US embassy cable - 95ZAGREB2189

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 002189 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE - CHRIS HOH 
 
E.O. 12356: DECL: 6/7/05 
TAGS: War Crimes 
SUBJECT:  OFFICIAL-INFORMAL NO. 7 
 
 
1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT. 
 
2. SAKIC RUMOR: (FOR CHRIS HOH FROM RICK HOLTZAPPLE) I 
HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REACH CICAK TO SEE WHAT HE HAS 
HEARD, BUT I ASKED SLAVKO GOLDSTEIN (A MEMBER OF THE 
CROATIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE'S BOARD, A CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF 
CICAK, AND A PROMINENT MEMBER OF THE ZAGREB JEWISH 
COMMUNITY) IF HE HAD HEARD ANY RUMORS THAT SAKIC HAD 
SURFACED IN CROATIA.  GOLDSTEIN SAID HE HAD NOT HEARD ANY 
SUCH RUMORS, AND WOULD CERTAINLY HAVE HEARD THEM IF THEY 
WERE CIRCULATING IN ZAGREB.  (NOTE: IF CICAK WERE 
SPREADING THESE RUMORS, GOLDSTEIN WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY 
HAVE HEARD THEM.) 
 
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3.  GOLDSTEIN, AND OTHERS I ASKED WHO FOLLOW THE PRESS 
CLOSELY, RECALLED THAT SAKIC GAVE AN INTERVIEW IN BUENOS 
AIRES TO A LOCAL JOURNALIST WHO ACCOMPANIED TUDJMAN ON HIS 
TRIP TO ARGENTINA A FEW MONTHS BACK.  (I GATHER SAKIC IS 
NOT EXACTLY IN HIDING IN ARGENTINA; HE CLAIMS HE HAS 
POWERFUL FRIENDS IN THE ARMY AND LEGISLATURE.)  IN THAT 
INTERVIEW, SAKIC SAID THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO VISIT CROATIA, 
BUT THAT HE KNEW IT WOULD BE AN IMPOLITIC THING TO DO, 
BECAUSE OF HIS PAST.  BUT SAKIC SAID, "I HOPE THAT THE 
BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR I WILL BE ABLE TO COME AND STAY. 
WE WILL SEE."  GOLDSTEIN SAID HE ALSO VAGUELY RECALLED A 
SUBSEQUENT PRESS REPORT OF AN (UNCONFIRMED) COMMENT BY 
CROATIAN HEALTH MINISTER HEBRANG THAT THERE WAS NO REASON 
SAKIC SHOULD NOT TRAVEL TO CROATIA, SINCE HE HAD NEVER 
BEEN CONVICTED OF WAR CRIMES.  BUT GOLDSTEIN SAID THAT 
THIS COMMENT WAS AN UNOFFICIAL STATEMENT, AND HE WAS NOT 
EVEN SURE HEBRANG HAD REALLY SAID IT. (NOTE: HEBRANG'S 
FATHER, A LEADING PARTISAN, WAS PART OF A PRISONER 
EXCHANGE ORGANIZED BY SAKIC IN WWII.) 
 
4. OUR FBIS FSN ALSO TOLD ME THAT HE THOUGHT TANJUG HAD 
RECENTLY REPORTED THAT SAKIC HAD COME TO ZAGREB.  POSSIBLY 
THAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE RUMOR THAT SAKIC HAS NOW COME TO 
ZAGREB. 
 
5. BY THE WAY, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE COMMANDANT 
OF JASENOVAC WAS A MAN NAMED MAX LUBURIC (WHOSE SISTER IS 
MARRIED TO SAKIC), AND SAKIC WAS THE CAMP'S DEPUTY 
COMMANDER (AND CHIEF EXECUTIONER). 
 
GALBRAITH 
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