US embassy cable - 04ZAGREB1717

S E C R E T ZAGREB 001717 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2029 
TAGS: PINR, PREL, KAWC, HR, War Crimes 
SUBJECT: CROATIA,S INTEL SERVICE SHAKE UP EXPECTED TO 
IMPROVE COOPERATION WITH U.S. 
 
 
Classified By: PolOff Justin Friedman, reasons 1.4 (b), (c) & (d) 
 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
1. (S) With the confirmation of Veselko Grubisic as new 
Director of the Croatian Intelligence Agency (OA), the GoC is 
asserting positive control over the intel services.  Along 
with new chief of Counterintelligence Agency (POA) Josko 
Podbevsek, (named earlier this year), Grubisic should be more 
willing to cooperate with us and more forceful in pursuit of 
ICTY fugitive general Gotovina.  President Mesic appears to 
have approved this move despite previously telling the 
Ambassador he opposed putting a party person at the top of 
the OA.  The press speculates that the GoC will recreate the 
National Security Bureau (NSB) to coordinate among the three 
intel services (including military intelligence), with former 
NSB head and President Mesic loyalist Tomislav Karamarko 
returning to run it, although Karamarko may not be 
confirmable in this position.  We will welcome these changes 
for their promise of improving our intel cooperation, but 
will watch closely for signs of the services straying back 
into political waters.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
2. (U) On September 15 the Parliamentary Committee on 
Internal Affairs and National Security upheld the nomination 
of Veselko Grubisic as the new Director of the Intelligence 
Agency (OA).  Grubisic was jointly proposed by President 
Mesic and Prime Minister Sanader to replace outgoing OA chief 
Damir Loncaric, who had recently announced his resignation. 
 
3. (C) Loncaric was forced out of his position in large part 
due to pressure on Mesic by Western governments for his 
removal.  Media have speculated that Loncaric was leaving as 
part of an understanding between the President and the PM 
whereby Mesic would agree to Sanader bringing his people to 
the leading positions in the intelligence community in 
exchange for a) HDZ not running a negative campaign against 
him during the presidential race, and b) re-establishing a 
supervisory and coordination body (such as the former 
National Security Bureau) which would be headed by someone of 
his choice.  Parliament may be unwilling to approve 
recreating the NSB; opposition parties fear a return to the 
unsavory mix of intel and politics of the Tudjman era. 
 
4. (C) Mesic's former campaign chief and National Security 
Bureau head Tomislav Karamarko has publicly denied rumors 
that he would return to the post.  Karamarko told Emboff only 
that he would be meeting with Mesic this week, but Karamarko 
did not contradict his business partners at the Soboli 
security consulting firm when they asserted that they fully 
expect him to leave the private sector and take up a 
recreated NSB post in the coming months.  We have heard 
rumors that Karamarko has political skeletons in his closet 
that may make him unconfirmable, should this post be created. 
 
5. (S) Veselko Grubisic is a veteran of the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, and prior to his appointment was Assistant 
Minister in charge of security analysis and communications 
security.  In February 2004, he co-led the GoC delegation to 
Washington for the Senior Policy Exchange on Export Control 
Issues.  FM Zuzul designated Grubisic as our primary point of 
contact with MFA on intelligence issues, including the search 
for Gotovina. 
 
6. (U) Earlier in his diplomatic career Grubisic dealt with 
NATO and international security issues.  From 1991 to 1996 he 
lived in Sydney, Australia where he managed an electronic 
company and led the local HDZ chapter in 1995-96.  During his 
confirmation hearing testimony, Grubisic told the Sabor 
Committee that his focus would be business intelligence. 
Grubisic holds an M.A. in international relations and B.S. in 
mechanical engineering.  The press has reported his close 
links with Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul and current 
Ambassador to the U.S. Neven Jurica. 
 
7. (U) The new deputy chief of OA, Stribor Kikerec (whose 
appointment was announced in the press in June) comes from 
inside the intelligence community.  Until recently he was 
chief of the OA station in Moscow.  Earlier in his career he 
was an assistant director of HIS, the intelligence agency 
that has now been replaced by OA.  The press notes that he 
was Sanader's personal choice, in much the same way as was 
the new chief of Counterintelligence Agency (POA) Josko 
Podbevsek, who replaced Franjo Turek earlier this year. 
Together with President Mesic's former national security 
advisor Zeljko Bagic, Turek was reported to be in touch with 
people from organized criminal circles that allegedly assist 
fugitive general Ante Gotovina, and therefore had to go. 
FRANK 
 
 
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