CROATIA UPDATE NO. 32: VISIT TO DETAINEES IN BJELOVAR

CONFIDENTIAL SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 01801 SIPDIS USCINCEUR VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ3/ECJ4/ECJ5// HQUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE//J3/J4/J5// CINCUSNAVEUR LONDON UK//N2/N22// C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 001801 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR A/S HOLBROOKE A/BHR/OFDA VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA BAKU FOR DCM FINN BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL CSCE E.O. 12356: DECL: 5/10/96 TAGS: SUBJECT: CROATIA UPDATE NO. 32: VISIT TO DETAINEES IN BJELOVAR REF: ZAGREB 1796 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT. -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶2. POLOFFS AND DART VISITED THE DETENTION CENTER AND JAIL IN BJELOVAR ON MAY 9. WE TALKED TO SERB DETAINEES AND UNSUCCESSFULY ATTEMPTED TO VISIT SERB LEADERS FROM THE PAKRAC AREA, WHO WERE BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION BY VELKJO DJAKULA (REF). WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE PROCESSING OF DETAINEES WITH DIRECTOR OF THE BJELOVAR JAIL AND CHIEF CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 01801 01 OF 03 101545Z MILITARY JUDGE. -------------- DETAINEES WELL TREATED BUT AMBIVALENT -------------- ¶3. POLOFFS AND DART VISITED SERB DETAINEES AT THE SPORTS CENTER IN BJELOVAR. AT THE TIME OP OUR VISIT, THE PRISONERS WERE TAKING A BREAK OUTSIDE. THE MILITARY POLICE OFFICIAL, MATO SICAJA, IN CHARGE OP THE CENTER REFUSED TO ANSWER MOST OP OUR QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW PRISONERS WERE LOCATED THERE AND HOW MANY HAD BEEN RELEASED, CITING THE POTENTIAL FOR POLITICIZATION OF THE NUMBERS. AN ARGENTINE UNMO ON THE SCENE GUESSED THERE WERE ABOUT 470 PRISONERS PRESENT. AT THE END OF THE BREAK PERIOD PRISONERS WERE LINED UP TO RETURN TO THE SPORTS HALL AND EMBOFFS COUNTED APPROXIMATELY 450-500 PEOPLE. ¶4. ALL THE DETAINEES WE TALKED WITH WERE PROM THE PAKRAC AREA. THEY SAID WHAT WE HAVE HEARD PROM PREVIOUS CONTACTS -- THAT THEY WERE WELL TREATED AND HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH THE GUARDS. ONE OP THE DETAINEES HAD SUSTAINED RECENT INJURIES WHICH, ACCORDING TO THE MILITARY POLICE, WERE SELF INFLICTED (IN THE PRESENCE OP ECMM, SUBJECT REPORTEDLY BANGED HIS HEAD WHILE STANDING NEAR A GUARD). EACH WAS PROVIDED WITH BLANKETS, BUT SAID THAT SLEEPING ROOM WAS CRAMPED. ONE GROUP OP DETAINEES SAID THAT THE ENTIRE GROUP HAD BEEN WOKEN UP THE PREVIOUS NIGHT AND TOLD TO SIGN SOMETHING, BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS. GUARDS TOLD US THAT THEY WERE RESPONDING TO CONSTANT REQUESTS PROM ZAGREB POR PRECISE HEADCOUNTS AT VARIOUS CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 01801 01 OF 03 101545Z TIMES DURING THE DAY AND WOKE THE DETAINEES TO HAVE THEM SIGN A SHEET SHOWING THEY WERE PRESENT. OPFICIALS QUICKLY PROVIDED EMBOPPS WITH A COPY OF ONE OP THE PAGES ON WHICH WERE HAND PRINTED NAMES, BIRTHDATES, AND SIGNATURES. ¶5. WHEN ASKED WHETHER THEY WANTED TO REMAIN IN CROATIA OR GO TO BOSNIA OR SERBIA, SOME RESPONDED THAT THEY WANTED TO FIND OUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THEIR FAMILIES BEFORE THEY MADE A DECISION (DETAINEES SAID THAT THEY HAD BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THEIR FAMILIES THROUGH THE ICRC). ONE PERSON SAID THAT A NUMBER OF THE DETAINEES WOULD LIKE UNHCR TO RESETTLE THEM IN THIRD COUNTRIES RATHER THAN RETURN TO BOSNIAN SERB TERRITORY. ONE GROUP THAT DART TALKED TO SAID THEY HAD BEEN TRYING TO CROSS FROM SECTOR WEST INTO BOSNIA FOR THE LAST YEAR, BUT WERE PREVENTED FROM DOING SO BY BOSNIAN SERB TROOPS. THEY ALSO SAID THAT THEY WERE PREVENTED FROM DOING SO EVEN DURING THE RETREAT FROM SECTOR WEST DURING THE CROATIAN OFFENSIVE. -------------- BJELOVAR JAIL AND THE JUDICIAL PROCESS CONFIDENTIAL NNNNPTQ9632 CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9632 PAGE 01 ZAGREB 01801 02 OF 03 101545Z ACTION EUR-01 INFO LOG-00 AID-00 