VZCZCXRO2921
RR RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL
DE RUEHBW #0029/01 0431815
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 121750Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0794
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMCSUU/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/NATIONAL DRUG INTELLIGENCE CENTER JOHNSTOWN PA
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 BELGRADE 000029 
 
SIPDIS 
AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA 
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO AMCONSUL ALMATY 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG 
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI 
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/12 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC SR
SUBJECT: Serbia: Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic to Ambassador: 
Will Investigate Embassy Attack/Bytyqi Murders 
 
REF: BELGRADE 118; 09 BELGRADE 1092; 09 BELGRADE 1092 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Mary Warlick, Ambassador, US Department of State, US 
Embassy Belgrade; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶1. (C)Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told 
the Ambassador, during her February 9 courtesy call, that following 
his meetings and recent trip to the United States he was committed 
to expanding our police cooperation on training and operational 
issues.  He assured the Ambassador of his ministry's fullest 
cooperation in resolving the Bytyqi case and the much delayed 
investigation into the 2008 attack on Embassy Belgrade. Serbia was 
committed to improving regional cooperation and expanding its 
police participation in both EU- and UN-led missions. He noted 
growing cooperation with Russia but insisted it was limited to 
disaster preparedness, fully transparent, and inclusive of regional 
neighbors.  Politically, Dacic said the coalition government was 
secure and could see out its mandate (through 2012).  Dacic said he 
was intent on transforming his Socialist Party (SPS) into a 
pro-European, pro-reform party, which he saw as a natural coalition 
partner with the Democratic Party (DS).  We should follow up on any 
specifics related to his U.S. visit and believe sustained bilateral 
engagement on a wide range of law enforcement issues will continue 
to benefit U.S. interests.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Trip to United States a Success 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (C) Dacic called his January 28 - February 6 trip to the United 
States (Ref A) politically historic and successful, noting that he 
was the first SPS official permitted to visit the United States for 
nearly two decades.  He said he wanted to build upon his meetings 
with State, Justice, FBI, and the NYPD to foster further 
cooperation.  He noted specific interest in cooperation on 
organized crime, narco-trafficking, and terrorism.  In addition, he 
said he was interested in improving Serbian techniques in witness 
protection and asset seizure. He suggested finding ways to 
facilitate police exchanges, including with both the FBI and NYPD. 
Dacic said that during his visit he personally invited Attorney 
General Holder, FBI Director Mueller, and NYPD officials to 
Belgrade.  Dacic said he would follow up these verbal invitations 
with more specific dates. 
 
 
 
Serbian Cooperation on Specific Cases 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (S) Dacic described specific recent cooperation with the United 
States on law enforcement matters and assured that such cooperation 
would continue.  Dacic said that while he was in Washington the FBI 
had specifically requested information on an ethnic Albanian with 
ties to Serbia who is connected to the "Charlotte Seven," a group 
currently under indictment in the United States on 
terrorism-related charges.  Dacic reconfirmed for the Ambassador 
the "need to exchange information on this case."  Dacic also 
highlighted his ministry's cooperation with U.S. law enforcement 
officials on drug smuggling and child pornography cases. 
 
BELGRADE 00000029  002 OF 004 
 
 
Bytyqi Case 
 
------------ 
 
 
 
¶4. (C) In an effort to resolve the Bytyqi case (Ref B), Dacic said 
the MOI would conduct an internal investigation in order to "put 
pressure" on MOI officers who may have information or had been 
involved in the murder of the three American brothers in 1999.  He 
explained that during his tenure at MOI all the action regarding 
Bytyqi had been with the Justice Ministry and lamented that because 
the crimes had happened so long ago there was "no strong proof" of 
who was responsible.  He said he was surprised by the September 
2009 acquittal of two defendants, but, trying to sound positive, 
said that action now permitted him to look into the matter. 
Outlining the next steps, Dacic said the MOI investigation would 
focus on who actually performed the crime and gathering the 
evidence to prove it.  From there he said it "would be easy to find 
the line to the top," although he doubted there had ever been a 
written order for the deaths.  He said his predecessor's mistake 
was that the ministry had  started the investigation at the top, 
trying from the beginning to determine who had given the order for 
the deaths.  This had led to a "conspiracy of silence" among 
officials.  He stressed that all persons who were present during 
the Bytyqi detention could not be held responsible, saying "if all 
are accused, then none will admit." 
 
 
 
Investigation into Embassy Attack 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5.  (C) Responding to the Ambassador's urging, Dacic said he would 
also support efforts to fully investigate the February 2008 attack 
on Embassy Belgrade.  Once again he clarified that the event had 
happened "before my time as Minister."  He acknowledged that an 
investigation had never been conducted under former Prime Minister 
Kostunica.  The MOI "is here to solve problems, compared to other 
ministries that create them," Dacic said (in a clear reference to 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). 
 
 
 
Trafficking in Persons 
 
---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Dacic said Serbia had made significant progress on TIP 
issues, including implementing a U.S.-proposed strategy to improve 
victim shelters and a victim referral system.  He promised further 
efforts to work on data collection and prosecution.  "We need to 
increase awareness of the issue," Dacic said. 
 
