This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 003939 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU 
USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL CSCE 
 
                       CONFIDENTIAL 

 
 
 
 
 
                           CONFIDENTIAL 
 
PAGE 02        ZAGREB  03939  01 OF 03  101030Z 
E.O. 12356: 10/1/00 
TAGS: 
SUBJECT:  A/S SHATTUCK AND AMB. GALBRAITH SEE GRAVE SITE 
          NEAR KLJUC, DISCOVER A POSSIBLE BORDER PROBLEM 
 
REF:  STATE 231615 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U)  VISITING DRL A/S SHATTUCK, AMBASSADOR GALBRAITH, 
DRL/BA DIRECTOR COFFEY, AND EMBASSY PAO, POLOFF AND DART 
TRAVELED TO WESTERN BOSNIA SEPTEMBER 29.  THEY TALKED WITH 
OFFICIALS AT THE UNPROFOR BIHAC CANTON HQ NEAR CAZIN, MET 
THE NEW MUSLIM MAYOR OF BOSANSKI PETROVAC, VISITED THE 
SITE OF AN ALLEGED MASS GRAVE NEAR KLJUC, AND FOUND A 
POTENTIAL BORDER PROBLEM AT KULEN VAKUF.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
V CORPS STRETCHED THIN BUT SERBS NOT RESISTING 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (C)  DANISH SECTOR COMMANDER COLONEL E.B. DAM, 
AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL AND HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS COORDINATOR 
(PHAC) RUSS BALLANTYNE, AND THE BANGBAT UNMO LEADER 
BRIEFED ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.  DAM SAID THE BOSNIAN 
FIFTH CORPS HAD ADVANCED ALMOST 200 KILOMETERS IN SIX 
DAYS, AND NOW HAD TO COVER A CONFRONTATION LINE OF 103 KM 
AND PATROL THE TERRITORY WITH ONLY 20,000 TROOPS.  BOSNIAN 
TROOPS WERE ALSO STATIONED ON THE CROATIAN-BOSNIAN BORDER. 
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PAGE 03        ZAGREB  03939  01 OF 03  101030Z 
THE VII CORPS HAD SECONDED ONE BRIGADE TO V CORPS 
COMMANDER DUDAKOVIC, GIVING HIM 10 BRIGADES.  DAM BELIEVED 
DUDAKOVIC WOULD TAKE MRKONIC GRAD AND TRY TO TURN THE 
EXPERT LIGHT INFANTRY CORPS ON PRIJEDOR UNLESS  POLITICAL 
PRESSURE FROM SARAJEVO AND NEW YORK STOPPED HIM.  ONE 
ARKAN BRIGADE HAD ARRIVED IN PRIJEDOR 10 DAYS EARLIER, DAM 
SAID.  THE RECENT V CORPS SUCCESSES, DESPITE INCREDIBLE 
ODDS (THE SERB HAD OVER 60,000 TROOPS IN THE BANJA LUKA 
AREA), AND THE LACK OF A COUNTER-OFFENSIVE BY THE BSA HAD 
CONVINCED DAM THAT THE SERBS HAD PURPOSELY EVACUATED THE 
AREA.  THE SERBS EXPECTED TO GIVE UP MUCH OF THIS 
TERRITORY IN POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS ANYWAY, HE COMMENTED. 
 
------------------ 
REFUGEES, REFUGEES 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U)  THE UN ESTIMATED THAT 11,000 DISPLACED PERSONS 
(DPS) WOULD REACH THE CANTON FROM OTHER PARTS OF BOSNIA, 
MOSTLY BANJA LUKA.  THE GOBH CLAIMED THE NORTHERN BIHAC 
CANTON COULD NOT ACCOMMODATE THEM, AND WANTED TO PLACE 
THEM IN THE NEWLY LIBERATED AREAS.  400-500 MUSLIM 
REFUGEES FROM THE BANJA LUKA REGION HAD ALREADY RESETTLED 
IN THE NORTH.  UNHCR AND CANTON AUTHORITIES DID NOT WANT 
TO SETTLE THESE REFUGEES IN THE EMPTY HOMES OF THE ABDIC 
REFUGEES AND WERE SEARCHING FOR HOUSING.  THE GOBH HAD 
PUBLICLY WELCOMED BACK MOST OF THE ABDIC REFUGEES, BUT 
REFUSED TO DECLARE ANOTHER AMNESTY.  BALLANTYNE SAID THE 
SARAJEVO AUTHORITIES HAD DECLARED THE 1994 AMNESTY STILL 
VALID.  THE BOSNIANS, CROATS, AND TURKS WERE DISCUSSING 
ESTABLISHING A TRILATERAL POLICE FORCE IN THE AREA TO 
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PAGE 04        ZAGREB  03939  01 OF 03  101030Z 
GUARANTEE THE SAFETY OF THOSE WHO RETURNED.  BALLANTYNE 
ESTIMATED THAT 10-15 PERCENT OF THESE REFUGEES WOULD NOT 
BE ALLOWED BACK INTO BOSNIA BECAUSE THEY WERE ACCUSED OF 
COMMITTING WAR CRIMES. 
 
