US embassy cable - 04ZAGREB409

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ZAGREB 000409 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR G, EUR/SCE, EUR/RPM, PRM, G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PGOV, PREF, KDEM, HR, Trafficking (in persons), Defense Reform (Mil & NATO), Refugee, Political Parties/Elections, Minorities 
SUBJECT: UNDERSECRETARY DOBRIANSKY VISIT TO CROATIA 
 
REF: ZAGREB 333 
 
Classified By: PolOff Mitch Benedict for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. (C) On March 2 Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs 
Paula Dobriansky visited Croatia and met with President 
Stjepan Mesic, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, and Foreign 
Minister Miomir Zuzul.  The Under Secretary discussed 
Croatia's participation in the Community of Democracies, the 
UN Commission on Human Rights, and how Croatia might become 
more engaged in Afghanistan, as well as refugee return and 
reintegration, progress on combating trafficking in persons, 
and cooperation with the ICTY in a full day of meetings in 
Zagreb.  Sanader and Zuzul pressed at every opportunity for 
U.S. support for Croatia's entry into NATO and the EU.  End 
Summary. 
 
Interlocutors 
------------- 
 
2. (U) On March 2, Under Secretary of State for Global 
Affairs Paula Dobriansky visited Croatia for one day of 
meetings with senior government officials.  She began the day 
with a working lunch at the Office of the Prime Minister; 
participants included Ambassador Ralph Frank, Prime Minister 
Ivo Sanader, Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul, and other high 
level state officials.  U/S Dobriansky next visited the 
Foreign Ministry, where she again met with Foreign Minister 
Zuzul and his staff.  Zuzul introduced the new government's 
line up of MFA officials working on bilateral and 
multilateral issues of concern to the U.S.  Late in the day 
President Sthjepan Mesic hosted U/S Dobriansky for a meeting 
at his Office; Foreign Minister Zuzul and the president's 
senior foreign policy advisors joined in the meeting. 
 
Croatia's EU and Nato Aspirations 
--------------------------------- 
 
3. (C) Sanader and Zuzul returned at every available 
opportunity to their priority theme -- Croatia seeks visible 
support from Washington for entry into the EU and NATO at the 
earliest opportunity.  The recent visit to Croatia by SecDef 
Rumsfeld was cast as a major step forward in bilateral 
relations. 
 
4. (C) Sanader and Zuzul both stressed that they are pursuing 
return and reintegration and cooperation with ICTY not only 
because Croatia is obligated to do so, but because they are 
the right things to do.  They also acknowledged that such a 
path is necessary for entry into the EU and NATO.  They 
claimed that Croatia is the most advanced country in the 
region, and that it could be the success story, the example 
for others to follow. 
 
5. (C) However, in order for the GOC to do the right things 
on issues of concern to the international community -- issues 
on which the public holds "mixed feelings" or significantly 
opposes -- the GOC needs to receive clear signals of support 
or acceptance by the United States and the international 
community. 
 
6. (C) Specifically, what they would like out of the next 
NATO summit is communique language in which each aspirant 
country is mentioned by name, its successes are recognized, 
and its future path of entry is defined.  U/S Dobriansky 
noted their arguments and said she would convey the 
Government's message to Washington. 
 
Refugee Return and Reintegration 
-------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) PM Ivo Sanader opened his meeting with U/S Dobriansky 
by stressing actions he has taken to encourage ethnic Serb 
refugees to return to Croatia.  He noted that five days prior 
to the November elections he had called publicly for the 
return of refugees, signaling to supporters of his 
center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party the 
direction he intended to lead the country should the HDZ come 
to power. 
 
8. (C) Following the elections, in his quest to form a 
government, Sanader gained the support of all eight MPs 
representing minorities in parliament.  In a further 
unprecedented move for a Prime Minister of Croatia, Sanader 
celebrated Christmas with the Serbian Orthodox community -- 
an action he described as a big shock for Croatian society. 
He frankly acknowledged the "old" HDZ's poor record on 
 
minority issues and said there is no alternative now to 
"normal relations."  The new government is only 70 days old, 
but Sanader was pleased to report on his efforts to promote 
return and reintegration. 
 
9. (C) President Mesic, who offered no timetable except to 
say that the process had begun, affirmed that the government 
would reconstruct all homes destroyed during the war.  He 
said it was in Croatia's interest for all citizens to return 
if democracy were to take root and thrive.  He was positive 
about the general human rights situation in Croatia, minority 
protections, and the strides Croatia has made with regard to 
development of a free press.  On the other hand, he affirmed 
that judicial reform had yet to begin and was sorely needed 
for Croatia to consolidate its democratic transition. 
 
10. (C) U/S Dobriansky stressed in her meetings the 
importance of working specifically on the process of 
reintegration.  She said that other countries have 
experiences with reintegration that can be drawn on, and that 
the U.S. will work with the GOC and perhaps make available 
outside expertise on reintegration.  The offer was made of a 
potential joint visit to Croatia of PRM A/S Dewey and UNHCR 
Head Rudd Lubbers to meet with their Croatian counterparts on 
reintegration to discuss best practices and how the 
government might improve its chances for success in this 
crucial area. 
 
Community of Democracies 
------------------------ 
 
11. (C) The Under Secretary highlighted the good work being 
done within the framework of the Community of Democracies 
(CD).  She said the CD is an important affiliation and 
encouraged Croatia to play a greater leadership role in 
sharing its experiences along the path of transition to 
democracy. 
 
