Zagreb Daily Report - December 14, 2009

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000727 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL HR ECON SUBJECT: Zagreb Daily Report - December 14, 2009 ¶1. (U) (SBU) ICTY Trial Chamber orders temporary freeze on GoC investigation into missing artillery documents: Croatia has halted a portion of its investigation into missing documents after the ICTY Trial Chamber on December 11 ordered Croatia to temporarily suspend actions dealing with any members of the Gotovina defense team while the Chamber examines the issue more closely. Prime Minister Kosor on Saturday confirmed that the GoC would follow the ICTY's instructions, but noted, "We are in a curious situation, in which Croatia is being asked to locate certain documents on the one hand, but on the other, the way it is going about it is suddenly questionable." Media reaction has been mixed with some journalists siding with the right of Croatia to conduct the search and others siding with the defense team's argument that the documents are irrelevant to the case. The GoC, in the meantime, is focused on preparing its arguments for a December 16 hearing at the ICTY on whether it has been responsive to the Chamber's September 2008 order to search for the documents. (U) Croatian position at Copenhagen tracks with EU: The GoC delegation to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference briefed the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) Environment Committee on December 10 and outlined Croatia's position. According to the State Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment, Nikola Ruzinski, Croatia will support the EU position on 20-30 percent CO2 reductions by 2020. Ruzinski also said that President Mesic will travel this week to Copenhagen to head the delegation. At the hearing, committee chairwoman Marijana Petir also asked foreign diplomats to present their countries' positions. Econoff outlined the U.S. positions at Copenhagen, and described recent bilateral agreements with China and domestic legislation related to energy conservation. The audience included Sabor members, Croatian NGO, and the official Croatian delegation to the Copenhagen conference. (U) President Mesic in Moscow: On December 13 President Mesic's office announced that he had arrived in Moscow for an official visit. Mesic is scheduled to have meetings with Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin on December 14. (U) Minister Kalmeta survives no-confidence vote: The opposition Social Democratic Party's motion of no confidence in Transport Minister Bozidar Kalmeta fell far short of the 77 votes needed in Parliament on December 11. After a day-long heated debate, in which the opposition argued Kalmeta bore "political responsibility" for alleged corruption in state-owned companies within his purview, 33 opposition members voted in favor of no-confidence, while 66 deputies from the governing coalition voted against the no-confidence motion. Although Kalmeta survived the vote, media and other observers pointed to a conspicuous absence in Parliament of the HDZ's main coalition partners, the Peasants' (HSS) and Serb Democratic (SDSS) Parties. Several leading political commentators also argued that the HDZ's determination to defend Kalmeta is sharply at odds with Prime Minister and HDZ President Jadranka Kosor's, proclaimed aim of ensuring that no one can be "untouchable" in corruption cases. Kosor herself was also absent from this session of Parliament. FOLEY