¶4.  (U)  BALLANTYNE ESTIMATED THE CURRENT POPULATION OF 
KLJUC AT 1100.  620 MUSLIMS HAD SURVIVED THREE AND A HALF 
YEARS OF SERBIAN OCCUPATION AND HAD REMAINED IN THE TOWN. 
AFTER UNPROFOR HAD PROTESTED THE RESETTLEMENT OF 207 DPS 
IN KLJUC, AT THE CONFRONTATION LINE, THE GOVERNMENT 
STOPPED THE PLANNED RESETTLEMENT OF ANOTHER 3000.  CROATIA 
REFUSED TO TAKE THESE PEOPLE, AND HAD RECENTLY STOPPED 
ALLOWING THE DPS TRANSIT THROUGH CROATIA AT DVOR, TO THE 
BIHAC CANTON.  THE GOC REFUGEE REPATRIATION ORDER, UN 
OFFICIALS SAID, MIGHT SEND MANY MUSLIMS BACK TO THIS 
TERRITORY BEFORE THE AREA IS SECURE. 
 
----------- 
ON THE ROAD 
----------- 
 
¶5.  (U)  THE DELEGATION TRAVELED BY ROAD THROUGH BIHAC TO 
BOSANSKI PETROVAC.  THE NEW MUSLIM MAYOR OF THE TOWN SAID 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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PAGE 01        ZAGREB  03939  02 OF 03  101031Z 
ACTION EUR-01 
 
INFO  LOG-00   AID-00   AMAD-01  CIAE-00  SMEC-00  OASY-00  ANHR-01 
      SRPP-00  EB-01    OIGO-01  H-01     TEDE-00  INR-00   IO-00 
      L-01     ADS-00   M-00     NSAE-00  OIC-02   OMB-01   PA-01 
      PM-00    PRS-01   P-00     SCT-00   SP-00    SSO-00   SS-00 
      STR-01   TRSE-00  T-00     USIE-00  PMB-00   PRM-10   PRME-01 
      DRL-09   G-00       /033W 
                  ------------------F4A911  101031Z /38 
O 101026Z OCT 95 
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB 
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7546 
INFO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 
USMISSION GENEVA 
USLO SKOPJE 
AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 
AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 
DIA WASHDC 
JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-5PMA/J21// 
SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP// 
NSC WASHDC 
NATO EU COLLECTIVE 
 
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 03 ZAGREB 003939 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU 
USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL CSCE 
 
                       CONFIDENTIAL 

 
 
 
 
 
                           CONFIDENTIAL 
 
PAGE 02        ZAGREB  03939  02 OF 03  101031Z 
E.O. 12356: 10/1/00 
TAGS: 
SUBJECT:  A/S SHATTUCK AND AMB. GALBRAITH SEE GRAVE SITE 
          NEAR KLJUC, DISCOVER A POSSIBLE BORDER PROBLEM 
 
THE CURRENT POPULATION WAS ABOUT 1500.  BEFORE THE WAR, 
PETROVAC WAS THE ELEVENTH LARGEST TOWN IN BOSNIA, WITH A 
POPULATION OF 15,000.  3200 MUSLIMS HAD LIVED HERE, HE 
SAID, AND ONLY A FEW CROATS.  THE TOWN WAS DEEP IN ABH- 
HELD TERRITORY AND WAS SAFE FROM SHELLING, HE REASSURED 
US, ADDING THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO MOVE 
DPS INTO THE AREA, ALTHOUGH ELECTRICITY AND WATER SUPPLY 
PROBLEMS EXISTED. 
 
