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DE RUEHVJ #2111/01 2560934
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FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4371
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA 0060
RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 002111 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL BK YI UNMIK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA:  PM DODIK CLAIMS HE'LL MODERATE RHETORIC 
ON SERB "SECESSION" FROM STATE 
 
REF: A. STATE 149123 
     ¶B. STATE 136492 
     ¶C. SARAJEVO 2095 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR DOUGLAS L. MCELHANEY. REASONS 1.4 (B), (D). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  During a September 11 meeting with 
Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, 
Ambassador delivered ref A letter from Under Secretary Burns 
to PM Dodik, and underscored USG concerns over Dodik,s 
comments on Kosovo during his recent visit to Belgrade. 
Dodik claimed his meetings in Belgrade focused exclusively on 
economic issues; he did not discuss Kosovo with Serbian 
leaders; and his Kosovo statements were made only in response 
to direct questions from the Serbian press.  Ambassador 
reiterated to Dodik the importance of refraining from 
inflammatory pre-election rhetoric, especially regarding an 
independence referendum in the RS.  Dodik said he was anxious 
to put the referendum talk behind him, but was not sure of 
the best course of action.  The Ambassador urged Dodik to 
focus his campaign on a positive vision for the future of 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, rather than using secession threats 
to counter his political rivals.  On police reform, 
Ambassador encouraged Dodik to re-engage with the Europeans, 
noting the EU will probably show flexibility in negotiations. 
 Dodik said he would not be ready to resume political 
discussions on police reform until after the elections.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
Kosovo not Discussed in Belgrade 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Ambassador met Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister 
Milorad Dodik in Sarajevo on September 11 to deliver a letter 
from Undersecretary Burns (ref A) and raise USG concern over 
Dodik,s recent statements about Kosovo and an RS 
independence referendum.  Ambassador also drew from ref B 
points outlining to Dodik USG expectations on the outcome of 
Kosovo status negotiations.  Ambassador pointed to  USG 
disappointment over Dodik,s public comment that Kosovo 
should remain a part of Serbia after his recent meetings with 
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and President Boris 
Tadic in Belgrade (ref C).  The Ambassador said that Dodik,s 
comments had raised concern in Washington and were also 
receiving significant attention in the region.  Dodik replied 
that his Kosovo comments were made only after questions from 
Serb journalists.  He claimed that the subject of Kosovo did 
not come up in any of his meetings with Serbian officials, 
which were focused exclusively on increasing economic 
cooperation between the RS and Serbia.  Dodik asserted that 
he is not at all concerned about Kosovo, and that he and 
Serbian officials assume that Kosovo will become independent 
in some form. 
 
Dodik: Referendum Talk is Election Rhetoric 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Citing numerous examples of Dodik,s increasingly 
provocative statements on an RS referendum over recent 
months, Ambassador warned Dodik that these statements add to 
the negative, nationalist tone of the election campaign and 
the USG views such destabilizing rhetoric with serious 
concern.  Dodik claimed not to recall many of the statements 
Ambassador cited and claimed the press focused only on his 
referendum comments while ignoring statements on his 
continued support for the April package of constitutional 
amendments.  Dodik said his referendum comments were made 
only in response to calls from Bosniak politicians, 
especially Party for BiH President Haris Silajdzic, for the 
abolition of the RS.  Ambassador told Dodik that regardless 
of his motives, his calls for a referendum were being taken 
seriously by other ethnic groups and by the international 
community as a serious attempt by Dodik to place in question 
the independent, sovereign status of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
 
¶4.  (C) Dodik claimed he had no intention of calling for a 
referendum, and was anxious to remove the issue from public 
debate.  However, he was unsure how to achieve that without 
seeming to back down in the face of Silajdzic,s call to 
abolish the RS.  The Ambassador urged Dodik to reframe the 
debate in terms of his vision for a future, more cohertent, 
and agreed, government structure for Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
Ambassador said Dodik should focus on how he sees better 
relations between the entities and the national-level 
government.  Dodik pledged to consider how to rein in 
discussion of a referendum.  He suggested he could make clear 
there was no need for a referendum in the face of 
international community reaffirmation of the Dayton 
Constitution and the legality of the RS. 
 
 
SARAJEVO 00002111  002 OF 002 
 
 
Police Reform: No Re-engagement Until After Elections 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Ambassador told Dodik that the U.S. and UK are trying 
to find a way out of the current impasse over police reform. 
He urged Dodik not to jeopardize the signing of a 
Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU 
and Bosnia, adding that the Europeans have expressed their 
willingness to be flexible.  Dodik said the RS would work 
"intensively" on police reform after the elections, claiming 
the RS is ready to cede legislative authority on law 
enforcement to the state.  Ambassador said the U.S. was still 
very much engaged in the process, and that the core issue was 
the need for state level operational control over the police. 
 He said he knows the EU has not made its views clear on the 
subject, but if that is the crux of the RS, concerns, then 
the RS needs to be prepared to discuss it.  The Ambassador 
reminded Dodik of his agreement to the regionalization of 
policing, including regions that cross the Interentity 
Boundary Line (IEBL), reached last year between Ambassador, 
RS President Cavic and former HighRep Ashdown.  He added that 
the Europeans are prepared to be flexible, but Dodik must 
stop threatening to boycott the Police Reform Directorate in 
order for the USG to help get the talks back on track. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Dodik's assertions that Kosovo, an RS referendum and 
police reform are merely tactical campaign issues that will 
fade away after the elections are not new.  However, we 
remain unconvinced of his sincerity, and his ability to walk 
back from such highly charged rhetoric after October. 
Dodik's public statements have reached a level of audacity 
that threatens to undermine the functionality of any new 
government.  Although Dodik attempts to downplay Belgrade's 
influence in RS politics we are troubled by signs that 
Serbia, and increasingly Russia, are attempting to advance 
their own interests by encouraging Dodik's linkage of Kosovo 
and an RS referendum.  We note in the press September 13 that 
Dodik at least temporarily is saying that the referendum 
issue is less timely now that "international authorities" 
have asserted that the Republika Srpska's existence is 
assumed.  End comment. 
MCELHANEY