ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT- JUNE 26

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000387

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL HR
SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT- JUNE 26


1. (U) BOSNIAN COURT REJECTS EXTRADITION REQUEST FOR GLAVAS:
A Bosnian Court on June 23 rejected a request from the Croatian
Ministry of Justice for the extradition of convicted war criminal
Branimir Glavas due to his possession of Bosnian citizenship. The
court found that the BiH Criminal Procedure Code does not allow the
extradition of its citizens. The decision will be reviewed by an
appellate court. A separate legal process is underway which might
strip Glavas of his Bosnian citizenship, which could also allow for
his extradition to Croatia. (VDjukic)


2. (U) DIRECTOR OF MARSHALL CENTER VISITS CROATIA:
On June 22-25 the Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) and
the George C. Marshall Center Alumni Club of Croatia hosted the
visit to Zagreb of Dr. John Rose, Director of the Marshall Center.
During his trip, Dr. Rose discussed current and future cooperation
between the Marshall Center and Croatia with a number of senior
figures in the GoC including Minister of Defense Vukelic, Minister
of Interior Karamarko, MFA State Secretary Bozinovic, and MP
Kresimir Cosic, the Head of Croatia's to the NATO Parliamentary
Assembly. Dr. Rose also gave a well-received talk on likely
directions in defense and foreign policy in the new Administration
to Marshall Center alumni. (D'Amico)



3. (SBU) EUCOM HOSTS COALITION MOVEMENT CONFERENCE IN ZAGREB:
EUCOM hosted in Zagreb a Coalition Movement Conference from June
16-19. The Conference was attended by 65 officers and
non-commissioned officers, including U.S. transportation experts and
participants from 18 partner nations: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia,
Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands,
Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. The agenda included briefings
and discussions on deployment practices and process improvements
presented by several Department of Defense transportation agencies
and Combatant Commands. Brigadier General Mate Ostovic, Commander,
Croatian Armed Forces Support Command, provided opening remarks,
warmly receiving the participants who represented both NATO and
Partnership for Peace nations. The annual forum is organized by
EUCOM's European Deployment and Distribution Operations Center
(EDDOC),and hosted by a sponsor nation on a rotating basis
throughout the EUCOM Area of Responsibility. (Davis)


4. (SBU) INL AND EUCOM REPS VISIT CROATIA:
The Embassy and local ICITAP Program Manager hosted a visit on June
15-18 from Alexandra Pomeroy of the Bureau of International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and Tom Murray from the
U.S. European Command (EUCOM). The purpose of the visit was to
learn more about the ICITAP projects in Croatia and key issues in
the justice sector. The visitors met with a number of officials in
the law enforcement community including the Chief State Prosecutor,
the Head of the Police Academy, the Head of the Crime Directorate,
the Head of the Office for the Suppression of Organized Crime and
Corruption, and experts from the Department for Suppression of
Narcotics. (VDjukic)


5. (SBU) POPULATION, REFUGEE, AND MIGRATION VISIT SUCCESSFUL:
On June 16-19 the Embassy hosted a visit by Matt Johnson, Program
Manager for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM)
Balkan Office, and Aida Kuric, regional Refugee Assistant from
Embassy Belgrade. The visit focused on Croatia's efforts to
conclude the process of refugee returns to the country. The PRM
visitors met with key government officials including the chief of
Deputy PM Uzelac's cabinet and the Director for Areas of Special
State Concern, who provided an update on the status of housing care
programs. The trip included a UNHCR-organized field visit to the
Sisak area, where returns have been most active. The OSCE Office in
Zagreb and the European Commission discussed the government's
progress in meeting housing care benchmarks, while leading Serb MP
Milorad Pupovac talked about the successes and difficulties in
cooperating with their ruling coalition partner HDZ. The guests
were also able to attend a UNHCR conference marking World Refugee
Day where President Mesic appeared as one of the key note speakers.
(MJelenc)

BRADTKE