UPDATE NO. 21: GLINA BECOMES A GHOST TOWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 003045 SIPDIS USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL OSCE BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU E.O. 12356: DECL: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREF MOPS PREF MOPS PREF MOPS SUBJECT: UPDATE NO. 21: GLINA BECOMES A GHOST TOWN ¶1. (U) ON AUGUST 9 AMBASSADOR GALBRAITH MADE HIS SECOND VISIT TO "SECTOR NORTH" SINCE THE CROATIAN MILITARY ACTION. ONE OF HIS STOPS WAS GLINA, WHERE HE WAS ABLE TO OBSERVE THE DESTRUCTION THAT HAD OCCURRED DURING RECENT FIGHTING, SPEAK TO A FEW CROATIAN RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN, AND DISCUSS THE FUTURE WITH CROATIAN AUTHORITIES. END SUMMARY. -------------- OLD DESTRUCTION AND NEW -------------- ¶2. (U) THE AMBASSADOR AND A NUMBER OF EMBASSY PERSONNEL TRAVELLED TO THE TOWN OF GLINA IN SECTOR NORTH ON AUGUST ¶9. ON THE WAY, AFTER CROSSING WHAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN THE CONFRONTATION LINE, THE EMBASSY VEHICLES PASSED THROUGH A SURREAL LANDSCAPE OF DEVASTATED HOUSES AND SHATTERED STOREFRONTS THAT LOOKED STRAIGHT OUT OF THE SET OF THE OLD "COMBAT" TELEVISION SERIES. EVERY FEW MILES, GROUPS OF SOLDIERS COULD BE SEEN LOUNGING INSIDE BOMBED OUT BUILDINGS, SHELTERING THEMSELVES FROM THE RAIN. ¶3. (U) JUDGING FROM THE GROWTH OF VEGETATION, MOST OF THE DESTRUCTION ALONG THE ROAD HAD TAKEN PLACE DURING THE '91 WAR. IN GLINA, HOWEVER, FRESH SCARS FROM MORTAR SHELLS AND MACHINE GUN FIRE COULD BE SEEN ON MANY BUILDINGS. MOST STRUCTURES WERE INTACT, HOWEVER, AND THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF THE FIRE BOMBING THAT HAD BEEN SO PREVALENT ON BOTH SIDES DURING THE CONFLICT OF FOUR YEARS AGO. CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 03045 01 OF 03 101510Z ¶4. (U) THE SHOW WINDOWS OF MOST STOREFRONTS HAD BEEN SHATTERED AND MUCH OF THE MERCHANDISE (THOUGH BY NO MEANS ALL) HAD BEEN LOOTED. WHETHER THIS HAD OCCURRED AS THE RESIDENTS WERE DEPARTING AND GRABBING WHAT THEY COULD, OR WHEN THE CROATIAN FORCES FIRST ARRIVED, WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL. THERE WAS CLEARLY NO LOOTING GOING ON WHILE WE WERE THERE AND THE CROATIAN MILITARY AND POLICE APPEARED DISCIPLINED AND WELL-ORGANIZED. ¶5. (U) AT THE TELEPHONE EXCHANGE/POST OFFICE, A FEW PEOPLE HAD BEGUN SWEEPING UP THE SHATTERED GLASS WHICH COVERED THE FLOOR. WATER DRIPPED IN THROUGH A GAPING SHELL HOLE IN THE ROOF. REPAIRMEN FROM THE CROATIAN TELEPHONE COMPANY SAID THE LOCAL PHONE SYSTEM WOULD BE UP AND RUNNING THE FOLLOWING DAY AND THE TOWN SHOULD BE HOOKED UP TO THE NATIONAL GRID SHORTLY THEREAFTER. DURING THE PREVIOUS FOUR YEARS, ALL "RSK" COMMUNICATION LINES HAD RUN THROUGH BELGRADE. -------------- FIRST THE CROATS AND NOW THE SERBS -------------- ¶6. (U) THE TOWN HAD AN EERIE FEEL ABOUT IT, AS ITS INHABITANTS HAD APPARENTLY GOTTEN UP AND LEFT IN THE MIDDLE OF WHATEVER THEY WERE DOING. CLOTHES WERE STILL HUNG ON THE LINE TO DRY. ICECREAM WAS MELTING IN FREEZERS. FRESH MEAT COULD BE SEEN SPOILING IN THE BUTCHER SHOPS. (NOTE: ELECTRIC COMPANY OFFICIALS SAID POWER WOULD BE RESTORED IN A COUPLE OF DAYS). IN A TV CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 03045 01 OF 03 101510Z REPAIR SHOP A SET WAS DISMANTLED ON THE WORKBENCH. OTHER SETS LINED THE WALLS. A SMALL DOG WAS COWERING UNDER A CHAIR, VAINLY AWAITING THE RETURN OF HIS MASTER. ¶7. (U) SOLDIERS ACCOUNTED FOR 90 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE TO BE SEEN ON THE STREETS. THE TOWN'S POPULATION WAS 6,933 IN THE 1991 CENSUS. VIRTUALLY ALL OF GLINA'S CROATS, (ABOUT A THIRD OF