US embassy cable - 05ZAGREB1254

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ZAGREB 001254 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO, EUR/SCE ENGLISH, BELL, S/WCI-PROSPER 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NSC BRAUN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2015 
TAGS: KAWC, PGOV, PREL, HR, War Crimes 
SUBJECT: OSIJEK WAR CRIMES - DELAYED JUSTICE, PRIMITIVE 
POLITICS 
 
REF: A. ZAGREB 1175 
 
     B. ZAGREB 1115 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Ralph Frank, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: A preliminary investigation into 
killings of dozens of ethnic Serb civilians in Osijek in 
1991-92 is serving as a test of the capacity of the criminal 
justice system and the GoC's political will to prosecute war 
crimes perpetrated by Croatians.  Chief suspect in the 
investigation is Branimir Glavas, controversial Slavonian 
strongman and Member of Parliament who was military commander 
in Osijek in the early 90s.  Stories of brutal torture and 
execution, a lone survivor, a repentant executioner turned 
protected witness, and a journalistic and a political 
vendetta have gripped the Croatian public during the normally 
"slow news" summer. 
 
2. (C) While Glavas' suspected role in the Osijek 
"liquidations" and the murders of several Croatian officials 
who opposed his tactics has been an open secret in Croatia 
since the crimes were committed, no Croatian government has 
pursued a complete investigation, due both to the previous 
lack of political will and the absence of credible witnesses 
willing to testify in a judicial system which could not 
ensure their safety.  Both of these factors, however, have 
recently changed. 
 
3. (C) Glavas' unfriendly departure from Prime Minister Ivo 
Sanader's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) earlier this year, 
and subsequent success in gaining control of both city and 
county governments in Osijek, made him the bitter opponent of 
the ruling party, which undoubtedly protected him from 
investigation in the past.  Glavas is now a tempting target 
for the GoC to demonstrate to the EU its commitment to 
prosecute all war crimes (ref A) and to prove to the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia 
(ICTY) its capacity to accept case transfers. 
 
4. (C) Newly-appointed Minister of Interior (MUP) Ivica Kirin 
has demonstrated the GoC's new resolve by dispatching from 
Zagreb to Osijek a special team of investigators and a new 
police chief, all of whom he believes will be less burdened 
by "local influence."  Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic is 
pursuing the case carefully, intent on collecting proper 
evidence and avoiding any appearance of an eventual 
indictment being based purely on political motives. 
 
5. (C) Both Bajic's team and Kirin's newly-operational 
witness protection unit are benefiting from timely USG-funded 
witness protection training.  While their efforts protecting 
their first high-profile witness have appeared clumsy and 
overly publicized (thanks in large part to a media-hungry 
witness and his Glavas-loyalist father), the witness is safe 
and more witnesses continue to come forward.  END SUMMARY AND 
COMMENT. 
 
THE ACCUSATIONS: SYSTEMATIC TORTURE AND MURDER 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
6. (C) Witnesses accuse Branimir Glavas of ordering the 
torture and execution of as many as 100 ethnic Serb civilians 
from 1991-92 in his role as military commander of Osijek, a 
city on the front lines of combat.  Chief State Prosecutor 
Bajic told PolOff July 26 that he has already confirmed 
execution as the cause of death of at least ten unresolved 
murder cases from the time and he expects to verify more. 
Bajic has asked for all related documents and evidence from 
the ICTY and from his colleagues in Serbia and Montenegro, 
but has not yet received anything.  The investigation may 
also eventually include the murders of Croatian officials 
during the same period, including Osijek police chief Josip 
Reihl-Kir, who was prominent in attempting to defuse 
inter-ethnic tensions in 1991, and two agents sent from 
Zagreb to investigate the civilian murders. 
 
7. (C) Since the war, Glavas has remained the king-maker both 
politically and economically in Osijek, and nearly everyone 
with any significant position owes their career to him. 
Until three weeks ago, it appeared he had managed to use his 
influence to quash any real investigation of the 
"liquidations" during the war.  Now, however, Zagreb's new 
interest in the case has brought out compelling testimony 
condemning Glavas. 
 
THE DEFENDANT AS VICTIM: VENDETTAS ALL AROUND 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
8. (U) Glavas claims the allegations are part of a political 
 
 
smear campaign orchestrated by PM Sanader after Glavas and 
his newly-formed independent slate of former HDZ-ers trounced 
the ruling party in both Osijek and the surrounding county in 
May local elections (ref B).  He is also the target of 
journalist Drago Hedl, who broke the story of the 
investigation earlier this month in the satirical "Feral 
Tribune."  Glavas removed Hedl at gunpoint from his position 
as editor-in-chief of the Osijek-based "Glas Slavonija" in 
1991.  Hedl, apparently, holds a grudge. 
 