¶6. (U) THE TOWN WAS INTACT, AND HAD EXPERIENCED LITTLE 
DAMAGE DURING THE FIGHTING.  UNTENDED LIVESTOCK RAN 
EVERYWHERE -- REMINISCENT OF AN OLD WESTERN FILM, AN 
UNSADDLED HORSE BOLTED IN FEAR DOWN THE STREET, ALMOST RAN 
INTO THE AMBASSADOR, TURNED THE CORNER AND DISAPPEARED. 
SEVERAL PEOPLE WERE MILLING AROUND, SOLDIERS IN UNIFORM 
AND REFUGEES CONFUSED ABOUT THEIR FATE.  ONLY A FEW 
VEHICLES WERE IN EVIDENCE.  AT ONE APARTMENT BLOCK, 
REFUGEES FROM PRNJAVOR AND BOSANSKI NOVI RECOUNTED THEIR 
GRIM PAST.  TWO EXPENSIVE GERMAN CARS WERE PARKED IN A 
SHED NEARBY, REPORTEDLY BELONGING TO VISITORS WHO CAME 
FROM MUNICH TO SEE THEIR ELDERLY PARENTS. 
 
¶7.  (U) THE VILLAGES SURROUNDING PETROVAC, HOWEVER, WERE 
RUINED.  A SPARSELY POPULATED AREA EVEN IN NORMAL TIMES, 
THE BIHAC-PETROVAC-KLJUC ROAD WAS DESERTED.  CLOTHING AND 
BLANKETS LITTERED THE ROAD, MARKING THE PATH THE SERBS HAD 
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PAGE 03        ZAGREB  03939  02 OF 03  101031Z 
USED TO FLEE.  MOST LARGE BUILDINGS AND RESTAURANTS HAD 
BEEN RECENTLY BURNED.  THERE WERE BROKEN-DOWN CARS AND 
THREE BURNED-OUT TANKS.  IN A FIELD PAST PETROVAC, AN OLD 
JNA PLANE FROM WWII THAT HAD BEEN A MONUMENT TO AN 
IMPORTANT VISITOR AT THE NEARBY AIRFIELD WAS RIDDLED WITH 
BULLET FIRE.  NEAR KLJUC, A MOSQUE HAD BEEN RAZED TO THE 
GROUND, WITH ONLY ITS DOME INTACT TO REMIND PASSERS-BY OF 
WHERE IT HAD ONCE STOOD.  THE UN TOLD US THE ABH HAD 
CLEARED THE MAIN TERRITORY OF SERB SOLDIERS, BUT SNIPERS 
STILL HID IN THE WOODS IN THE HILLS NORTH OF THE ROAD. 
THEY WERE SUPPORTED BY POCKETS OF SERB CIVILIANS WHO HAD 
BEEN UNABLE TO LEAVE BEFORE THE BOSNIAN ARMY SWEPT PAST 
THEM. 
 
---------------- 
KLJUC GRAVE SITE 
---------------- 
 
¶8.  (U)  NEAR KLJUC, THE SHATTUCK/GALBRAITH PARTY TURNED 
NORTH ONTO A GRAVEL ROAD NEAR CRVENLJA ZEMLJA.  THE V 
CORPS LIAISON OFFICER TO THE UN LED US TO THE NOW-INFAMOUS 
SITE OF AN ALLEGED MASS GRAVE.  THE ESCORT SOLDIERS 
STRICTLY FORBADE THE DELEGATION AND REPORTERS FROM TAKING 
ANY PICTURES.  200 METERS DOWN A MUDDY HILLSIDE, THE 
AMBASSADOR AND A/S REACHED A DITCH WITH A HUMAN SKELETON. 
THE SKULL AND RIB CAGE HAD BEEN EXCAVATED AND OLD, 
TATTERED BITS OF CLOTHING WERE VISIBLE AROUND IT.  THE 
LIAISON OFFICER SAID OTHER BODIES HAD BEEN DISCOVERED IN 
THIS DITCH AND IN A CAVE LOCATED TWENTY METERS TO THE 
LEFT.  AUTHORITIES HAD STOPPED THE EXCAVATION IMMEDIATELY 
AFTER IT BECAME APPARENT WHAT LAY UNDERNEATH.  AN EXPERT 
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PAGE 04        ZAGREB  03939  02 OF 03  101031Z 
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL (ICTY) HAD 
INVESTIGATED THE SITE EARLIER THAT MORNING, AND TWO OTHER 
SIMILAR LOCATIONS NEARBY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
KULEN VAKUF -- A LITTLE BORDER ADJUSTMENT AHEAD? 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶9.  (U)  FOR THE RETURN TRIP TO ZAGREB, THE PARTY HAD 
PLANNED TO CROSS THE BRIDGE OVER THE UNA RIVER AT KULEN 
VAKUF AND THEN CROSS INTO CROATIA.  FOUR KILOMETERS 
OUTSIDE THE TOWN, OUR UNMO GUIDE POINTED OUT WHERE HE HAD 
FOUND 15 BODIES (CIVILIAN AND MILITARY, MALE AND FEMALE) 
IN THE UNDERBRUSH NEAR THE ROAD THE PREVIOUS DAY.  TWO 
WERE DECAPITATED.  THE DANISH UNMO SAID SOME CORPSES 
APPEARED TO BE TWO WEEKS OLD, WHILE OTHERS APPEARED TO BE 
MORE RECENT VICTIMS.  THE CORPSES HAD BEEN REMOVED, BUT 
ONLY RECENTLY; THE AREA STILL STANK OF DEATH. 
 
