open throughout 2010. She opined that from the Greek
perspective the government in Zagreb seemed less determined
than Croatian Ambassador Neven Madey to close the mission
now.

Second Annual Meeting of National Points of Contact on
Combating Hate Crimes


3. (U) On October 28th and 29th the second annual meeting of
the National Points of Contact on Combating Hate Crimes
(NPCs) was held in Vienna. Jointly sponsored by ODIHR and
the CiO, the meeting was an opportunity to exchange
information, discuss priorities and strengthen communication
between the ODIHR and the NPCs. The meeting featured
briefings defining and analyzing hate crimes, presentations
from a variety of representatives on their experiences with
hate crimes and more focused workshop activities in the
second day. The agenda also provided an opportunity to
improve data collection, through legislative measures,
improvements in law enforcement agencies, examination of the
role of the criminal justice system and improved cooperation
between civil society and the government. The main take-away
points discussed in the concluding session included: the
value of training helping to foster awareness-raising,
especially on the officer level; extending training to
prosecutors, judges and (potential) victims; suggestions for
a contact list of NPCS and possibly a website to share
resources; the possibility of more focused, specific meetings
in the future, such as on internet crimes or organized
groups; and the need for continuing dialogue between NPCs.

Kazakhs Ask French to Convince Zhovtis to Accept Pardon


4. (SBU) In the same meeting, Alabrune also told us that
Kazakhstani FM Saudabayev called French FM Kouchner to
request that the French Director for Human Rights who had
been present at the appeal hearing for human rights activist
Yevgeniy Zhovtis be dispatched to convince Zhovtis to accept
a pardon. Kouchner refused. CDA informed Alabrune - who was
not aware - that Zhovtis had declared he would not accept a
pardon because he did not admit guilt. CDA also noted that
timing of the pardon would put Zhovtis out of contact during
Kazakhstan's chairmanship.

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EU Concerned about Unbalanced Kazakh Human Dimension Program


5. (SBU) In our weekly meeting with the EU Troika November
4, Swedish Ambassador Bard-BringuQs shared the EU's concern
regarding the incoming Chairmanship's Human Dimension
program, saying it was lacking in human rights and
fundamental freedoms. The EU had raised the issue with
Kazakh Human Rights Ambassador Jarbussinova in Warsaw but did
not see the concerns reflected in the recent Kazakh 2010
program proposal. Bard-BringuQs said the Kazakh program
seemed event-driven rather than substance-driven.

U.S. and Kazakhstani OSCE Delegations Meet to Discuss
Upcoming Kazakhstani CiO


6. (SBU) On November 2, U.S. and Kazakhstani OSCE delegates
met in a get acquainted session at the GOK mission. With
about twelve to a side, the discussion covered the Corfu
Process; run-up to Athens; vision for Kazakhstan's CiO; Human
Dimension issues and a Summit in 2010. To little surprise,
the Kazakhs threaded their ardent interest in a summit
throughout much of their presentation, although Ambassador
Abdrakhmanov claimed the GOK was "not overly ambitious" about
holding a Summit. In apparent response to U.S. concerns the
GOK was not paying sufficient attention to fundamental
freedoms, DCM Useinov said "we'll deal with all of them at
the planned Copenhagen Conference." Towards the conclusion
of the meeting, Abdrakhmanov enunciated GOK mixed views
towards the OSCE Center in Astana: "If some immature
responses were to emerge from the Center, such as happened in
the Zhovtis case, then this would not be good. We want the
Center to be more precise, more objective." He did not
mention that Kazakhstan has ordered the center to refrain
from political reporting during their year as Chair.

OSCE Holds Annual Police Experts Meeting on Hate Crimes


7. (U) The Annual Police Experts Meeting on Hate Crimes and
Effective Law Enforcement Cooperation was held on October 29
and 30 in Vienna. The focus was on: preventing hate crimes;
the role of police in responding to hate crimes; inter-agency
coordination and police management strategies in improving
responses to hate crimes; and international cooperation in
responding to hate crimes. Irfan Saeed represented the
United States as a keynote speaker on the first day.
Throughout the conference, the Russian delegation was
engaged, asking several questions of each of the speakers.
Alexey Zhafyarov from the Russian Federation was a keynote
speaker on the second day. He pointed out in his comments
the similarities between Russia and other European nations in
dealing with the hate crime problem, but he also noted the
role of the media and the Internet to magnify the effects of
these incidents. To that end, he mentioned that if there is
incitement, it is possible to speak to the editor of the
newspaper and threaten to shut it down. The key findings
reached at the conclusion of the meeting were: The benefit of
specialized police training on identifying hate crimes,
handling of hate crimes and how to change attitudes which
cause hate crimes; The obligation for police to admit
mistakes and remain flexible; The importance and difficulties
in investigating the financing of hate groups; and The need
to give further attention to the role of the internet in hate
crimes.
Croatian Foreign Minister Addresses Permanent Council