THE POPULATION),WERE ETHNICALLY CLEANSED DURING THE '91 WAR. NOW ITS SERBIAN RESIDENTS HAD FLED AS WELL, PANICKED BY THE ADVANCE OF CROATIAN TROOPS, LEAVING THE BULK OF THEIR POSSESSIONS BEHIND. ¶8. (U) THE AMBASSADOR ENCOUNTERED NO SERBS IN GLINA, BUT AMONG THE FEW CIVILIANS WANDERING ABOUT WERE A PAIR OF CROATIAN WOMEN. THEY HAD SOMEHOW MANAGED TO STAY ON AFTER THEIR FELLOW CROATS HAD BEEN FORCED TO LEAVE FOUR YEARS AGO. THE ONE WITH WHOM THE AMBASSADOR SPOKE WAS A MIDWIFE WHOSE SKILLS WERE PERHAPS NEEDED. SHE HAD NO COMPLAINTS REGARDING HER TREATMENT BY THE SERBS. SHE SAID THAT SHE ALWAYS KNEW THAT THE CROATIAN GOVERNMENT WOULD EVENTUALLY RETURN TO THE REGION. CONFIDENTIAL NNNNPTQ9345 CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9345 PAGE 01 ZAGREB 03045 02 OF 03 101510Z ACTION EUR-01 INFO LOG-00 AID-00 AMAD-01 CIAE-00 OASY-00 SRPP-00 EB-01 OIGO-01 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-06 L-01 ADS-00 NSAE-00 OIC-02 PA-01 PM-00 PRS-01 P-01 SP-00 SS-00 STR-01 TRSE-00 USIE-00 SNIS-00 NISC-01 PMB-00 PRM-10 PRME-01 DRL-09 G-00 /039W -------------- E21E6F 101511Z /38 P 101611Z AUG 95 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6837 INFO SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP// AMCONSUL MUNICH USLO SKOPJE AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA USMISSION USVIENNA AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO AMEMBASSY BELGRADE NATO EU COLLECTIVE NSC WASHDC USMISSION USUN NEW YORK C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 03 ZAGREB 003045 SIPDIS USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL OSCE BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU E.O. 12356: DECL: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREF MOPS PREF MOPS PREF MOPS CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 03045 02 OF 03 101510Z SUBJECT: UPDATE NO. 21: GLINA BECOMES A GHOST TOWN -------------- A PRIEST RETURNS TO HIS PARISH -------------- ¶9. (U) WE HAD A CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH THE LOCAL CATHOLIC PRIEST, RETURNED TO HIS PARISH FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BEING FORCED TO LEAVE ON JULY 14, 1991. AS HE WANDERED THROUGH THE ROOMS OF HIS FORMER RECTORY, HE POINTED OUT ITEMS THAT HAD APPEARED SINCE HE HAD LEFT; A POSTER OF THE BELGRADE "RED STAR" SOCCER TEAM, A PICTURE OF SERBIAN LEADER SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC. ¶10. (U) A FAMILY HAD CLEARLY BEEN LIVING IN THE HOUSE UP TO A FEW DAYS BEFORE. THE GARDEN WAS PLANTED WITH VEGETABLES. CHILDREN'S TOYS LAY SCATTERED ON THE FLOOR. A HALF EATEN BOX OF COOKIES WAS ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER. THE FACT THAT THE PLACE HAD BEEN INHABITED PROBABLY EXPLAINS WHY IT HAD BEEN SPARED THE FATE OF MOST CROAT- OWNED BUILDINGS. ¶11. (U) THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ACROSS THE PARK HAD NOT BEEN SO LUCKY. IN WHAT AT FIRST GLANCE APPEARED TO BE AN EMPTY LOT, THE OUTLINES OF THE CHURCH'S FOUNDATION COULD JUST BARELY BE MADE OUT. EXCEPT FOR THE TWISTED REMAINS OF A WROUGHT IRON GATE, NOTHING ELSE REMAINED, INCLUDING AN ALTAR WHICH HAD BEEN SALVAGED FROM THE ZAGREB CATHEDRAL AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE IN THE LAST CENTURY. THE PARISH PRIEST SAID HE HAD PREVIOUSLY MINISTERED TO A CONGREGATION OF 2.500 PEOPLE. CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ZAGREB 03045 02 OF 03 101510Z ¶12. (U) A LITTLE FARTHER DOWN THE STREET, AT THE ORTHODOX CHURCH A SHELL HAD LANDED NEARBY AND BLASTED A HOLE THROUGH THE WALL SHATTERING SOME OF THE WINDOWS. HOWEVER, THE ALTAR AND ICONOSTASIS REMAINED