9. (U) While offering few details, Glavas insists he has 
always performed his duties in accordance with the law and 
has appealed to the war-hardened attitude of many Croatians 
with such comments as, "I wasn't running a kindergarten." 
Osijek's new mayor, Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) President 
Anto Dapic, has risen to Glavas' defense with equally 
convincing statements, portraying the investigation as an 
attack on the city and the "Patriotic War."  Glavas has also 
resorted to character assassination, questioning the loyalty, 
motives, sexual preference, and marital fidelity of witnesses 
and political opponents.  Glavas now maintains with 
indignation that this case must be completely resolved to 
remove the stigma the investigation has put on him. 
 
PROTECTED WITNESS TURNED MEDIA STAR 
----------------------------------- 
 
10. (C) Krunoslav Fehir, an Osijek police officer who early 
in the war was a 15-year-old member of the so-called 
"Branimirova Osijecka Bojna" (Branimir's Osijek Battalion) 
gave a statement to the Chief State Prosecutor on July 6, 
confessing to participation in executions on the direct 
orders of Glavas.  When Hedl and "Feral Tribune" contacted 
Bajic to confirm the statement for a story on the 
investigation to be published July 15, the Chief State 
Prosecutor asked them to delay publication long enough for 
him to corroborate the witness' story and initiate protection 
measures.  Feral's editor refused.  While the story did not 
give Fehir's identity, it provided dangerous details, forcing 
Bajic to begin protection measures without proper 
preparation. 
 
11. (C) Fehir's sudden disappearance into the protection 
program made it obvious he was the witness in the article. 
Glavas' people reportedly portrayed Fehir's departure as a 
government kidnapping to his father Josip, also a war veteran 
and Glavas loyalist.  The elder Fehir then walked into a 
press conference called by his own lawyer, another Glavas 
man, and read a statement condemning his son's testimony, 
saying he must have been blackmailed into testifying by the 
police. 
 
12. (C) Much to Bajic's chagrin, the younger Fehir then began 
calling the media and giving his own interviews, making a 
mockery of any attempts at secrecy.  Thomas Osorio, head of 
the ICTY liaison office in Zagreb and veteran of numerous 
witness protection arrangements, told PolOff the Croatian 
system failed miserably in the opening stages by not 
controlling the witness' media exposure.  "You protect 
witnesses with information, not guns," Osorio said, but now 
nearly all information is public. 
 
13. (C) Osorio acknowledged that the witness is still alive 
and available to testify, although considerably discredited 
in the press.  Armed-guard security tactics, however, are not 
sustainable for all witnesses, so hopefully Bajic and the 
witness protection unit will improve with this experience. 
Assuming continued success in physically protecting Fehir, 
the resulting publicity may actually help establish a 
positive track record for Croatia's witness protection 
efforts, showing the public that the police can keep a 
witness safe, despite the media frenzy. 
CALL FOR FRESH WITNESSES 
------------------------ 
 
14. (C) With Fehir's repeated press statements making his 
story more and more impeachable in court, Bajic has made a 
public call for other witnesses to come forward.  Some 
witnesses who have offered information in the past have 
re-emerged, as has a survivor of one of the executions. 
Bajic told PolOff he has sent investigators to take 
statements from several more, indicating he will likely be 
able to build a strong case. 
 
15. (C) Bajic has already taken control of the investigation 
from his Osijek office, and there are many indications the 
Supreme Court will have to do the same with a trial. 
Veselinka Kastratovic, coordinator of war crimes trial 
monitors at the Osijek-based Center for Peace, Non-violence, 
 
 
and Human Rights, told PolOff that she doubts a Glavas trial 
in Osijek could be objective, as everyone from the police to 
the judges owes their careers to him. 
 
INVESTIGATION RIPPLES THROUGH POLITICAL SCENE 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
16. (C) The media have speculated extensively about political 
influence of both Glavas and PM Sanader on the process, 
calling into question the independence of Croatia's criminal 
justice system.  While Bajic denies any political influence 
on his work, he admitted to PolOff that he feels trapped 
between Sanader and Glavas.  While he carefully develops the 
case, the press accuses him of stalling to protect Glavas. 
If he pursues the case recklessly, he will be accused of 
acting on Sanader's political orders.  Bajic also knows his 
legal reputation is on the line and will not indict Glavas 
without sufficient evidence. 
 
17. (U) Perhaps in an effort to counterattack the HDZ, Glavas 
has brought Speaker of Parliament Vladimir Seks into 
question, pointing out that Seks was chief of the local 
wartime Crisis Headquarters at the time of some of the 
crimes, technically Glavas' superior in the chain of command 
though in reality without operational authority.  "If there 
were crimes," Glavas said, "Seks should have known about 
them."  Seks has denied any involvement in the atrocities, 
saying he led the Headquarters for just 55 days and rumors of 
the killings only surfaced after he had left.  The city was 
in chaos at the time and "various groups and individuals who 
were not under anyone,s control" acted there of their own 
accord, he told the press. 
 
18. (U) President Stjepan Mesic has also defended himself in 
the case, saying as President of Yugoslavia at the time he 
heard about "unacceptable" events in Osijek and the lack of a 
working legal system, but could do nothing.  He claims 
attempts were made to remove Glavas but were unsuccessful. 
FRANK 
 
 
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