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8. (SBU) On Nov 5 Croatian FM Goran Jandrokovic addressed
the PC. He praised the Corfu process discussions on European
Security initiated by the Greek CiO, and highlighted
Croatia's progress on reform and its cooperation in the
region. He characterized the Nov 4 arbitration agreement with
Slovenia as a win for both parties, for the region, and
Europe as a whole. Jandrokovic noted Croatia's awareness of
remaining challenges for EU accession, such as public
administration, combating corruption, and the judiciary, and
said Croatia's focus on this should bring accession
negotiations to completion by mid-2010. Regarding the OSCE
Office in Zagreb, Jandrokovic said that all reports coming
from the Office indicate that Croatia's institutions and
processes on both war crimes and housing care are
sustainable, that a capable network of NGOs is in place to
monitor local courts, and that all housing units will be
handed over by the end of 2010. He said it was "unthinkable"
that the Office would be in place until the last trial had
closed and the last flat handed over, and called on PS to
find a "good and responsible solution" to define the final
phase of the Office that would be a success for the OSCE and
Croatia. The EU noted progress but pointed to the need for
work on unprosecuted war crimes and on housing care, as did
Russia. Serbia noted surprise that Croatia would challenge
"EU facts and figures" on refugee issues, said that there
were aspects of the Sarajevo Declaration that had not yet
been resolved, and that the Office should remain until its
mandate fulfilled, noting an OSCE office should not be
considered a stigma. The U.S. statement recognized Croatia's
considerable progress but agreed with the need for continued
work in 2010 to ensure completion of the mandate.

USOSCE ChargQ Fuller Meets With Croatian FM Jandrokovic


9. (C) In a side meeting after his address to the Permanent
Council on Nov 5, Foreign Minister Goran Jandrokovic told
ChargQ Fuller that Croatia would continue making every effort
to resolve the issues covered by the mandate of the OSCE
Office in Zagreb, and said he hoped 2010 would be the final
year for the Office. He said some EU member states are
linking the presence of the OSCE to closure of negotiations
on EU Chapter 23, but said Croatia was taking this up
bilaterally with them. Jandrokovic said he hoped progress on
EU accession would also lead to closure of the Office, but
wondered if it might still be possible that EU negotiations
would be completed without any agreement in the OSCE on
closure. He asked for clarification on why, if Croatia has
made so much progress, it's necessary to continue the office
beyond 2009, and asked for U.S. support on a decision in 2009
on closing the office in 2010. ChargQ Fuller reiterated
positive views of Croatia's progress and U.S. commitment to
eventual closure, but said it was clear there was some work
left to do and that we hoped continued progress would lead to
a situation where a clean decision could be made next year to
close the office. The ChargQ noted that the U.S. would not
agree to a mandate renewal that included a sunset clause for
2010 because of the risk of creating a precedent. Pressing
further, Croatian Ambassador Neven Madey asked if the U.S.
would at least be able come out in support of a qualified
extension mandate extension decision with positive language
indicating the good progress made by Croatia; ChargQ said she
would have to see the language first.

SPMU Lays Out Feasible Counter-Narcotics Training in
Afghanistan


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10. (C) On November 5th, Pol Offs met with Murat Yildiz of
the SPMU to discuss the feasibility of potential OSCE-funded
counter-narcotics projects in Afghanistan in view of our
initiative to amend the text of the Russian Draft Decision on
Illicit Drugs to include a mandate for SPMU to provide such
training. Building on his experience from six visits to
Afghanistan, Yildiz suggested that the projects might consist
of two-week train-the- trainer courses, two to three times a
year, in an existing academy outside of Kabul and would cost
approximately Q , 400K/yr with security provided by the
sending country. Yildiz confirmed that in-country training of
Afghan law enforcement would be more efficient, inexpensive
and effective than training elsewhere. He agreed to draft a
project proposal and present it to interested delegations.