UNDAMAGED. THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF VANDALISM. A CROATIAN POLICEMAN WAS STATIONED OUT FRONT TO PREVENT LOOTING. -------------- --- "WE WILL NOT TREAT THEM AS THEY HAVE TREATED US" -------------- --- ¶13. (U) WE SPOKE TO A COUPLE OF SOLDIERS ORIGINALLY FROM THE GLINA AREA. THEY SAID A MAJORITY OF THE SOLDIERS WE SAW WERE FROM THE AREA AND THEY EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO REMAIN NOW THAT THE TOWN HAD BEEN RETAKEN. THE HOUSE OF ONE HAD BEEN DESTROYED. THE HOUSE OF THE OTHER WAS STILL INTACT BECAUSE, HE SAID, A SERBIAN FAMILY HAD BEEN LIVING THERE. ¶14. (U) IN TALKING TO US THEY EMPHASIZED THAT SERB PROPERTY WOULD NOT BE DESTROYED AND SERBS WHO HAD NOT BEEN GUILTY OF WAR CRIMES OR ETHNIC CLEANSING WERE WELCOME TO RETURN. "WE ARE A CIVILIZED, WESTERN SOCIETY," THEY INSISTED. "WE WILL NOT TREAT THEM AS THEY HAVE TREATED US." -------------- COMMENT -------------- CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ZAGREB 03045 02 OF 03 101510Z ¶15. (C) THE WAY THE POLICEMEN SPOKE GAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY HAD TAKEN SOME PAINS TO LEARN THE "PARTY LINE." CLEARLY THAT WAS NOT THE CASE IN SISAK WHERE, REPORTEDLY, THE PEOPLE HURLED BRICKS AND INSULTS AT DEPARTING SERBS AND THE POLICE STOOD BY AND DID NOTHING TO PREVENT IT. (NOTE: THE AMBASSADOR IS TRAVELLING TO SISAK AUGUST 10 TO OBSERVE, AND IF POSSIBLE PREVENT, FURTHER SUCH INCIDENTS.) ¶16. (C) IT WAS PREDICTED THAT MOST SERBS WOULD FLEE THE KRAJINA IF CROATIA TOOK MILITARY ACTION. FROM WHAT WE HAVE HEARD AND OBSERVED IN PLACES LIKE PETRINJA, KNIN, AND GLINA, THERE APPEARS TO BE LITTLE EVIDENCE OF ATROCITIES OR PEOPLE BEING FORCED OUT OF THEIR HOMES BY CROATIAN FORCES. MORE TYPICALLY THEY FLED BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF CROATIAN TROOPS OR WERE ORDERED TO LEAVE BY "RSK" AUTHORITIES. ¶17. (C) HOWEVER, THE FOCUS WILL NOW TURN TO WHETHER THE CROATIAN GOVERNMENT CREATES THE CONDITIONS THAT WILL ENCOURAGE THESE PEOPLE TO RETURN TO THEIR ANCESTRAL HOMES. HUMANE TREATMENT OF SERBS WHO REMAINED BEHIND, CARE AND PROTECTION OF SERB PROPERTY, AND ALLOWING FOR A CONFIDENTIAL NNNNPTQ9346 CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9346 PAGE 01 ZAGREB 03045 03 OF 03 101511Z ACTION EUR-01 INFO LOG-00 AID-00 AMAD-01 CIAE-00 OASY-00 SRPP-00 EB-01 OIGO-01 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-06 L-01 ADS-00 NSAE-00 OIC-02 PA-01 PM-00 PRS-01 P-01 SP-00 SS-00 STR-01 TRSE-00 USIE-00 SNIS-00 NISC-01 PMB-00 PRM-10 PRME-01 DRL-09 G-00 /039W -------------- E21E72 101511Z /38 P 101611Z AUG 95 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6838 INFO SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP// AMCONSUL MUNICH USLO SKOPJE AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA USMISSION USVIENNA AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO AMEMBASSY BELGRADE NATO EU COLLECTIVE NSC WASHDC USMISSION USUN NEW YORK C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 03 OF 03 ZAGREB 003045 SIPDIS USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL OSCE BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU E.O. 12356: DECL: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREF MOPS PREF MOPS PREF MOPS CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ZAGREB 03045 03 OF 03 101511Z SUBJECT: UPDATE NO. 21: GLINA BECOMES A GHOST TOWN SUBSTANTIAL DEGREE OF POLITICAL AND CULTURAL AUTONOMY IN SERB MAJORITY AREAS WILL BE CRITICAL IN THIS REGARD. UNFORTUNATELY, THE EXAMPLE OF FORMER SECTOR WEST AND THE INCIDENT IN SISAK ARE NOT LIKELY TO ENCOURAGE MANY OF THOSE WHO HAVE LEFT TO RETURN. GALBRAITH CONFIDENTIAL NNNN