¶10.  (U)  KULEN VAKUF WAS A HIGH MUSLIM MAJORITY TOWN IN A 
PICTURESQUE RIVER VALLEY.  THE BORDER BETWEEN BOSNIA AND 
CROATIA IN THIS AREA IS DEFINED MOSTLY BY THE UNA RIVER. 
HOWEVER, IT JUTS OUT INTO CROATIA, AROUND THE TOWN OF 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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                           CONFIDENTIAL     PTQ1704 
 
PAGE 01        ZAGREB  03939  03 OF 03  101031Z 
ACTION EUR-01 
 
INFO  LOG-00   AID-00   AMAD-01  CIAE-00  SMEC-00  OASY-00  ANHR-01 
      SRPP-00  EB-01    OIGO-01  H-01     TEDE-00  INR-00   IO-00 
      L-01     ADS-00   M-00     NSAE-00  OIC-02   OMB-01   PA-01 
      PM-00    PRS-01   P-00     SCT-00   SP-00    SSO-00   SS-00 
      STR-01   TRSE-00  T-00     USIE-00  PMB-00   PRM-10   PRME-01 
      DRL-09   G-00       /033W 
                  ------------------F4A915  101031Z /38 
O 101026Z OCT 95 
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB 
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7547 
INFO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 
USMISSION GENEVA 
USLO SKOPJE 
AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 
AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 
DIA WASHDC 
JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-5PMA/J21// 
SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP// 
NSC WASHDC 
NATO EU COLLECTIVE 
 
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 03 OF 03 ZAGREB 003939 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
BRUSSELS ALSO FOR USEU 
USVIENNA ALSO FOR USDEL CSCE 
 
                       CONFIDENTIAL 

 
 
 
 
 
                           CONFIDENTIAL 
 
PAGE 02        ZAGREB  03939  03 OF 03  101031Z 
E.O. 12356: 10/1/00 
TAGS: 
SUBJECT:  A/S SHATTUCK AND AMB. GALBRAITH SEE GRAVE SITE 
          NEAR KLJUC, DISCOVER A POSSIBLE BORDER PROBLEM 
 
KULEN VAKUF AND THE MOUNTAIN BEYOND, ALTHOUGH THE RIVER 
ITSELF FLOWS THROUGH THE TOWN.  THE BRIDGE HAD BEEN 
SHELLED NEAR THE MUSLIM SIDE AND WAS IMPASSABLE FOR THE 
PARTY'S VEHICLES.  THE CROATIAN ARMY (HV) HAD CROSSED INTO 
BOSNIA AND HAD OCCUPIED THE TOWN.  THE CROATIAN FLAG FLEW 
AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE, ABOVE A MAZE OF RAZOR 
WIRE AND SANDBAGS WHICH DISCOURAGED WOULD-BE VISITORS FROM 
CROSSING. 
 
¶11.  (U)  THE AMBASSADOR AND A/S WALKED TO THE OTHER SIDE, 
TO GREET THE IRRITATED HV SOLDIERS.  EVIDENCE OF WAR 
DAMAGE WAS EVERYWHERE, ALTHOUGH THE RAILROAD BRIDGE 
APPEARED WHOLE.  CROATIA PLANS TO OPEN THIS RAIL LINE 
CONNECTING ZAGREB AND SPLIT IN A FEW WEEKS.  THE MUSLIM 
MAYOR APPROACHED THE AMBASSADOR AND APPEALED FOR HELP TO 
ALLOW THE ORIGINAL RESIDENTS TO RETURN.  MOST OF THEM WERE 
EAGER TO RETURN, HE CLAIMED, BUT THE CROATS WERE REFUSING 
ENTRY TO ALL BOSNIANS.  THE HV SOLDIERS WERE CLEARLY 
RELIEVED WHEN THE U.S. PARTY CROSSED BACK TO THE ABH-HELD 
SIDE OF TOWN.  COMMENT: THE OCCUPATION OF KULEN VAKUF MAY 
SOON BECOME ANOTHER BLEMISH ON FEDERATION RELATIONS IF THE 
HV DOES NOT PULL BACK TO THE INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED 
BORDER. 
 
¶12.   SARAJEVO MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. 
 
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