VZCZCXRO3950
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVB #0941/01 2201158
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 081158Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6489
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 1897
RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 0162
RUEHSQ/AMEMBASSY SKOPJE 2555
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA 0558
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000941 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR S/WCI - WILLIAMSON, BERG, 
EUR/SCE - HOH, SAINZ, PFEUFFER, L/EUR - KJOHNSON, 
INR/WCAD - BRAUM/MORIN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2016 
TAGS: PREL KAWC ICTY SR HR WAR CRIMES
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR WILLIAMSON: CROATIA MODEL FOR REGION IN 
ICTY COOPERATION 
 
REF: A. THE HAGUE 1617 
     ¶B. BELGRADE 1211 
     ¶C. ZAGREB 898 
 
Classified By: Pol Officer Tom Selinger for reasons 1.4(b) & (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  During a July 31 visit to Zagreb, 
Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Clint Williamson 
welcomed Croatia's assistance on Serbia's Action Plan on 
ICTY cooperation and called on officials to continue their 
efforts to promote regional cooperation in addressing 
domestic war crimes cases.  In meetings with President 
Stjepan Mesic, Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic, and MFA 
State Secretary Hidajet Biscevic, Ambassador Williamson 
praised Croatia's positive political leadership on this 
issue.  Croatian officials strongly endorsed Ambassador 
Williamson's initiative to base a local staff member in 
Zagreb to encourage regional cooperation and assist 
coordination efforts to track down ICTY fugitives.  Mesic 
offered the presidential retreat on the Brijuni Islands as 
a venue for Ambassador Williamson's proposed regional 
meeting of state prosecutors.  End Summary. 
 
ICTY: CROATIAN EXPERIENCE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO BELGRADE'S 
ACTION PLAN 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶2. (C) While Croatia has met all of its obligations 
regarding the ICTY, its experience can benefit Serbia, 
Ambassador Williamson told officials in Zagreb.  He 
specifically praised the role of President Mesic, pointing 
to him as the only leader in the region who has 
consistently said that the governments must address war 
crimes because this is the right thing to do to promote the 
rule of law and a just society, not just to check a box to 
achieve EU or NATO membership.  While Mesic took heavy 
criticism for his statements during his career, Ambassador 
Williamson noted that the President has emerged as the most 
popular politician in Croatia, showing other regional 
leaders that a strong stance against war crimes is not 
political suicide. 
 
¶3. (C) Mesic called past atrocities "a burden on relations" 
in the region and maintained that all sides benefit when we 
eliminate collective guilt by holding individuals 
responsible for crimes.  He noted that this has helped 
reduce public opposition to war crimes trials of Croat 
defendants.  Ambassador Williamson called on Mesic to 
continue to speak out on this issue. 
 
¶4. (C) In discussing Serbia's Action Plan with Chief State 
Prosecutor Bajic, Ambassador Williamson welcomed Serbian 
War Crimes Prosecutor Vukcevic's coordinating role.  Bajic, 
who has a close, cooperative relationship with Vukcevic, 
told Ambassador Williamson that he had advised ICTY Chief 
Prosecutor Del Ponte that Vukcevic was the only person in 
Serbia capable of playing this role.  Bajic added from his 
own experience that Vukcevic must have strong public 
support from the government to succeed.  According to 
Bajic, Kostunica must publicly distance himself from Mladic 
and condemn his crimes, otherwise Vukcevic will accomplish 
nothing. 
 
DOMESTIC CASES: MONTENEGRO AGREEMENT MAY OVERCOME BANS ON 
EXTRADITIONS 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Ambassador Williamson invited Croatian officials to 
play a leading role in promoting regional cooperation on 
war crimes cases and offered the assistance of a local 
staff member of his office to be based in Zagreb.  Bajic 
was particularly enthusiastic in his support, and pointed 
to a Croatia-Montenegro agreement signed the previous week 
as an important first step in addressing constitutional 
prohibitions in the region against the extradition of a 
nation's own citizens (ref C).  The agreement enables him 
to transfer evidence on crimes committed in Croatia to his 
counterpart in Podgorica for the prosecution of defendants 
in Montenegro. 
 
¶6. (C) The GoC is pushing for a similar agreement with 
 
ZAGREB 00000941  002 OF 002 
 
 
Belgrade, according to MFA's Biscevic, who said it would 
represent an immense step forward in the credibility of the 
Serbian judiciary.  Bajic will meet with Vukcevic this fall 
to work on the details.  If Belgrade shows political 
support for this agreement, Bajic said, it will help create 
terrain where it will be easier to arrest ICTY fugitive 
Ratko Mladic. 
 
¶7. (C) Bajic also highlighted cooperation agreements 
between prosecutors in the region allowing working-level, 
prosecutor-to-prosecutor contacts that avoid cumbersome 
mutual legal assistance mechanisms for day-to-day 
business.  He reported that more than 300 contacts 
regarding war crimes and other serious crimes were 
initiated under these agreements last year. 
 
¶8. (C) Bajic also recently concluded an agreement with the 
ICTY to gain access to the Tribunal's electronic archives, 
demonstrating The Hague's clear confidence in his office. 
According to Bajic, access to these documents will allow 
him to make further progress in clearing the long list of 
old domestic war crimes cases, which has been reduced from 
4,000 to 1,107, and open some new ones which were not 
appropriate for ICTY prosecution. 
 
REGIONAL GATHERING OF PROSECUTORS COULD FOSTER COOPERATION 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Ambassador Williamson proposed gathering chief 
prosecutors from the region for several days in October to 
discuss barriers to regional cooperation and explore how 
their governments and the USG can assist in advancing their 
work.  All Croatian officials strongly supported the idea. 
Bajic said such a meeting would be a great show of 
political support for work of the prosecutors and would 
significantly contribute to improving regional cooperation 
and efficiency.  Biscevic said this gathering could be 
immensely important in defining the issues surrounding 
transferring evidence and witnesses.  For his part, 
President Mesic offered the presidential retreat on the 
Brijuni islands as a venue so prosecutors can focus on 
cooperation without daily distractions. 
DELAWIE