OFFICIAL-INFORMAL NO. 7

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 002189

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/SCE - CHRIS HOH

E.O. 12356: DECL: 6/7/05
TAGS:
SUBJECT: OFFICIAL-INFORMAL NO. 7



1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT.


2. SAKIC RUMOR: (FOR CHRIS HOH FROM RICK HOLTZAPPLE) I
HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REACH CICAK TO SEE WHAT HE HAS
HEARD, BUT I ASKED SLAVKO GOLDSTEIN (A MEMBER OF THE
CROATIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE'S BOARD, A CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF
CICAK, AND A PROMINENT MEMBER OF THE ZAGREB JEWISH
COMMUNITY) IF HE HAD HEARD ANY RUMORS THAT SAKIC HAD
SURFACED IN CROATIA. GOLDSTEIN SAID HE HAD NOT HEARD ANY
SUCH RUMORS, AND WOULD CERTAINLY HAVE HEARD THEM IF THEY
WERE CIRCULATING IN ZAGREB. (NOTE: IF CICAK WERE
SPREADING THESE RUMORS, GOLDSTEIN WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY
HAVE HEARD THEM.)

CONFIDENTIAL






CONFIDENTIAL

PAGE 02 ZAGREB 02189 071609Z

3. GOLDSTEIN, AND OTHERS I ASKED WHO FOLLOW THE PRESS
CLOSELY, RECALLED THAT SAKIC GAVE AN INTERVIEW IN BUENOS
AIRES TO A LOCAL JOURNALIST WHO ACCOMPANIED TUDJMAN ON HIS
TRIP TO ARGENTINA A FEW MONTHS BACK. (I GATHER SAKIC IS
NOT EXACTLY IN HIDING IN ARGENTINA; HE CLAIMS HE HAS
POWERFUL FRIENDS IN THE ARMY AND LEGISLATURE.) IN THAT
INTERVIEW, SAKIC SAID THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO VISIT CROATIA,
BUT THAT HE KNEW IT WOULD BE AN IMPOLITIC THING TO DO,
BECAUSE OF HIS PAST. BUT SAKIC SAID, "I HOPE THAT THE
BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR I WILL BE ABLE TO COME AND STAY.
WE WILL SEE." GOLDSTEIN SAID HE ALSO VAGUELY RECALLED A
SUBSEQUENT PRESS REPORT OF AN (UNCONFIRMED) COMMENT BY
CROATIAN HEALTH MINISTER HEBRANG THAT THERE WAS NO REASON
SAKIC SHOULD NOT TRAVEL TO CROATIA, SINCE HE HAD NEVER
BEEN CONVICTED OF WAR CRIMES. BUT GOLDSTEIN SAID THAT
THIS COMMENT WAS AN UNOFFICIAL STATEMENT, AND HE WAS NOT
EVEN SURE HEBRANG HAD REALLY SAID IT. (NOTE: HEBRANG'S
FATHER, A LEADING PARTISAN, WAS PART OF A PRISONER
EXCHANGE ORGANIZED BY SAKIC IN WWII.)


4. OUR FBIS FSN ALSO TOLD ME THAT HE THOUGHT TANJUG HAD
RECENTLY REPORTED THAT SAKIC HAD COME TO ZAGREB. POSSIBLY
THAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE RUMOR THAT SAKIC HAS NOW COME TO
ZAGREB.


5. BY THE WAY, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE COMMANDANT
OF JASENOVAC WAS A MAN NAMED MAX LUBURIC (WHOSE SISTER IS
MARRIED TO SAKIC),AND SAKIC WAS THE CAMP'S DEPUTY
COMMANDER (AND CHIEF EXECUTIONER).

GALBRAITH
CONFIDENTIAL






CONFIDENTIAL

PAGE 03 ZAGREB 02189 071609Z































CONFIDENTIAL








NNNN