12. (C) The GOC was receptive to greater involvement with the 
CD.  PM Sanader remarked "I fully agree with this."  FM Zuzul 
asked for elaboration on specific ways in which the GOC can 
help.  U/S Dobriansky expressed her desire to continue 
discussions on the issue, and offered to provide more 
specific suggestions on how Croatia might play a larger role 
within the CD. 
 
UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 
----------------------------------- 
 
13. (C) U/S Dobriansky told PM Sanader the U.S. wants to work 
with the GOC at the CHR to partner on issues of mutual 
concern.  She informed FM Zuzul that the U.S. delegation will 
hold a breakfast meeting on March 17 for all democracies in 
the CHR.  She invited Croatia to attend.  This meeting would 
be an opportunity for democracies to discuss their priorities 
for CHR and coordinate as appropriate.  She announced that we 
are working with several Latin American nations to co-sponsor 
this year's resolution on Cuba, and she requested that 
Croatia consider co-sponsoring the resolution. 
 
14. (C) Zuzul commented that the Czech Republic had 
approached Croatia on this year's Cuba resolution.  He 
promised the GOC would seriously consider the request. 
However, he cautioned that co-sponsoring would be difficult 
if there is no other European co-sponsor.  He noted that by 
co-sponsoring the Cuba resolution, Croatian companies doing 
business in Cuba would likely suffer. 
 
15. (C) The Under Secretary also asked Croatia to support the 
U.S. position in the CHR on China.  She said the U.S. was not 
seeking co-sponsorship, but merely support.  Zuzul offered no 
reaction on China.  Comment: Croatia is opposed to country 
specific resolutions in principle; moving the GOC away from 
this position could prove challenging.  End Comment. 
 
Participation in Afghanistan 
---------------------------- 
 
16. (C) In addition to playing a larger role within the CD, 
U/S Dobriansky stressed that greater participation in 
Afghanistan offers Croatia a larger stage for sharing its 
democratic development experiences.  She was just in 
Afghanistan, and she spoke not just of the needs of Afghans, 
but of the tremendous work being done by the international 
forces now in the country as Afghanistan strives to recover 
from decades of war. 
 
17. (C) Zuzul offered to explore areas in which Croatia might 
be able to provide additional assistance.  The Croatian 
experience, in war and in the post-conflict period, means 
 
that many people have skills that could be used in 
Afghanistan.  Examples would be in medical teams, counselors 
for victims of post-traumatic stress syndrome, and demining. 
 
Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal 
----------------------------------- 
 
18. (C) Sanader mentioned Croatia's relationship with the 
Hague Tribunal.  He said his government is committed to 
nothing less than full and unconditional cooperation with the 
ICTY in all cases, including that of indictee Ante Gotovina. 
He added that Andre Hebrang, Minister of Health, and Branimir 
Glavas, the HDZ party head and county prefect in Eastern 
Slavonia, members of the party's so-called hardline faction, 
have both supported HDZ's policy of cooperation with the 
ICTY; they have both called publicly for Gotovina to turn 
himself in to The Hague. 
 
19. (C) In his meeting, Sanader also told the Under Secretary 
that cooperation with The Hague is a far more difficult issue 
for the government than, for example, refugee return.  The 
average Croatian finds it extremely hard to accept that the 
people who recovered Croatian territory and brought the 
country to independence are war criminals.  U/S Dobriansky 
commented that cooperation with the ICTY is important for 
fulfilling Croatia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and that the 
international community will be looking not so much at what 
Croatia says but at what it actually does. 
 
Trafficking in Persons 
---------------------- 
 
20. (C) Dobriansky raised trafficking in persons as an issue 
in her meetings.  Sanader demonstrated an awareness of U.S. 
concerns and said he wanted to work with the U.S. so that 
Croatia can move from Tier 2 to Tier 1 on the Annual Report 
to Congress on Trafficking in Persons.  In her meetings with 
Sanader and Zuzul, the Under Secretary suggested that the GOC 
designate an effective point of contact on the issue of 
trafficking, someone who could 
ensure compliance within the government as well as work 
closely with the international community. 
 
21. (C) Zuzul told the Under Secretary that responsibility 
for the issue of trafficking was now with the foreign 
ministry, and that Tomislav Vidosevic, the newly appointed 
Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs, would be our 
point of contact.  (Vidosevic manages the MFA's Department 
for Human Rights.)  Andrea Bekic, acting head of the MFA's 
Americas Department, cited the November 2003 
UNICEF/UNHCHR/OSCE ODIHR report as evidence that Croatia is 
doing well in the fight against trafficking.  She provided us 
with a copy of the December 2003 Non-Paper on Trafficking in 
Croatia presented by Croatia's Embassy in Washington to the 
Department. 
 
22. (C) The Under Secretary noted that some countries, and 
the EU, have identified the institution of the Ombudsman as 
an independent, yet government sanctioned point of contact 
for trafficking issues.  An ombudsman, for example, could 
issue an independent report on governmental actions to combat 
trafficking in persons.  U/S Dobriansky stressed that it is 
also important for the Embassy of Croatia in Washington to 
engage actively with the Department on the issue of 
trafficking in persons.  Zuzul said he would instruct 
Croatia's DCM in Washington to contact G/TIP and engage with 
the Department as a point of contact on the problem. 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
FRANK 
 
 
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