CIAE-00 OASY-00 EB-01 FDRE-01 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-10 L-01 ADS-00 M-00 NSAE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 PA-01 PM-00 PRS-01 P-01 SP-00 SR-00 SS-00 STR-01 TRSE-00 T-00 USIE-00 SNIS-00 NISC-01 PMB-00 PRME-01 DRL-09 G-00 /033W -------------- C42E91 101629Z /49 P 101646Z MAY 95 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5714 INFO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY COM SIXTHFLT//N2// HQ JTF PP NAPLES IT//CA/POLAD// DIA WASHDC USMISSION GENEVA AMCONSUL MUNICH USLO SKOPJE AMEMBASSY BAKU AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST AMEMBASSY BELGRADE NATO EU COLLECTIVE JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-5PMA/J21// SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP// NSC WASHDC CINCUSAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE//DO/LG/XP/IN// JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK USNMR SHAPE BE//POLAD// CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 01801 02 OF 03 101545Z USCINCEUR VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ3/ECJ4/ECJ5// HQUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE//J3/J4/J5// CINCUSNAVEUR LONDON UK//N2/N22// C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 03 ZAGREB 001801 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR A/S HOLBROOKE A/BHR/OFDA VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA BAKU FOR DCM FINN BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL CSCE E.O. 12356: DECL: 5/10/96 TAGS: SUBJECT: CROATIA UPDATE NO. 32: VISIT TO DETAINEES IN BJELOVAR -------------- ¶6. EMBOFFS WERE TOLD BY DETENTION CENTER OFFICIALS THAT SERB MILITARY LEADERS AND THOSE SUSPECTED OF WAR CRIMES WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE BJELOVAR JAIL. CROAT OFFICIALS HAD NO OBJECTIONS TO OUR REQUEST TO VISIT THE JAIL. WHEN WE ARRIVED, HOWEVER, WE WERE TOLD THAT WE COULD NOT VISIT THE PRISONERS WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION FROM THE JUSTICE MINISTRY IN ZAGREB. (NOTE: EMBASSY IS REQUESTING AUTHORIZATION AND HOPES TO VISIT THE BJELOVAR JAIL AGAIN ON MAY 11.) WE DID TALK WITH PRISON ADMINISTRATOR ZDRAVKO BREBER AND CHIEF MILITARY JUDGE MIHAEL MALCIC. BREBER TOLD US THAT INITIALLY THERE WERE 781 DETAINEES IN CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 01801 02 OF 03 101545Z BJELOVAR AND THAT 49 HAD BEEN RELEASED MAY 8 AND ANOTHER GROUP OF 138 ON MAY 7. ¶7. THE CITY PRISON IN BJELOVAR IS BEING CONVERTED TO A MILITARY PRISON AND WILL TAKE ALL TRANSFERS FROM OTHER DETENTION CENTERS IN VARAZDIN AND POZEGA. AS OF MAY 8 THERE WERE 48 DETAINEES IN THE PRISON AND OFFICIALS EXPECTED TO GET 50 TRANSFERS FROM VARAZDIN ON MAY 9 AND POSSIBLY ANOTHER 10 FROM THE BJELOVAR SPORTS CENTER. (NOTE: BREBER TOLD US THAT RELATIONS BETWEEN HIS GUARD FORCE AND DETAINEES WERE GOOD AND, IN FACT, TWO OF FOUR GUARDS ON THE AFTERNOON SHIFT WERE ETHNIC SERBS.) IN TOTAL, BREBER ANTICIPATED HAVING OVER 100 PRISONERS, BUT JUDGE MALCIC SAID PROBABLY THAT ONLY 20 TO 30 WOULD BE CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES. THE DECISION TO TRANSFER DETAINEES TO THE JAIL FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS MADE DURING THE INITIAL INTERVIEW AND IS LARGELY BASED ON EVIDENCE PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED BY CROATIAN DISPLACED PERSONS. ¶8. BREBER CONFIRMED THAT TWO OF THE THREE PRISONERS -- MLADEN KULIC AND STEVO HARAMBASIC -- ABOUT WHOM SERB LEADER VELJKO DJAKULA HAD EXPRESSED CONCERN ON MAY 9 WERE BEING HELD IN THE PRISON, BUT THEY HAD NO INFORMATION ON THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE THIRD, SAVO RADOSEVIC. KULIC WAS BEING HELD ON CHARGES OF ARMED REBELLION AND CRIMES AGAINST CIVILIANS, WHILE HARAMBASIC WAS HELD UNDER A COURT ORDER, BUT NO FURTHER INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE. WE WERE TOLD THAT SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR CASES WAS FILED AT THE MILITARY COURT IN OSIJEK. BOTH PRISONERS HAD REEN REGISTERED WITH ICRC, ACCORDING TO BREBER. MALCIC SAID CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 01801 02 OF 03 101545Z THAT ALL PRISONERS HELD UNDER CHARGES OF ARMED REBELLION WOULD BE RELEASED, BUT WE ARE UNSURE OF KULIC'S STATUS GIVEN THE ADDITIONAL CHARGE OF CRIMES AGAINST CIVILIANS. ¶9. MALCIC SAID THAT HE IS LEADING A TEAM OF 9 JUDGES AND TYPISTS TO PROCESS 1,500 CASES. BY 1500 ON MAY 9 HIS STAFF HAD QUESTIONED 24 PEOPLE AND WOULD BE INTERVIEWING ANOTHER 15 THAT DAY. A GROUP OF TRANSFERS FROM VARAZDIN WAS DUE TO BE PROCESSED ON MAY 10. HE SAID THAT THE COURT IS MOVING AS FAST AS IT CAN, BUT THE PROCESS IS SLOW LARGELY BECAUSE OF CONSTANT REQUESTS FROM ZAGRER FOR UPDATES AND STATISTICS. SPECIFIC CRIMES THE COURT IS LOOKING INTO INCLUDE MURDER, POISONING, AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY. HE SAID THAT DETAINEES HAVE BEEN COOPERATIVE DURING QUESTIONING AND MANY HAVE COMPLAINED THAT "RSK" POLITICIANS AND LEADERS HAVE CHEATED THEM. MALCIC OPINED THAT HALF THE SERBS WHO DECIDE TO LEAVE FOR BOSNIA WILL EVENTUALLY RETURN TO CROATIA, SOME TO LIVE AND UNFORTUNATELY SOME TO FIGHT. -------------- CONFIDENTIAL NNNNPTQ9637 CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9637 PAGE 01 ZAGREB 01801 03 OF 03 101545Z ACTION EUR-01 INFO LOG-00 AID-00 CIAE-00 OASY-00 EB-01 FDRE-01 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-10 L-01 ADS-00 M-00 NSAE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 PA-01 PM-00 PRS-01 P-01 SP-00 SR-00 SS-00 STR-01 TRSE-00 T-00 USIE-00 SNIS-00 NISC-01 PMB-00 PRME-01 DRL-09 G-00 /033W -------------- C42EBD 101631Z /49 P 101646Z MAY 95 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5715 INFO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY COM SIXTHFLT//N2// HQ JTF PP NAPLES IT//CA/POLAD// DIA WASHDC USMISSION GENEVA AMCONSUL MUNICH USLO SKOPJE AMEMBASSY BAKU AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST AMEMBASSY BELGRADE NATO EU COLLECTIVE JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-5PMA/J21// SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP// NSC WASHDC CINCUSAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE//DO/LG/XP/IN// JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK USNMR SHAPE BE//POLAD// CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 01801 03 OF 03 101545Z USCINCEUR VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ3/ECJ4/ECJ5// HQUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE//J3/J4/J5// CINCUSNAVEUR LONDON UK//N2/N22// C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 03 OF 03 ZAGREB 001801 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR A/S HOLBROOKE A/BHR/OFDA VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA BAKU FOR DCM FINN BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL CSCE E.O. 12356: DECL: 5/10/96 TAGS: SUBJECT: CROATIA UPDATE NO. 32: VISIT TO DETAINEES IN BJELOVAR COMMENT -------------- ¶10. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE OFFICIAL IN CHARGE OF THE DETENTION CENTER, CROATIAN AUTHORITIES WERE COOPERATIVE AND RESPONDED QUICKLY TO OUR REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS. EMBOFFS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WALK AROUND THE EXERCISE FIELD UNESCORTED AND SAW NO EVIDENCE THAT ANY OF THE DETAINEES WERE MISTREATED. WE WERE PERMITTED TO TALK WITH THE DETAINEES FREELY AND PRIVATELY. IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT THE DETAINEES WE VISITED ARE BEING WELL TREATED, THE GOC SEARCH FOR WAR CRIMINALS -- EVEN IF LIMITED TO THE SMALL NUMBER ESTIMATED BY MALCIC -- AND THE SLOWNESS OF CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 01801 03 OF 03 101545Z PROCESSING DETAINEES WILL CONTINUE TO BE A POINT OF CONTENTION WITH KNIN. DETAINEES REMAIN SUSPICIOUS OF CROATIAN AUTHORITIES, AND THEIR UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHETHER TO REMAIN OR LEAVE WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE WELL PAST THE TIME THEY ARE RELEASED. THE CRITICAL TEST WILL BE HOW EVENHANDEDLY THE GOC TREATS SERBS AND CROATS AS THEY RETURN TO THE AREA OF FORMER SECTOR WEST. GALBRAITH CONFIDENTIAL NNNN