US embassy cable - 03ZAGREB1546

UNCLAS  ZAGREB 001546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
PRM FOR TABITHA OMAN 
BELGRADE FOR DAVID SALAZAR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF, HR, SR, Refugee 
SUBJECT: APPLICATIONS FOR FY2003 AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR 
REFUGEES 
 
REF: STATE 66319 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. We are pleased to submit two applications to 
PRM,s Ambassador,s Refugee Fund Program aimed at providing 
support to refugee communities.  The first request is to 
provide resource support (totaling about 7,000 USD) to a 
community center and primary school in Centingrad, a town 
with a sizeable Muslim population, many of whom are returnees 
to Croatia.  The second request is to provide various types 
of medical/surgical equipment to Knin hospital (totaling 
about 13,000 USD), which provides important medical services 
to thousands of refugees who have returned to the area.  We 
have visited the community center and school in Centingrad, 
which is currently under construction by a joint team of U.S. 
and Croatian military officers and the Knin hospital in 
recent weeks.  An Embassy panel, chaired by the DCM, 
determined that these projects, out of a list of twelve, were 
the ones where PRM funds would have the greatest impact on 
refugee returns and the community at large.  End Summary. 
 
 
Panel Selects Projects for PRM Program 
-------------------------------------- 
 
2. Following extensive research on a dozen projects submitted 
for consideration for PRM,s Ambassador,s Fund Program, the 
DCM recently convened a panel to review the list of proposed 
projects and to make final selections.  Panel members agreed 
that supporting the projects in the town of Centingrad and in 
the city of Knin would yield the most benefit.  Both are 
projects that will benefit refugee populations and the entire 
community at large.  They will continue to support 
reconciliation efforts that are underway.  In addition, both 
are very specific in nature and will require little effort 
with implementation.  Post has reviewed and confirmed the 
estimated prices of the equipment that has been requested, 
and is confident that the prices will fit within the $20,000 
cap set by PRM.  Post will play a direct role in overseeing 
the purchases and delivery of the requested items. 
Background material on each project is provided below. 
 
A Muslim Community in Croatia 
------------------------------ 
 
3. The town of Centingrad is located about two hours from 
Zagreb by car.  The town, which consisted of 4,800 residents 
prior to the war and had an ethnic makeup of 66 percent 
Croat, 25 percent Serb, and 9 percent Muslim, was heavily 
damaged.  Since 1998, refugee returns to the town have 
increased as more houses are being reconstructed and 
infrastructure is repaired.  The population now stands at 
about 2,500, with Croats making up 78 percent of the 
population, and Serbs and Muslims the balance.  Muslims are 
now the second largest ethnic group due to an increase in 
returns.  The town has received very little support from the 
Croatian Government.  It has one of the largest Muslim 
communities in Croatia. 
 
4. We recently met with the local Imam, Azim Durmic, and the 
president of the school, Matija Stepic, who told us that the 
two most important needs for the community were at the 
primary school and community center.  The school in 
Centingrad had been completely destroyed, forcing many of the 
town,s almost fifty children to travel some fifteen miles to 
attend school in a neighboring municipality.  But help is on 
the way, primarily due to assistance from the United States. 
The Imam boasted about the fact that USAID is providing some 
assistance helping to restore electricity, and U.S. and 
Croatian military personnel were currently reconstructing the 
primary school.  Construction will be completed by August 1. 
 
5. Stepic told us that the school will need about 100 
compulsory school literature books, 3-4 computers, a 
television, videocassette recorder, and sports equipment for 
outdoor sports before it opens.  USG assistance with the 
above-mentioned items would be appreciated.  We later visited 
the construction site of the school and spoke with the U.S. 
military commander in charge of the project who confirmed the 
timeframe for completion.  The estimated cost of providing 
the items the school requested is $6,000. 
 
6.  As for the community center, Imam Duric explained that it 
is a place where all of the citizens gather to read or 
complete paperwork for citizenship papers or to apply for 
various types of social assistance.  Based in a three-storied 
house, we noticed that the community center is indeed the 
gathering place for adults and children.  The Imam said that 
because of the various roles the community center plays, it 
 
 
would be useful for it to have a medium-sized copier to 
complete various types of paperwork and a television and 
videocassette recorder so that the children could watch 
various educational and other shows during summer months and 
after school.  The estimated cost of these items is 
approximately $1,000. 
 
Knin Hospital In Need of Help 
----------------------------- 
 
7. The city of Knin was the capital of the so-called &Serb 
Krajina8 prior to the war.  During this period, Knin had a 
predominantly Serb population and its hospital was considered 
one of the best in Croatia.  However, the effects of the war 
and the virtual neglect by the Croatian government since the 
war have taken a severe toll on the hospital,s operations 
over the past eight years.  Although the ethnic balance in 
Knin has changed (it is now roughly 65 percent Croat and 35 
percent Serb after a significant infusion of Bosnian Croats 
who were resettled in the region after Serbs fled their 
homes), many Serbs are returning to Knin and the hospital 
continues to provide services to all of Knin,s citizens. 
 
8. We traveled to Knin to meet with the manager of the 
hospital, Anka Shihabi.  She told us that the hospital was 
built twenty years ago and equipped to provide medical 
services to 350 patients.  The hospital,s medical equipment, 
infrastructure, and information technology was heavily 
destroyed during the war.  There are four main departments -- 
medical, surgical, gynecological, and pediatric -- currently 
operating at the hospital.  The hospital currently has 140 
employees, including many Serbs, and has almost 100 patients. 
 In the gynecology department, over 300 women, many of whom 
are returning refugees, from Knin give birth per year.  Other 
refugees receive critical services including minor and major 
surgery, from the hospital daily even though they are not 
able to pay. 
 
9. Shihabi told us that the Knin hospital continues to be one 
of the most important preconditions for sustainable return 
and living in the Knin area.  This is because the hospital 
also provides services to refugees in several other 
municipalities outside Knin.  The next closest hospital is 
located almost an hour away in Sibenik.  Shihabi indicated 
that the hospital was in dire need of basic medical equipment 
needed to perform various types of surgical procedures.  She 
provided us with a list of about 40 pieces of equipment 
ranging from various types of tweezers and scissors to 
different types of scalpels.  She had received estimates for 
the equipment, which totaled about $13,000.  Providing this 
equipment would allow the hospital to continue to provide 
services to all of Knin,s residents.  She noted that these 
items were the most pressing need for the hospital and 
appealed to the U.S. for help. 
 
 
FRANK 
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