VZCZCXRO2909
RR RUEHAG RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0180/01 0411455
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101455Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5685
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000180 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE and EUR/RPM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL NATO KPOA HR
SUBJECT: NATO MEMBER AMBASSADORS IN CROATIA AGREE TO SUPPORT 
GOC PUBLIC OUTREACH EFFORTS 
 
 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) At a gathering of Ambassadors and military attaches 
from twenty NATO-member countries on February 9 hosted by 
Ambassador Frank, the assembled Ambassadors agreed to take a 
more active, public role in supporting the GoC's public 
education efforts in support of NATO membership.  Hungary - 
as NATO Contact Point embassy - briefed on the GoC plans to 
use NATO PD resources to ramp up its public outreach 
campaign.  In a follow up meeting with Ambassador Frank 
February 10, GoC NATO Coordinator and Assistant Minister of 
Foreign Affairs Pjer Simunovic explained that the GoC 
campaign is now getting started in earnest.  Simunovic noted 
that the GoC had no choice but to wait to launch its 
campaign until Croatia's NATO prospects were clarified by 
the December 2005 arrest of ICTY fugitive Ante Gotovina. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Post has launched its own effort to complement the 
GoC public education campaign.  We intend to coordinate 
closely with NATO allies and develop opportunities for joint 
outreach with a core group of interested Ambassadors from 
France, Germany, Norway, Canada, Hungary, Romania and 
Netherlands.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
GETTING THE WORD OUT TOGETHER 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On February 9, Post hosted a gathering of 
ambassadors and military attaches from all NATO-member 
countries with resident missions in Croatia.  Our objective 
was to generate allied support for the GoC's nascent NATO 
public education campaign.  The assembled ambassadors agreed 
that it was time to put an international face on NATO in 
Croatia.  A core group of ambassadors - France, Germany, 
Norway, Canada, Hungary, Romania and Netherlands - agreed to 
work together to create opportunities to speak together 
publicly on NATO themes. 
 
GoC in the Lead 
--------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Hungary, as NATO Contact Point embassy, briefed on 
upcoming public outreach opportunities the GoC had developed 
in coordination with NATO international staff.  In the next 
seven weeks alone, the GoC will take advantage of visits by 
DSYG Minuto Rizzo and the NATO IS PARP assessment team and 
conduct two journalist education seminars to bring better 
information about NATO to the public attention.  The 
Hungarian Embassy offered to act as a clearing house for 
tracking public outreach efforts and will host a 
brainstorming session in April on public messaging on NATO 
for member-country embassies. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Following post's roundtable, but in advance of his 
departure for Washington for the Adriatic Charter 
Ministerial, GoC NATO Coordinator and Assistant Minister of 
Foreign Affairs Pjer Simunovic briefed Ambassador Frank on 
GoC's nascent public education campaign.  Simunovic said 
that the GoC believed it could not start the campaign while 
Croatia's candidacy was effectively suspended pending the 
capture of ICTY fugitive Ante Gotovina.  After Gotovina's 
arrest December 8, Simunovic explained, the GoC's prospect 
for an invitation became more realistic, making it possible 
to build a campaign. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Simunovic admitted that the framework of the GoC 
public information campaign was only now firming up, but 
noted that important elements have already been developed 
and are being deployed.  The MFA's NATO web page was fully 
populated with NATO background information in Croatian and 
an MFA staffer is updating the site daily and moderating a 
NATO webchat on the site.  A pilot for a series of 
university discussion seminars was launched at Zagreb 
University last week drawing on local experts, including 
former Croatian Ambassador to the U.S. Ivan Grdesic. 
Simunovic offered to brief our NATO group on his return from 
Washington. 
 
OUR ACTION PLAN 
--------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) To complement the GoC effort, Post has developed a 
six-point message for use as appropriate by embassy staff in 
all public outreach events on what we believe NATO 
membership means to Croatia.  Our message is that NATO means 
Community, Capability, Responsibility, Influence, Security, 
and Sovereignty.  We will encourage all U.S. visitors to 
elaborate on these themes in their public outreach events. 
 
ZAGREB 00000180  002 OF 002 
 
 
In addition to encouraging our allies' embassies to draw on 
these themes, we will follow up with the most active 
missions to create opportunities for joint public 
appearances for ambassadors to help put an international 
face on NATO in Croatia. 
 
FRANK