US embassy cable - 05ZAGREB1441

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001441 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KAWC, PREL, HR, Organized Crime/Corruption 
SUBJECT: PETRAC ARREST SEEN AS PROGRESS TOWARD GOTOVINA 
 
1. (SBU)   The August 31 arrest in Greece of fugitive 
Croatian businessman and organized crime figure Hrvoye 
Petrac is widely perceived in Croatia as another step 
in the GoC's plan to put pressure on war crimes 
indictee Ante Gotovina.  As a close Gotovina associate, 
Petrac is thought to have financed Gotovina's flight. 
Petrac himself was arrested on a warrant connected with 
his conviction in absentia for a 2004 kidnapping. 
 
2. (U) President Mesic told the press Petrac's arrest 
was "proof that Croatian services cannot do much if a 
fugitive is in another country" (justifying the lack of 
success in locating Gotovina), but complimented 
Croatian authorities on taking the initiative to seek 
assistance foreign services.  PM Sanader, speaking in 
Gdansk, Poland, linked Petrac's arrest directly to the 
GoC's "Action Plan"  for achieving full cooperation 
with the ICTY, asserting that the Action Plan had 
yielded results and this should be taken into account 
when assessing Croatia's cooperation. 
 
3. (SBU)  Charge congratulated the MFA on this arrest 
and expressed the hope that the authorities can use the 
momentum generated by the Petrac arrest to continue 
wrapping up Gotovina's financial support network and 
keep up the pressure on Gotovina to appear in the 
Hague, which is the only way to achieve "full 
cooperation" with the ICTY. 
 
4.  (U)  We propose the following points as press 
guidance: 
 
-- The U.S. welcomes the arrest on August 30 by Greek 
authorities of Hrvoje Petrac. 
 
--  We encourage the Government of Croatia to use this 
momentum to pursue completion  of its action plan. 
 
--  The U.S. continues to call on Croatia to fulfill 
its international obligations to the ICTY. This 
includes the apprehension and transfer of Ante Gotovina 
to the Hague. 
 
--  Only the appearance of Gotovina in the Hague 
constitutes full cooperation with the ICTY, which is 
necessary for Croatia to demonstrate the shared values 
necessary for integration into Euro-Atlantic 
institutions. 
 
DELAWIE 
 
 
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