VZCZCXRO2645
PP RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVB #0417/01 0871553
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 281553Z MAR 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5939
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 000417 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE - ENGLISH, BELL 
DEPT FOR H - PLEASE ADVISE OFFICE OF SENATOR VOINOVICH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2016 
TAGS: OREP PREL PGOV SR YI HR
SUBJECT: SENATOR VOINOVICH PROMOTES PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR 
NATO, CROATIAN MODEL FOR KOSOVO STABILITY 
 
REF: A. ZAGREB 398 
 
     ¶B. ZAGREB 384 
     ¶C. ZAGREB 356 
     ¶D. ZAGREB 337 
 
ZAGREB 00000417  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Greg Delawie for reasons 1.4 (b) 
 & (d). 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Senator Voinovich met March 23 
with President Stjepan Mesic, Minister of Foreign Affairs 
Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, and Parliamentarians from across 
the political spectrum to discuss NATO accession, Article 98 
(ref A), and Croatia's potential role in resolving Kosovo's 
final status.  The Senator reinforced previous USG calls for 
increased public education regarding NATO membership.  The 
visit was also an effective way to prompt more local 
discussion about how Croatia, as a leader in promoting 
regional stability, can contribute to a lasting solution for 
Kosovo.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
PUBLIC SUPPORT KEY TO NATO ACCESSION 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Senator Voinovich congratulated Croatian officials on 
progress toward NATO membership, particularly the arrest of 
ICTY indictee Ante Gotovina.  However, he expressed his 
concern about low support for NATO among the Croatian public 
and called for a robust public discussion of the benefits and 
obligations of NATO.  The Senator said he sees NATO and the 
EU as the glue that will keep the region together. 
 
¶3. (C) President Mesic said that he believed support for NATO 
was relatively strong in Croatia, although he agreed with 
Voinovich,s suggestion that he take a more assertive role in 
explaining the benefits of membership to the public.  Mesic 
said that there was broad consensus that Croatia,s future 
lies in Euro-Atlantic institutions and that only a 
recalcitrant political fringe (he was alluding to the extreme 
right) is intent on keeping Croatia isolated.  While 
acknowledging that he and the government can do a better job 
of promoting NATO, Mesic said that he believes that if 
membership were put to a referendum today it would pass. 
 
¶4. (C) Tonino Picula, Member of Parliament from the 
opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) and former Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, agreed that effective public support for 
NATO membership was critical, adding that the public must 
realize that armies are not invited to join NATO, but rather 
democracies. 
 
¶5. (C) Milorad Pupovac, MP of the Independent Serbian 
Democratic Party (SDSS), said Parliament should have more 
active discussions on NATO membership which can serve as the 
basis for public debate.  He pointed out that Croatians' 
number one overwhelming concern is security, and because of 
terrorism, they see NATO as a security risk rather than a 
security provider.  Croatian leaders have the responsibility 
to change this view, he said. 
 
¶6. (C) Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) Parliamentarian Tonci 
Tadic said politicians must do for NATO membership what they 
did for EU membership: declare a multi-party political pact, 
establish a special parliamentary committee, and focus 
government resources.  Kresimir Cosic, Croatian Democratic 
Union (HDZ) MP and head of Croatia's delegation to the NATO 
Parliamentary Assembly, said he will pursue a resolution at 
the next Parliamentary Assembly in Paris calling on NATO 
leaders to hold an expansion summit at the earliest 
opportunity. 
 
FOREIGN MINISTER ON CROATIA'S EURO-ATLANTIC STRATEGY 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶7. (C) While not specifically addressing the issue of public 
support for NATO, MFA Grabar Kitarovic stressed Croatian 
commitment to reform.  She said Croatia is playing a 
leadership role in regional stability and economic 
development and increasingly active in peacekeeping missions 
in other parts of the world.  As a past beneficiary of 
international peacekeeping, Croatia feels an obligation now 
to contribute and pay this back. 
 
¶8. (C) On EU accession, the Minister added that Croatia is 
working hard to keep up momentum despite expansion fatigue 
among certain members and has screened 50 percent of the 
legislation that needs to be harmonized with the aquis 
communitaire before accession.  She said Croatia will oppose 
the introduction of any intermediate status for aspirants 
before full EU membership, stressing that membership is key 
 
ZAGREB 00000417  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
to stability in the region and the driving force behind 
reforms.  Grabar Kitarovic explained that Croatia is now 
focused on fighting corruption, a key accession issue.  The 
GoC recently unveiled a national strategy to combat 
corruption (ref B) and will stress this fight along with law 
enforcement cooperation during its upcoming chairmanship of 
the South East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP). 
 