Personal Representatives on Tolerance Report Activities to PC


11. (SBU) In their first joint appearance before the PC on
Nov 5, the Chairmanship's Personal Representatives on
Tolerance (PRs),Mr. Mario Mauro, Ambassador Adil Akhmetov
and Rabbi Andrew Baker, pledged better coordination and
increased participation in OSCE events. In his statement, Mr.
Mauro noted the impact of the economic crises on migrants,
refugees and minority groups, including Roma and Sinti, who,
he said, had experienced violence on an unprecedented scale.
Further, he raised concerns about intolerance and
discrimination against Christians, both "East and West of
Vienna" as well as in both minority and majority societies.
Rabbi Baker recommended increased examination of public
discourse and enhanced education programs to counter
significant increases in anti-Semitism in the OSCE region.
Adding to his official statement, Baker encouraged the
Mediterranean Partners to discuss shared concerns in a side
event to the upcoming Cairo Seminar. Amb. Akhmetov condemned
the use of anti-Muslim rhetoric in media and public discourse
and spoke out against anti-terrorism measures including
racial profiling that violate the rights of Muslims. All
three PRs called on pS to improve disaggregated data
collection and law enforcement training in response to hate
crimes. Echoing positive comments around the table, Canada
said the joint visit had raised awareness of the OSCE's
engagement in combating intolerance and discrimination.
Morocco commended Amb. Akhmetov for drawing attention to
"wide-spread" discrimination against Muslims in Europe and
called for an end to IsraelQ,s anti-Muslim politics.
Finally, Kazakhstan vowed to continue the PRs mandate as well
as provide them with further instruments and means during
their upcoming chairmanship.

Rabbi Baker and ODIHR reveal plans for PRs in 2010


12. (SBU) In a separate meeting with PolOffs on Nov 5, Rabbi
Baker relayed his intention to showcase the RPs recent joint
visit to the US with the aim of gaining equally high-level
access during future joint country visits, particularly in
Moscow. Baker criticized the current chairmanship for
insisting that host countries approve the PRs' country
reports before their official release, making them less
"engaging." Later, ODIHRQ,s Head of Tolerance Department,
Florianne Hohenlohe, told PolOff that she had received
confirmation from Kazakhstan that the planned high-level
Tolerance Conference in 2010 would take place in Astana. She
revealed the incoming chairmanship's readiness to fund an
additional ODIHR position specifically dedicated to providing
support for the PRs, which, she opined, was much needed.


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Lead Moldovan, Transnistrian Negotiators Agree to Meet
Regularly


13. (SBU) At a November 6 informal 5 2 meeting in Vienna,
Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Osipov and
Transnistrian negotiator Yastrebchak agreed to meet
regularly, at still undetermined intervals, to discuss
practical matters, including the free movement of goods and
people between the Transnistrian region and the rest of
Moldova (Yastrebchak was noncommittal when Osipov suggested
that more substantive issues be included). The two agreed
they would meet privately, supported as needed by experts,
and would keep their discussions confidential (i.e., no
public statements). OSCE Special Representative
Christopoulos lauded this small step in a subsequent
presentation to Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Droutsas,
who commended the Sides' willingness to continue a dialogue
and said he hoped regular meetings eventually would lead to
the resumption of formal negotiations in the 5 2 format. A
member of the Moldovan delegation later told PolOff that the
meeting's lack of substance was disappointing, and added that
Osipov would have preferred to set a date for his first
meeting with Yastrebchak - or at least to agree on the
frequency of the meetings.

Discussions of Draft Ministerial Statement on Moldova Yield
Few Results


14. (SBU) At a November 6 reading of a draft Ministerial
statement on Moldova (reviewed in advance by RPM, UMB, and
post),representatives of the 5 2 shared their initial views
but stopped short of line-by-line comments. The Russian and
Ukrainian representatives said they lacked formal
instructions; EU Special Representative Mizsei and Moldovan
Deputy Prime Minister Osipov said they believed the draft was
a good basis for discussion. Osipov added that his
government believed it was important to reach consensus on a
statement in order to raise the profile of the issue. DAS
Russell, in contrast, urged the Greek OSCE Chairmanship to
look more closely at the text that faltered at the last
minute at the 2008 Helsinki OSCE Ministerial, and pointed out
that it contained all the elements the United States would
want to see in a statement, including, inter alia, strong
support for Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity,
a call for the resumption of formal 5 2 negotiations, a call
for the early and full withdrawal of all foreign forces and
munitions from Moldova, and endorsement of the replacement of
the present peacekeeping force with a non-military civilian
presence under OSCE auspices. Next steps are unclear, as the
Greek Chairmanship will need time to regroup after this
initial discussion.

