VZCZCXRO3109
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVJ #1149 1421734
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221734Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3558
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SARAJEVO 001149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR (DICARLO), EUR/SCE (ENGLISH, FOOKS, BELL), P 
(BAME), D (SMITH), NSC FOR BRAUN, OSD FOR FLORY, USNIC FOR 
WEBER, GREGORIAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2016 
TAGS: MARR MASS PREL BK
SUBJECT: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SPURIOUSLY CLAIMS ILLEGAL 
BOSNIAN ARMS SALES TO IRAQ 
 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Tina Kaidanow for Reasons 1.4 (B 
) and (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  On May 10, Amnesty International (AI) 
issued a report on the global arms trade.  In the report, AI 
erroneously alleges that hundreds of thousands of small arms 
and light weapons (SA/LW) and associate ammunition were 
clandestinely shipped from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to 
Iraq and elsewhere via a series of questionable 
intermediaries.  In line with the theme of the report, AI 
contends that the SA/LW, originally procured by the U.S. 
Defense Department via contractors, were shipped without 
proper public oversight.  This is the latest in a long series 
of conspiracy theories circulating in the Balkan press on 
accusations of mishandled SA/LW transfers, primarily based on 
hearsay and gossip within the Sarajevo international 
community.  In the case of the Iraq exports, the Bosnian 
government followed BiH and international procedures when 
issuing the export license and, at least on the Bosnian side, 
the exports were conducted according to established operating 
procedures.  Working with the European Union Force (EUFOR) 
and NATO Headquarters, as well as the Bosnian Ministries of 
Defense (MOD) and Foreign Trade and Economic Relations 
(MOFTER), the Embassy and other relevant players have 
coordinated responses to press inquires that acknowledge the 
legal procurement of SA/LW from BiH and stress that all the 
relevant players followed established BiH and international 
procedures.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Amnesty International's May 10 report entitled "Dead 
on Time - arms transportation, brokering, and the threat to 
human rights" includes several allegations of clandestine 
U.S.-instigated SA/LW exports from Bosnia to international 
trouble spots including Iraq between July 31, 2004 to June 
31, 2005.  The report asserts that the SA/LW left BiH without 
"proper public oversight" and challenges whether the weapons 
remained in Iraq.  While shipments of SA/LW from BiH to Iraq 
did occur, AI's claims of mismanagement are totally unfounded 
and unsubstantiated.  The Bosnian Government abided by the 
proper procedures for arms exports and EUFOR issued the 
appropriate forms to transport the weapons, as they would for 
any legitimate SA/LW sale. 
 
¶3.  (C) To fill DOD-sponsored contracts in support of 
Coalition efforts in Iraq, several U.S., Canadian, and other 
international companies procured weapons through regional 
intermediaries from 2004 to 2005.  In BiH, a majority of the 
contracts were for surplus military weapons purchased from 
the entities.  The BiH MOD,s July 2004 moratorium on the 
sale of surplus SA/LW held buyers to a series of regulated 
procedures and deadlines.  Due to bureaucratic delays, the 
MOD repeatedly pushed back the timeline, contributing to the 
false public perception of questionable oversight.  The issue 
was further complicated by local reports of SA/LW being 
shipped to China.  In actuality, a Canadian company named 
Chyna held one of the contracts to provide SA/LW to Iraq. 
Despite all the confusion, MOFTER issued the export licenses 
based on legitimate end-user certificates and followed BiH 
and international regulations regarding the export of 
weapons. 
 
¶4.  (C) Comment: Regrettably, AI appears to have 
cherry-picked sensational reports that have bounced around 
the Balkans press for the last year. Furthermore, EUFOR, 
OSCE, and the Office of the High Representative (OHR) all 
claim that AI never approached them to confirm any of the 
information. The allegations of mishandling most likely 
originated among members of the international community based 
on speculation regarding several U.S.-BiH bilateral programs. 
 The Embassy is working with EUFOR and NATO HQ, as well as 
the BiH MOD and MOFTER, to guarantee that the BiH media has 
subsequently received a clear, factual, and unified message 
that the sale of SA/LW was both legitimate commerce and 
undertaken in accordance with established procedures.  End 
Comment. 
 
MCELHANEY