CROATIA AS MODEL FOR MINORITY RIGHTS IN KOSOVO? 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶9. (C) During all meetings, Senator Voinovich expressed his 
fear that a mishandling of Kosovo's final status could bring 
extreme nationalists back to power in Belgrade, creating 
problems for SaM, the region, and the larger international 
community.  He suggested that Croatia could offer to Kosovo a 
model for ethnic cooperation and reintegration. 
 
¶10. (C) President Mesic did not respond directly to the 
Senator's suggestion, but said that he did not believe the 
problems in Kosovo were intractable, although he noted that 
the tensions there predated even Milosevic,s rise to power 
in Serbia.  NOTE: Mesic has expressed interest in the past in 
playing a coordinating role among regional leaders, having 
called for regional summit in Tirana to discuss Kosovo's 
future, but he did not raise this with the Senator.  END 
NOTE. 
 
¶11. (C) MP Pupovac shared the Senator's concerns regarding 
Kosovo and the right wing in Serbia, but expressed confidence 
in new Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku.  He called for 
intensified contacts between Pristina and Belgrade, saying 
these negotiations must create the space for solutions. 
According to Pupovac, Croatia has a strong interest in 
assisting in Kosovo.  Several parliamentary committees are 
actively engaged with Belgrade and Pristina, he noted, 
particularly the Committee for European Integration. 
 
¶12. (C) Pupovac cautioned, however, against seeing Croatia as 
a directly transferable model for Kosovo.  He pointed out 
that the situation regarding minorities and refugee returns 
in Croatia, while technically similar to Kosovo, was 
symbolically much different, particularly with regard to 
Zagreb and Pristina's differing historical relationships with 
Belgrade.  He did offer, however, to assist the ethnic Serb 
community in Kosovo in being "strong enough to negotiate" -- 
seeing that they can exist as a minority and have their 
rights protected. 
 
¶13. (C) MP Cosic, as a former JNA general with experience in 
Kosovo dating back to the 1970s, noted the huge differences 
in culture and mentality between ethnicities in Kosovo, and 
said the mentality of the common people must be changed.  He 
cited the dramatic change in public opinion in Croatia during 
the past 15 years.  Today, he said, the majority of Croats 
believe minority rights for Serbs are important, not just 
politically, but for the good of society.  Cosic noted that 
Kosovo PM Ceku worked for him during his JNA days.  He is 
extremely professional, Cosic said, and can change these 
attitudes.  According to Cosic, he needs to focus on the 
young Albanian population. 
 
¶14. (C) MP Picula called Kosovo the heart of the southeastern 
Europe crisis, and warned that we cannot isolate 
Belgrade-Pristina relations without thinking of entire 
region.  All countries in the region share the same foreign 
policy target -- EU membership -- but they suffer from 
fragmented, biased relations within the region.  He called on 
the international community in general and the EU in 
particular to play a greater role and serve as an umbrella 
for all countries in the region.  Picula noted Croatia's 
special interest in stability -- there will be no increased 
foreign investment or tourism if Croatia is seen as living in 
a bad neighborhood.  Instead, Croatia must be seen as part of 
the solution. 
 
¶15. (C) MFA Grabar Kitarovic stressed that peace and 
stability must be the goal in any solution.  Croatia does not 
take a position on what the final solution for Kosovo is, she 
said, just that it is done with stability in mind.  It is 
clear we cannot return to the pre-1999 situation, she 
emphasized.  The Minister said she does not believe the 
region could sink into another armed conflict, because the 
radicals are not as strong as they try to show themselves to 
be.  While another rabidly nationalist government in Belgrade 
would be terrible for Serbians, Kosovars and Montenegrins and 
would bring regional cooperation to a standstill, these 
forces do not have the strength to mobilize again for 
territorial gains.  With that in mind, she said, we must 
 
ZAGREB 00000417  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
remember that losing Kosovo would be a strain for Belgrade 
and it is important for us to help them accept a resolution. 
For its part, Croatia is trying to avoid creating any other 
difficult situations for Belgrade, instead focusing on 
positive bilateral relations, agreements, and high-level 
visits. 
FRANK