US embassy cable - 04ZAGREB2059

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ZAGREB 002059 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINR, MARR, KTIA, HR, Political Parties/Elections 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND CROATIAN PRESIDENT MESIC DISCUSS 
MILITARY MOU, GOTOVINA, NATO, PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 
 
REF: A. ZAGREB 02002 
 
     B. ZAGREB 02044 
 
Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Ralph Frank; Reasons 1.4 (b) an 
d (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  The Ambassador asked Croatian President 
Stjepan Mesic to tone down the anti-U.S. rhetoric that has 
been a major element of his reelection strategy thus far. 
Mesic and the Ambassador also discussed the impact of 
Croatia's NATO accession on presidential authority over the 
armed forces; the Gotovina case; campaign strategy; and the 
case of a journalist, connected with a Mesic associate, who 
was allegedly interrogated by the security services. 
 
2.  (C)  Croatian President Stjepan Mesic invited the 
Ambassador via an intermediary to dinner November 30 to 
discuss several outstanding issues.  There was no publicity. 
Also present were Mesic's chief of cabinet Ambassador Davor 
Bozinovic, and informal advisors Zarko Kraljevic and Dr. 
Mladen Vedris (former Deputy Prime Minister).  Mesic was 
cordial and relaxed; the meeting lasted three hours. 
 
U.S. ) Croatian MOU on Military Exercises 
----------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) The Ambassador told Mesic that he was concerned about 
the level of rhetoric Mesic and others had generated 
regarding the routine GOC-EUCOM MOU on military exercises 
signed last summer (ref A); Mesic's statements were 
provocative, and risked fanning anti-NATO and anti-U.S. 
flames; the U.S. should not become an issue in the upcoming 
presidential campaign, and given Mesic,s giant lead in the 
polls, it is completely unnecessary to "run against" the US. 
The Ambassador explained the substance of the MOU to Mesic, 
emphasized that we have similar agreements with all PfP 
countries, and noted that it does not obligate the GOC to do 
anything it does not want to do; it merely provides a 
framework for issues that must be discussed in preparation 
for military exercises. 
 
4.  (C) Mesic replied that his concern was the internal 
consultation process within the GOC, skirting the issue of 
his provocative statements. 
 
Gotovina Stops the Conversation 
------------------------------- 
 
5.  (C) Mesic asked the Ambassador's view on whether the EU 
would give Croatia a start date for accession negotiations at 
its meeting on December 17.  The Ambassador replied that many 
EU countries shared the U.S. view that full cooperation with 
ICTY required the GOC to get PIFWC Ante Gotovina arrested and 
to The Hague.  Without full cooperation, it was doubtful 
those EU states would support setting a date.  Mesic and 
colleagues appeared surprised at this remark; Mesic said he 
believed that the GOC had done all it could on the Gotovina 
issues, and he was clearly not in the country at this point. 
The Ambassador replied that establishing Gotovina's location 
outside Croatia did not meet the USG test for Croatia's ICTY 
cooperation -- Gotovina's presence in The Hague is the 
benchmark; many EU countries feel the same way.  It is 
important that the GOC understand the seriousness of the 
international community on this issue. 
 
NATO Accession Leads to Loss of Presidential Authority 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
6.  (C) Mesic noted that he was concerned about a loss of 
presidential authority as Croatia continues the military 
modernization and NATO accession process.  He cited the 
Croatian Navy's transition into a Coast Guard, and therefore 
no longer part of a national security organization, as a 
degradation of presidential authority.  Likewise, the Air 
Force's evolution into an organization responsible for 
firefighting and transport is another example of a reduction 
of his defense responsibilities. 
 
Reelection Campaign Strategy 
---------------------------- 
 
7.  (C) Mesic said he was pursuing an aggressive presidential 
campaign not because he was worried about losing (the latest 
polls give him three times the percentage of his nearest 
challenger), but because he wants to have the biggest 
possible electoral mandate to help him counter the HDZ 
government in his term, which he believes is pursuing 
worrisome policies. 
 
Puljiz Case Not Freedom of the Press Issue 
------------------------------------------ 
 
8.  (C) Mesic also noted that the Puljiz case (ref B) was not 
really an issue of freedom of the press, but rather the 
 
 
government using Puljiz as a way to collect information on 
Mesic.  Allegedly, the intel services attempted to enlist 
Puljiz's ongoing cooperation, not because Puljiz was a 
journalist, but because she had a personal relationship with 
then presidential advisor, and now local indictee and subject 
of an EU travel ban, Zeljko Bagic. 
 
9.  (C) Comment:  Mesic's invitation to dinner/face-to-face 
discussion of contentious issues reflects his concern for 
U.S. views and his desire to make his views clearly known to 
us.  As last president of Yugoslavia, he reflects more than a 
passing nostalgia for the predictability of the socialist and 
non-aligned period. 
 
10.  (C) Comment, cont'd:  Mesic also is a powerful moral 
tiller for Croatia's move toward necessary changes in 
preparation for Euro-Atlantic integration.  His "apology" for 
illegal acts committed against Serbs in the Balkan war is his 
most noteworthy example, but he also has been on the "right" 
side with respect to Croatia's role in World War II 
atrocities, and the offensive nature of occasional emergence 
of Ustashe/Nazi symbols.  Most recently he has been a strong 
proponent of Croatian cooperation with ICTY. 
FRANK 
 
 
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