US embassy cable - 04ZAGREB2140

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ZAGREB 002140 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE:KABUMOTO S/WCI:PROSPER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINR, KAWC, HR 
SUBJECT: NEW CROATIAN INTEL CHIEF WANTS GOOD COOPERATION 
 
REF: A) ZAGREB 2044 B) ZAGREB 2060 
 
Classified By: Poloff Justin Friedman, reasons 1.4 (B) & (D) 
 
SUMMARY and COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
1. (C) The scandal (reftels) surrounding the Counter 
Intelligence Agency (POA) 
has peaked with President Mesic and Prime Minister Sanader 
agreeing to fire POA 
Chief Josko Podbevsek and nominate Tomislav Karamarko as his 
replacement. 
Prior to his successful confirmation hearings and official 
installation on 
December 15, Karamarko told us on December 13 that he planned 
to focus on 
professionalizing the POA, improving international 
cooperation including in the 
search for ICTY fugitive Ante Gotovina, and promoting his 
vision of unifying 
the direction of the intelligence agencies under a single 
leadership along the 
lines of recent U.S. reforms.  Karamarko, who resigned as 
director of the now 
defunct National Security Office in 2002 when these same 
reform proposals were 
rejected,  will face an uphill battle to centralize control 
of Croatian 
intelligence agencies in a country where most of the 
political class have 
personal and often bitter memories of the abuse of 
intelligence powers by the 
Yugoslav and Tudjman governments.  END SUMMARY and COMMENT. 
 
OLD NEW FACE FOR POA 
-------------------- 
 
2. (C) Following accusations that agents of the Counter 
Intelligence Agency 
(POA) acted unethically, if not necessarily illegally in 
attempting to coerce 
journalist Helena Puliz into acting as a POA informant (ref 
A), President Mesic 
and PM Sanader agreed last week to fire POA chief Josko 
Podbevsek.  Late on 
Friday (Dec. 10), they agreed to nominate Tomislav Karamarko 
as his 
replacement.  Karamarko told us on Monday (Dec. 13) that he 
had been reluctant 
to leave the security business he had founded and take a 
salary cut to 
return to public service.  Ultimately, he said, it was 
Mesic's personal appeal 
that compelled Karamarko to say yes.  Karamarko has a long 
public service career 
(see Bio Notes), last serving as head of the National 
Security Office (UNS) 
until 2002 when he resigned when his intelligence reform 
plans were not 
accepted by the then coalition government. 
 
GOTOVINA CASE 
------------- 
 
3. (C) Karamarko claims that the press has distorted his 
views on the 
Gotovina case.  He admitted that he has publicly stated that 
it would be better 
if suspected war criminals were tried in Croatian courts. 
Karamarko told us 
that he still thinks that the Gotovina indictment was 
politically motivated, 
rather than legally justified.  However, he believes that 
Gotovina must prove 
his innocence in The Hague.  When we reminded him that the 
international community 
will judge the Croatia and the Croatian intelligence 
community on the basis of how it 
performs in the Gotovina case, Karamarko said he would insist 
on professional 
behavior from his organization, including fully cooperating 
in the search for 
Gotovina. 
 
REFORM PLANS 
------------ 
 
4. (C) Karamarko said he wanted the POA to become a full 
partner in the global 
coalition fighting terrorism.  His priorities would be to 
improve the 
professionalism of the POA in order to ensure that the rights 
 
of citizens were 
fully respected and that the POA's activities could never 
been seen as 
politically motivated.  He also said he would immediately 
take steps to stop 
leaks of POA information to the press.  Beyond that, 
Karamarko said he would 
like to improve international cooperation, particularly with 
the U.S.  In 
addition, Karamarko said he would pursue his reform agenda of 
bringing 
management of Croatian intelligence organizations together 
along the lines of 
recently approved reforms in the U.S. 
 
BIO NOTES 
--------- 
 
5. (U) Karamarko has a long professional association with 
President Mesic.  He 
joined the HDZ in 1990 as an early founding member.  He 
became chief of the 
City of Zagreb Police in 1995, but ran afoul of hard-line HDZ 
rightists Ivic 
Pasalic, Ljubo Cesic-Rojs, and Miroslav Kutle for his 
investigations into their 
corrupt business dealings, and was removed from that office. 
In 2000 Karamarko 
served as chief of Mesic's presidential campaign and became 
both National 
Security Advisor and head of the National Security Office 
(UNS) upon Mesic's 
election victory.  According to press reports, as head of the 
UNS, Karamarko 
came into conflict with the POA predecessor organization, the 
Police 
Intelligence Service (SZUP) when he tried to assert control 
over its 
controversial activities.  Karamarko left the UNS when that 
organization was 
shut down in 2002 under an intelligence reform law passed by 
the coalition 
government. 
 
6. (SBU) Karamarko understands and speaks only limited 
English. 
FRANK 
 
 
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