US embassy cable - 05ZAGREB1218

UNCLAS  ZAGREB 001218 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, HR, War Crimes 
SUBJECT: CROATIA PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTOR PROGRAM 
 
REF: STATE 123946 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. In response to reftel, below are accomplishments in the past 18 
months in Post's SEED-funded, INL-administered law enforcement and 
criminal justice programs.  Post programs are divided into general 
police reform and war crimes.  Post requests INL support in 
securing USD 2.7 million in new, FY-06 funding.  Post proposes to 
use these funds to complete the war crimes program and to leverage 
our achievements and continue and expand our ICITAP program into a 
regional training program focused on developing advanced police 
skills and anti-organized crime techniques.  End Summary. 
 
GENERAL POLICE REFORM 
--------------------- 
 
2. As a result of ICITAP training-the-trainer program on the "Use- 
of-force" continuum completed in October 2004, Croatian police 
report a dramatic decline in cases of inappropriate use of 
restrictive measures.  The GoC defines restrictive measures or 
uses of force as ranging from the use of handcuffs on a suspect 
all the way up to discharging a weapon.  From 1995 to 2005, the 
number of uses of force rose from approximately 480 to 2300 
instances.  For 1995, fully 6% of instances were found on review 
to have been excessive or inappropriate.  For 2004, less than 0.4% 
of cases were inappropriate. 
 
3. By June 2005, the police have hired approximately 125 new 
officers who received their basic training in a completely 
redesigned Police School.  All of these officers are receiving six 
months of field training with veteran officers.  Both the Police 
School redesign and the veteran Field Training Officer programs 
were developed under the ICITAP program. 
 
4. Advisor impact: based on proposals developed by ICITAP advisors 
in conjunction with ICITAP-supported training, the Witness 
Protection Unit has redesigned its oversight and information 
security processes. 
 
 
WAR CRIMES: BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVESTIGATION AND ADJUDICATION 
--------------------------------------------- ------------------- 
 
5. Three workshops implemented by ABA CEELI (June 05) have 
educated Croatian judicial and law enforcement officials on 
international practices and the Croatian legal framework with 
regard to witness protection.  As a result, the Croatian Ministry 
of Interior's witness protection unit has completely revamped its 
policies and procedures to address concerns raised by 
international experts and Post's ICITAP advisors.  The workshops 
also strengthened regional cooperation in the witness protection 
field. 
 
6. Two study trips for Croatian judges and prosecutors to the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) 
(April and July 05) resulted in strengthened cooperation between 
the ICTY and Croatian judicial officials and improved information 
sharing in preparation for transfers of cases (both indicted and 
not yet indicted) from the Tribunal to Croatian courts.  We also 
used the visits to identify Croatian trainers for upcoming 
seminars. 
 
7. Digital videoconferencing equipment donated to the Zagreb 
County Court in December 04 has been used to provide 
remote/protected witness testimony to the Belgrade Special War 
Crimes Court for the Ovcara Farm case.  The equipment has been 
used for videoconference communication between the Ministry of 
Justice and the ICTY.  Additional systems expected in August for 
the county courts in Split, Rijeka, Osijek, and Vukovar will allow 
remote and/or protected testimony in such high profile cases as 
Lora Prison and Paulin Dvor. 
 
8. Additional audio-visual equipment purchased for the Zagreb 
County Court is enhancing transparency and media access to court 
proceedings. 
 
9. Software purchased for the Ministry of Finance's Office for 
Suppression of Money Laundering is allowing investigators to track 
money transfers in their efforts to track ICTY fugitive Ante 
Gotovina. 
 
10. Using funds designated for public outreach, Post is supporting 
organization of roundtables and public discussions on war crimes 
issues that will promote understanding of the importance of rule 
of law, particularly among critical groups such as war veterans. 
 
FY-06 FUNDING REQUESTS 
---------------------- 
 
11. WAR CRIMES: All upcoming initiatives related to war crimes are 
being funded from FY2005 obligations.  For FY2006, post requires 
approximately USD 83,000 in PD&S funds to fund our war crimes 
project assistant position.  This includes USD 50,000 for salary 
 
 
and benefits, USD 6,000 for travel and telephone, USD 22,000 for 
ICASS expenses, and USD 5,000 to cover exchange rate fluctuations. 
 
12. ICITAP: Under Post's SEED Close out strategy, the bilateral 
ICITAP program was scheduled to finish in FY-04.  However, better- 
than-expected program performance and renewed commitment by the 
GoC to completing comprehensive police reforms justified new SEED 
funding for FY-05.  For FY-06, we would like to continue and 
expand current efforts to improve organized crime investigation 
and prosecution capabilities to leverage the skills being 
developed in conjunction with the War Crimes program.  Since 
Croatia mission FY-06 funds were drastically reduced, we recognize 
that this request would be above and beyond current planned 
funding levels.  Post requests that INL look for regional SEED, 
INL or other funding sources for Croatia.  Should such new funding 
be identified, Post requests USD 1 million for FY-06 to maintain 
current ICITAP program and training capacities.  In addition, Post 
would like to further leverage our achievements at the Police 
Academy by developing Croatia as an ideal platform for regional 
police training and regional organized crime investigative 
training.  To implement this additional effort, Post requests an 
additional USD 1.6 million in regional SEED or other appropriate 
funds for FY-06.  The total of this request is USD 2.6 million. 
 
FRANK 
 
 
NNNN