VZCZCXRO9508
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVJ #1197/01 1461725
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 261725Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3600
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001197 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR D (SMITH), P (BAME), EUR (DICARLO), EUR/SCE 
(ENGLISH, SAINZ, FOOKS), L (DOROSIN, MANSFIELD), NSC FOR 
BRAUN, USNIC FOR WEBER, GREGORIAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA:  BRCKO DISTRICT AND COUNCIL OF MINISTERS 
TARGET GOALS FOR NEXT WORKING GROUP MEETING 
 
REF: A. QUINVILLE-FOOKS EMAIL 
 
     ¶B. 5/23/06 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR DOUGLAS MCELHANEY.  REASON:  1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  In a May 25 meeting with Brcko District 
Mayor Djapo, the staff of the Sarajevo-based Brcko District 
Office, and representatives of the BiH Council of Ministers 
(joined by the Supervisor, her legal advisor, and OHR staff), 
Ambassador pressed for additional concrete progress to bring 
Brcko District officials more fully into the work of BiH 
institutions.  Brcko and COM reps quickly identified two 
practical steps -- liaison with ministries and improved ties 
to parliament -- which could be achievable (even in a limited 
degree) prior to reconvening the formal Working Group with 
Washington participation.  Brcko District participants still 
tend to focus on legal steps to ensure their voice is heard, 
particularly on money issues, and also continue to see the 
Tribunal as their ultimate judicial remedy.  However, the 
cooperative dialogue demonstrated during the preparatory 
session marks a clear change from the Brcko-BiH relationship 
in 2005.  At the end of the session, Brcko Mayor Djapo made a 
pitch for continued supervision in Brcko, even once the 
OHR-EUSR transition takes place. 
 
END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Recalling the February 13-14 meeting of the 
U.S.-chaired Brcko District Working Group (established during 
the November 2005 Washington commemoration of the Dayton 
Peace Accords to facilitate cooperation between Brcko 
District and the state of BiH), the Ambassador pressed for a 
review of progress achieved by the recently-established, 
Sarajevo-based Brcko District Office and the Council of 
Ministers.  Given delays in getting the Office full access, 
what additional measures could be taken in the next few weeks 
to demonstrate progress?  The head of the Office, former 
Brcko Mayor Kisic, welcomed the fact that Brcko 
representatives were now attending Council of Ministers 
sessions -- but argued for greater "legal strength" to ensure 
that their voice was heard.  As a first step, he proposed 
changing the Law governing the operation of the Council of 
Ministers.  In his view, Brcko District needed to be able to 
propose legislation as well as to participate in committees 
as they sent policy initiatives to their ministries. 
Ultimately, Brcko would want a vote on matters facing COM 
decision. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Ambassador focused officials on the need for 
concrete steps that could be taken now to show progress. 
Both Brcko and COM officials agreed that a key area was 
improving liaison with individual ministries.  Kisic pressed 
for individual ministries to name liaison contacts for the 
Brcko District office, so that they could be included in the 
strategic planning phase; COM reps agreed this was feasible. 
OHR Sarajevo reps added that this initiative could be 
included in the revision of the Law on the Council of 
Ministers (currently underway). 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  A second useful area for short-term action: 
improving the Brcko District Office's links with the BiH 
parliament.  To date, they have had little interaction; the 
office would like to improve contacts with parliamentary 
committees and be up to date on legislative activity.  They 
also want to build parliament-to-parliament contacts between 
the Brcko District Assembly and the BiH Parliament.  OHR 
Sarajevo agreed to lobby for the Brcko District office to 
gain access to two key committees (the Constitutional and 
Legal Affairs Committee and the Finance Committee); the 
Ambassador agreed to facilitate a meeting with the 
parliamentary speakers. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)   During the meeting, Brcko participants tended to 
focus on seeking legal remedy as the ultimate answer to 
problems, both immediate and long-term.  Both Mayor Djapo and 
his colleagues in the Brcko District office were focused on a 
BiH Constitutional Court decision regarding the disposal of 
public property which they contend contradicts the Final 
Award (as well as a pending proposal in the COM to form a 
special Agency to deal with public property).  Brcko 
officials fear this could reverse privatization in Brcko and 
believe that their only judicial remedy would be through the 
Tribunal. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Brcko officials also insist on the importance of the 
 
SARAJEVO 00001197  002 OF 002 
 
 
right to vote in bodies which take decisions affecting 
Brcko's finances -- particularly the Indirect Tax 
Administration's Governming Board and the National Fiscal 
Council.  In fact, that goal may be more achievable than it 
once looked.  In a separate meeting with PM Terzic, Terzic 
told the Ambassador that Brcko deserved to have a vote on the 
ITA board and, conceivably, in the NFC as well.  Terzic 
pressed for a constitutional amendment on Brcko (linking it 
initially to the constituitonal reform process), though his 
ideas of what form it would take were extremely vague.  He 
told the Ambassador that he planned to discuss the issue with 
some constitutional experts -- but privately, not officially. 
 
 
MCELHANEY