US embassy cable - 95ZAGREB2007

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 002007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA; USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL CSCE 
 
BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU 
 
E.O. 12356:  5/24/00 
TAGS: War Crimes 
SUBJECT:  WESTERN SLAVONIA: INFORMATION GAP, PART I 
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SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
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1.  (C) A RECENT GOVERNMENT REPORT PROVIDED SOME LONG- 
AWAITED STATISTICS ON DETAINEES, KIA, AND CIVILIANS 
FROM THE MAY 1-2 SECTOR WEST BATTLES.  IT APPEARS, 
HOWEVER, STILL TO LEAVE OPEN QUESTIONS FOR THE 
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND FOR THE AREA'S SERB 
POPULATION.  THE MAIN CASUALTY OF THE GOC'S INADEQUATE 
AND UNTIMELY EFFORTS TO PROVIDE NUMBERS ON CASUALTIES 
AND REFUGEES IS THUS, IRONICALLY, ITS OWN CREDIBILITY. 
END SUMMARYCOMMENT. 
- 
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GOC ISSUES A STATISTICAL REPORT 
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2.  (U) ON MAY 22, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER KOSTOVIC 
RELEASED A STATEMENT CONTAINING STATISTICAL INFORMATION 
ON PEOPLE IN SECTOR WEST AFFECTED BY THE MAY 1-2 WAR 
THERE.  THE RELEASE OFFERS THE FOLLOWING DATA: 
 
-- A "CENSUS" TAKEN APPARENTLY ON MAY 4 SHOWED 2922 
CIVILIANS REMAINING AROUND PAKRAC AND ABOUT 500 TOTAL 
IN OKUCANI, STARA GRADISKA, AND JASENOVAC. 
 
-- BETWEEN MAY 8 AND 19, 1719 PEOPLE LEFT AND WENT TO 
B-H.  6-7000 CIVILIANS WERE ESTIMATED TO HAVE FLED THE 
AREA AHEAD OF THE ADVANCING TROOPS.  OF THE REMAINING 
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SERB POPULATION, 675 HAVE BEEN GRANTED CROATIAN 
CITIZENSHIP CERTIFICATES; 1070 HAVE APPLIED FOR SUCH 
CERTIFICATES. 
 
-- 188 BODIES WERE FOUND AFTER THE FIGHTING.  127 OF 
THESE HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.  20 IDENTIFIED AS CIVILIANS 
WERE KILLED "IN CROSSFIRE CAUSED BY PARAMILITARY 
UNITS," AS WERE ANOTHER 34 WHO "ARE ASSUMED POSSIBLY 
NOT TO HAVE BEEN MEMBERS OF PARAMILITARY UNITS."  THESE 
BODIES WERE BURIED "IN SEVERAL GRAVES" BY RELEVANT 
AUTHORITIES; RELATIVES MAY MAKE INDIVIDUAL INQUIRIES TO 
THE CROATIAN RED CROSS. 
 
-- 1494 "MILITARILY CAPABLE" MEN WERE PROCESSED IN 
"RECEPTION CENTERS."  917 OF THESE WERE RELEASED 
WITHOUT INITIATION OF INVESTIGATORY PROCESS.  OF THE 
REMAINDER WHO WERE INVESTIGATED, 188 ARE STILL BEING 
HELD IN "INVESTIGATION CENTERS." 
 
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DATA LEAVES MANY OPEN QUESTIONS 
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3.  (LOU) THE GOVERNMENT'S "REPORT" AT LEAST DEFINES 
THE PARAMETERS, BUT IT LEAVES OPEN AS MANY QUESTIONS AS 
IT ANSWERS.  WE NOTE THE FOLLOWING SHORTCOMINGS: 
-- NO FIGURE IS PROVIDED FOR WOUNDED-IN-ACTION. 
 
-- IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE HOW MANY CIVILIANS 
REMAIN IN THE AREA, AS THE TOTAL ATTRIBUTED TO A MAY 4 
RED CROSS CENSUS (3422) CANNOT BE SQUARED WITH THE 
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(APPARENTLY LATER) CUMULATIVE FIGURES FOR THOSE WHO 
LEFT (1719) AND THOSE WHO REMAIN (POSSIBLY 1745). 
 
-- THE FIGURES ON DETAINEES LEAVE AN ADDITIONAL 391 
PERSONS UNACCOUNTED FOR. 
 
