VZCZCXRO2819
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVB #1423/01 3341458
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 301458Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6984
INFO RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO IMMEDIATE 0193
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 001423 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO, EUR/SCE HOH, SAINZ, BALIAN, FOOKS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV BK HR REGIONAL ISSUES
SUBJECT: GOC PRESENTS BOSNIAN CROAT PROPOSAL FOR BIH 
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM 
 
REF: ZAGREB 1392 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Tom Selinger for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: MFA State Secretary Hidajet 
Biscevic briefed Charge d'Affaires November 30 on a 
two-option proposal from Bosnian Croat leaders for 
modifications that would enable them to support the BiH 
constitutional reform plan.  Charge cautioned against calls 
to reopen the reform package, warning that the entire process 
could collapse.  Biscevic emphasized that the GoC could only 
push for a solution that was endorsed by the Bosnian Croat 
community.  He argued in favor of an option that would 
preserve entity voting but make the Constitutional Court 
responsible for protecting constituent peoples' vital 
interests. 
 
¶2. (C) With tightly contested parliamentary elections 
expected in Croatia in November 2007 -- elections in which 
Bosnian Croats are allowed to vote -- it appears the GoC will 
remain unwilling to press Bosnian Croats to accept the 
original reform package (reftel).  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
TWO OPTIONS BISCEVIC SAYS BOSNIAN CROATS CAN ACCEPT 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Biscevic, all Bosnian Croat 
parliamentary deputies, with the exception of convicted HDZ 
BiH leader Dragan Covic, met recently and agreed on two 
options they would consider acceptable.  The first, which 
Bosnian Croats would prefer but Biscevic acknowledged is 
probably too radical for the moment, is to abolish the entity 
voting system.  Under this proposal, the protection of vital 
national interests would be placed in the House of Peoples. 
If two-thirds of the deputies of any one constituent people 
voted against a given proposal, it would be rejected. 
According to Biscevic, the House of Representatives would 
serve to represent all citizens in this system while the 
House of Peoples would protect each group,s vital interests. 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) The second and more realistic proposal in 
Biscevic,s view would preserve entity voting, but refer 
matters of vital national interest to the Constitutional 
Court.  If the majority of deputies of a given people object 
to a proposal, it would be referred to the Constitutional 
Court to determine by majority vote if it actually violates 
the essential interests of that group.  The majority in the 
court must include the two judges from the group in question 
for the matter to be rejected.  Biscevic stressed that this 
would only be invoked in matters like linguistics and culture 
that are truly vital interests, and would not disrupt the 
political process in routine matters.  He was told by Bosnian 
Croat leaders that this option was acceptable to RS PM 
Milorad Dodik.  He did not have information on Bosniak views. 
 
INTERNATIONALS SHOULD BE CLEAR THAT REFORMS NOT OVER 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Biscevic noted that in addition to either one of 
these options, the Bosnian Croat community would look for 
clear signals from the international community that this 
reform package was not the end of the process.  The entity 
system, he said, must eventually be addressed, because the 
future of BiH is currently in the hands of Belgrade 
politicians, who dictate the behavior of RS.  A country 
cannot be hostage to the politics of another country, he 
argued. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In arguing for modifications to the constitutional 
reform package, Biscevic also referred to a Council of Europe 
report from June 06 that recommends a complete re-write of 
the BiH constitution as the best solution.  He acknowledged 
that a completely new constitution would take years that we 
don,t have, but that Bosnian Croats are not currently 
protected as a constituent people under the entity voting 
system.  They have almost no presence in RS and are a 
minority in the Federation, so they are disadvantaged in 
comparison to Serbs and Bosniaks.  He noted that 80 percent 
of Bosnian Croat deputies in the state parliament voted 
against the constitutional reform package in April, compared 
with the 42 percent of Bosniak deputies and the 8 percent of 
Serb deputies who voted against, implying that these figures 
showed who benefited in the current package.  &We need to 
find a way forward for everyone,8 he said. 
 
ENDORSEMENT OF BOSNIAN CROATS IS GoC PREREQUISITE 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
ZAGREB 00001423  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Biscevic made it clear that the GoC is looking to 
Bosnian Croat leaders for guidance on this issue and will 
only actively lobby for a package that is acceptable to the 
Bosnian Croat community.  &How can PM Sanader play a big 
regional leadership role if he can,t help the Croats in 
BiH?8 Biscevic asked rhetorically. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Charge advised Biscevic of USG views that re-opening 
the reform package will upset delicate compromises that took 
months to reach, invite other groups to seek additional 
concessions, and potentially bring down the entire reform 
effort. 
DELAWIE