 
 
Growing Serbian Role in Peace-Keeping Operations 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Serbia was ready and willing to increase its 
contributions to EU- and UN-led police peace-keeping operations, 
but was limited by funding, Dacic stressed.  UN operations were 
 
BELGRADE 00000029  003 OF 004 
 
 
easier, since some financing was assumed by the UN, but if Serbia 
participated in EU efforts, financing became more of an issue. 
Dacic said he was willing to send an entire police unit (100 
persons) to Haiti, to supplement Serbia's current five-person 
contribution to MINUSTAH.  Dacic's Chief of Staff Branko Lazarevic 
added that Serbia was immediately prepared to offer 25 police 
officers to be deployed to Haiti with the Italians.  Dacic said he 
had told the EU's Robert Cooper that Serbia was ready to 
participate in EU missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 
and Afghanistan and that Serbia was waiting to hear back from the 
EU on next steps, such as signing an MOU.  Since these were police 
(and not military) operations, parliamentary approval for the 
deployment was not needed, making it politically feasible, said 
Dacic. 
 
 
 
Russia 
 
------ 
 
 
 
¶8.  (C) Dacic played down the perceived growing role of Russia in 
the region, but acknowledged Russia was exploring increased 
cooperation with Serbia on disaster response and assistance.  Dacic 
told the Ambassador that Russia had presented a proposal to create 
a regional disaster assistance center in Nis, Serbia (Ref C) and 
that discussions were currently underway.  He stressed that such a 
center would be "non-military, for disaster assistance, and 
regional in nature."  Providing further rationale, Dacic said the 
small countries of the Balkan region did not have the individual 
capacity to respond to disasters such as fires, flooding, or 
earthquakes.  Prepositioning equipment, such as planes or 
helicopters, would allow countries of the region to pool resources. 
Dacic stressed that the initiative was "just an idea at this 
stage," and it was uncertain whether it would become a reality. 
The center would be discussed at a regional conference to be held 
on February 17 in Belgrade, Dacic said, which Russian Minister for 
Emergency Preparedness (EMERCOM) Shoigu would attend.  He credited 
Russia for publicizing its limited humanitarian assistance in 
Serbia, predominantly demining, suggesting that Russia was good at 
self-promotion. 
 
 
 
Regional Cooperation 
 
-------------------- 
 
 
 
¶9.  (C) Dacic said under his leadership MOI cooperation with 
regional partners had significantly improved and was helping to 
stabilize the region.  Dacic claimed that Croatia was Serbia's best 
regional partner with significant cooperation on organized crime. 
He noted good relations with Slovenia and highlighted his upcoming 
trip to Albania in March to meet with his counterpart.  He 
sarcastically lamented that the only problem appeared to be with 
Montenegro, where he said all criminals wanted by Serbia appear to 
be "lost" by Montenegrin authorities.  (Note: Montenegro released 
on February 10 two suspected drug smugglers wanted in Serbia in 
connection with the Saric drug ring.) 
 
 
 
Coalition Stable 
 
---------------- 
 
BELGRADE 00000029  004 OF 004 
 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Turning to political matters, Dacic said that the ruling 
coalition was stable and would be able to see out its mandate until 
Spring 2012.  He said the goal was to preserve the coalition and 
said early elections were not in the coalition's interest.  He 
acknowledged the competing interests of coalition partners, saying 
that quarreling within the coalition only benefitted the 
opposition, specifically Tomislav Nikolic and his Progressive Party 
(SNS). 
 
 
 
A Stronger SPS for a Stronger Future Coalition 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The SPS needed to become a stronger party so it could 
"more easily form a majority with Tadic's DS in future elections, 
although I don't think either the DS or the SNS understand this," 
Dacic said.  Dacic said the SPS was currently polling around 7.5% 
nationally; if SPS could reach 10%, then DS, SPS and smaller ethnic 
minority parties could form future governments.  He acknowledged 
growing his base would take time and party reform. 
 
 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Internal party reform was essential, Dacic said, 
declaring that the SPS was undergoing a "new start."  He said this 
reform would be rolled out at a party congress by the end of 2010 
and would emphasize "EU and Social Democratic values," noting that 
the SPS was currently in the first stage of joining the Socialist 
International.  To replace its aging membership, SPS was targeting 
younger voters and would seek to poach voters from DSS, SNS, and 
the SRS. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶13.  (C) Still on a natural high from his trip to the United 
States, Dacic was confident in himself, his party, and his current 
role as political kingmaker.  Although much more of a natural 
politician than a policeman, Dacic has grown comfortable in his 
role as Serbia's primary law enforcer.   This confidence has 
permitted him to be forward leaning on issues important to us, such 
as regional cooperation on organized crime and Serbian 
participation in PKO deployments.  He was less forthcoming on 
Serbia's relations with Russia and likely intentionally downplayed 
Russia's efforts in the region.  Interestingly absent from the 
discussion was any comment on his progress toward long-overdue 
reform of the Interior Ministry.  We will continue to encourage him 
to take the tough decisions regarding reforming the Interior 
Ministry and SPS, to be transparent with his international 
partners, and to pursue the Bytyqi and Embassy attack 
investigations.  We should also work to follow up on any specifics 
related to his U.S. visit and believe sustained bilateral 
engagement with him and his Ministry on a wide range of law 
enforcement issues will continue to benefit U.S. interests.  End 
Comment. 
WARLICK