4.  (C) IN A CONVERSATION MAY 23 WITH ASSISTANT 
MINISTER OF INTERIOR FOR POLICE JOSKO MORIC, POLOFFS 
(WHO AT THE TIME HAD ONLY PRESS ACCOUNTS OF THE 
"REPORT") ASKED MORIC ABOUT THE LAST DISCREPANCY 
ESPECIALLY.  HE CLAIMED THE MATTER WAS PROBABLY UNCLEAR 
"BECAUSE OF INCOMPLETE MEDIA TRANSCRIPTION" (COMMENT: 
ON OUR RETURN TO ZAGREB WE FOUND THE PRESS ACCOUNT WAS 
A FULL RENDERING OF THE GOVERNMENT'S PRESS RELEASE, AND 
NO MORE COMPLETE REPORT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE UN.) 
MORIC SAID THE NUMBER NOT ACCOUNTED FOR REPRESENTED 
PERSONS NOT CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES BUT OTHER "NORMAL" 
CRIMES SUCH AS THEFT.  (COMMENT: IF SO, THIS WOULD 
VIOLATE THE SPIRIT AND LETTER OF THE GOC'S AGREEMENT 
WITH THE UN.) 
 
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ACTION EUR-01 
 
INFO  LOG-00   AID-00   CIAE-00  SMEC-00  OASY-00  DODE-00  EB-01 
      H-01     TEDE-00  INR-00   IO-08    L-01     ADS-00   M-00 
      NSAE-00  NSCE-00  OIC-02   OMB-01   PA-01    PM-00    PRS-01 
      P-01     SCT-00   SP-00    SS-00    STR-01   TRSE-00  T-00 
      USIE-00  PMB-00   PRME-01  DRL-09   G-00       /029W 
                  ------------------C8F704  241545Z /38 
P 241636Z MAY 95 
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB 
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5900 
INFO NATO EU COLLECTIVE 
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 
AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST 
AMCONSUL MUNICH 
USLO SKOPJE 
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 
USMISSION GENEVA 
AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 
 
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 ZAGREB 002007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA; USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL CSCE 
 
BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU 
 
E.O. 12356:  5/24/00 
TAGS:  PNAT PHUM HR 
SUBJECT:  WESTERN SLAVONIA: INFORMATION GAP, PART I 
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PAGE 02        ZAGREB  02007  02 OF 02  241545Z 
 
CREDIBILITY IS A PROBLEM 
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5.  (C) IN ADDITION TO THE DISAPPOINTING INCOMPLETENESS 
OF THE REPORT, ITS TONE AND OMISSIONS ALSO CALL INTO 
QUESTION ITS CREDIBILITY.  SP 
ECIFIC POINTS: 
 
-- MORIC ALSO CLAIMED FULL REPORTS, INCLUDING LISTS OF 
THE NAMES OF DEAD, DETAINEES, AND OTHERS, HAD BEEN 
PROVIDED TO THE ICRC AND UN.  WE FOUND, HOWEVER, THAT 
AS OF MIDDAY MAY 23, NEITHER ICRC NOR UN OFFICIALS IN 
WESTERN SLAVONIA OR ZAGREB HAD ANYTHING BUT THE PRESS 
RELEASE SUMMARIZED ABOVE.  (ICRC PEOPLE MAKING THE 
ROUNDS OF KEY SERBS IN PAKRAC AREA MAY 23 HAD ONLY THE 
LIST THAT THE HEAD OF THE BJELOVAR DETENTION CENTER HAD 
GIVEN U.S. POLOFFS MAY 18). 
 
-- THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE NO ATTEMPT TO RECONCILE THE 
NUMBER OF KIA (188) IN THIS REPORT WITH THE MUCH LARGER 
NUMBER (450) CITED A WEEK AGO BY DEFMIN SUSAK. 
ALTHOUGH SUSAK'S STAFF TOLD DATT HE PULLED THAT FIGURE 
OUT OF THIN AIR, IT IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND OUGHT 
TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.  (WESTERN SLAVONIA 
SERB LEADER VELJKO DZAKULA, TO WHOM WE SHOWED THE 
NEWSPAPER ACCOUNT OF THE REPORT, PICKED UP IMMEDIATELY 
ON THIS DISCREPANCY, OFFERING IT AS EVIDENCE THAT THE 
GOC WAS HIDING SOMETHING.) 
 
-- THE GOC ATTEMPTS TO BLAME ALL THE CIVILIAN DEATHS ON 
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"PARAMILITARY UNITS," I.E., THE SERBS. 
 
-- THE REFERENCE TO BURIAL OF THE DEAD IN "SEVERAL 
GRAVES" MAY -- OR MAY NOT -- EXPLAIN RECENT PRESS 
REPORTS OF "MASS GRAVES" IN OKUCANI AND ELSEWHERE.  BUT 
IT IS NOT CLEAR WHY THESE BODIES WOULD HAVE BEEN BURIED 
IN MASS GRAVES, OR WHY (APPARENTLY) SOME UNIDENTIFIED 
BODIES WERE BURIED. 
 
GALBRAITH 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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