Kazakh SR-designate for Protracted Conflicts Says No
Breakthroughs Expected


15. (SBU) Kazakhstan's designated special representative for
the protracted conflicts, Bolat Nurgaliev (currently the
secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization),
told DAS Russell and USOSCE ChargQ Fuller November 6 that he
"did not expect any breakthroughs" in the Transnistria or
Georgia conflicts during Kazakhstan's 2010 OSCE Chairmanship,
but thought Kazakhstan might be "the right country at the
right time," given its special relationship with Russia.
Nurgaliev did not elaborate, noting he was still in listening
mode (he attended the dayQ,s informal 5 2 meeting but did not
comment). In response to DAS Russell's subsequent suggestion

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that Nurgaliev visit Washington for consultations, Nurgaliev
noted he likely would be in New York in early December and
potentially could find time to spend a few days in
Washington.

OSCE Holds SHDM on Gender Equality with Special Focus on
Violence Against Women


16. (U) A well-attended November 5-6 Supplementary Human
Dimension Meeting (SHDM) in Vienna emphasized protection,
prosecution, and prevention as elements of a comprehensive
strategy to combat violence against women in the OSCE area.
Speakers included experts on domestic violence in the human
rights, public administration, legal, and NGO fields, who
fielded questions and comments from NGOs, OSCE delegations,
and international organizations. After a discussion of the
comparative experiences of combating violence against women
across the OSCE region, common agreement rested on the need
for the creation of laws and mechanisms to better protect
women, prosecute perpetrators, and prevent violence; the need
for more training of judges and police; and the need to get
men involved at all levels in efforts to combat violence
against women.

Russia Says NUF Agreement Should Be Geneva Talks' Priority


17. (SBU) Reiterating a well known position, Russian PermRep
Azimov declared at the November 12 Permanent Council meeting
that the Geneva talks' priority should be a legally binding
non-use of force (NUF) agreement signed between Georgia and
the "independent republics" of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
He called attention to "disturbing signs" of continuing
instability, including UAV flights over the two "republics,"
and expressed concern over the "re-arming" of Georgia,
claiming Georgia was better armed now than it was before the
war. Responding to a U.S. call for Russia to fully implement
the provisions of the August 12 and September 8 agreements,
Azimov stated (in both Russian and English) that Russia had
complied with all commitments and considered the two
agreements fulfilled. He concluded with an appeal for a
"more objective, sober stance" toward the "new realities" on
the ground, and said the time had come to "desist from such
confrontational rhetoric." Georgian Deputy PermRep Giorgadze
countered these remarks, arguing that Russia continued to
undermine the JIPRMs and to prevent the provision of
humanitarian assistance. Giorgadze added that Russia's
publicly aired fears of further Georgian aggression were
similar to its rhetoric in the run-up to the war, and urged
the international community to pay close attention.

Russia defends Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan after U.S. and EU PC
Statements


18. (SBU) After the U.S. commented at the November 12 PC on
the increasing violence against journalists in Kyrgyzstan and
the European Union cited the recent ODIHR report on
Uzbekistan's failure to make almost any of the ODIHR-proposed
amendments to their electoral laws, Russian Ambassador Azimov
complained that our intervention amounted to an interference
in sovereign, internal Kyrgyz matters. "They will
investigate and advise us," he promised. As for Uzbekistan,
Azimov admitted there is a problem there but said the
important thing was that the GOU has been "taking on the
reasonable and constructive suggestions of ODIHR." Calling
Uzbekistan a young democracy, Azimov said "we hope this will
usher in a new epoch of democratic development." The Uzbek

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CDA listed the meetings the ODIHR representatives held in
Uzbekistan and the "exhaustive" replies they received to
their inquiries. He said that while perhaps not all
recommendations from ODIHR were taken on board, there had
been favorable amendments to the electoral law and
improvements in achieving pluralism, thereby offering "real
choices" to the voters. The Kyrgyz representative said his
government was also concerned about the rise in attacks on
journalists and was doing everything in its power to
investigate. He concluded that it was better to let the
authorities investigate before mentioning these matters in
the PC.

Four Candidates Remain in Process for Rep on Media Freedom


19. (SBU) Following the November 5 announcement of the top
four contenders (Austrian, Bosnian, UK and Russian) for the
RFOM slot, the Greek CiO hosted held separate open question
and answer periods with each candidate on November 9 and 11.
No candidate fell flat in the Q&A sessions, however nothing
shook U.S. convictions that the best candidate is Dunja
Mijatovic, the ethnic Serb from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Both the
UK's Whittle and Russia's Fedotov garnered increased support
from strong showings. After twice simply lecturing pS on the
role of the RFoM, Austria's Dr. Rubina Mohring's odds seemed
to have slipped somewhat from her earlier position.
Participating States are now required to submit a single name
to the Greek Chair by Friday, November 20. It remains to be
seen if there are any candidates that will be entirely
unsupportable by any pS.
FULLER