VZCZCXYZ0019
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLJ #0178/01 0851527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261527Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5658
INFO RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO PRIORITY 0026

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
PM/WRA FOR ETRIMAKAS AND HMCCLOY, EUR/ACE FOR CDUNN, 
EUR/NCE FOR SSADLE, SARAJEVO FOR MFLEMING, EUR/SCE FOR 
MFOOKS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MASS MARR PREL KCRM BK SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: ITF ADVISORY BOARD HEARS USG POINTS ON 
BOSNIAN DEMINING ALLEGATIONS 
 
REF: A. LJUBLJANA 81 
     ¶B. 2006 LJUBLJANA 758 
     ¶C. SARAJEVO 369 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. DCM Maryruth Coleman delivered talking 
points on allegations of impropriety in the Bosnian demining 
sector during the International Trust Fund for Demining (ITF) 
spring Advisory Board Meeting March 20.  After an initial 
stumble in responding, ITF Director Goran Gacnik told the 
Advisory Board that ITF is "cooperating with authorities" and 
working in "close cooperation with the State Department." 
Others in the donor community expressed interest in receiving 
more information about USG findings when they are available. 
End Summary. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Allegations in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (U) DCM Maryruth Coleman attended the spring ITF Advisory 
Board Meeting March 20 at the Civil Defense Training Center 
next to ITF Headquarters in Ig, Slovenia.  The meeting, as 
usual, was attended by local Embassy representatives of ITF 
donor countries, as well as other parties interested in 
demining issues.  During the open comment period DCM relayed 
the full set of talking points (reference March 3 email from 
PM/WRA) on the investigation into mine action in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina.  After leading with a statement about the U.S.'s 
continuing confidence in ITF, she noted the quality and 
capacity review that was being conducted, as well as the 
current investigation by the Bosnian prosecutors office. 
When asked if he had a response to the comments by the 
current board chair, ITF Director Goran Gacnik said "no" and 
the meeting was suspended for the coffee break. 
 
¶3. (SBU) During the coffee break, DCM was approached by 
British, Austrian, and South Korean diplomats and United 
Nations Development Program Bosnia Representative Seid 
Turkovic, who all said they were interested in learning about 
the findings of any investigations and asked how and when a 
report would be distributed to other donors. 
 
¶4. (U) After the break, Gacnik addressed the comments, 
telling the Advisory Board that ITF "is cooperating with 
authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the investigation of 
three or four companies, and these companies will now not be 
included in the tender process."  He said ITF is awaiting the 
findings of these investigations, is working in "close 
cooperation with the State Department," and believes the 
tendering process will move forward in the first half of 
April. 
 
¶5. (U) The Bosnia and Herzegovina representative at the 
meeting, Darko Vidovic, offered the only other comment, 
giving his thanks to ITF and telling the group that the 
referenced investigation has the "full support of the Bosnian 
government," that they want transparent results, and, if 
needed, the prosecutor will "go after" transgressors.  He 
said he would welcome any additional information anyone had, 
and noted that previous allegations had put a "gray shadow" 
on Bosnia and Herzegovina and that he hoped this 
investigation would provide "clarity, once and for all."  He 
concluded by thanking the USG for its cooperation and support 
with the investigation. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Other ITF Advisory Board Meeting Topics 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6. (U) In addition to the typical overview of donor funding 
and activities, ITF representatives talked about several new 
issues for the organization.  They reported that ITF was in 
talks with the Government of Slovenia about the possibility 
of special initiatives for the organization during Slovenia's 
EU Presidency in the first half of 2008.  They also sought 
the Advisory Board's input on restructuring Advisory Board 
meetings so that the annual spring meeting would cover past 
activities and the fall meeting would cover future plans, 
thus enabling more strategic input from the Advisory Board 
for upcoming activities.  They indicated they would send a 
written proposal of this concept to all ITF Advisory Board 
members for comment. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
QSI Pays Courtesy Call on Embassy and ITF Headquarters 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶7. (SBU) PolOff met with Richard Cassidy and Walt McCauley 
from Quality Solutions International (QSI) on March 14 after 
the conclusion of their survey of potential ITF contractor 
organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and before their 
meeting to discuss the findings with ITF Headquarters in Ig, 
Slovenia.  Cassidy and McCauley told PolOff they had seen 
widely differing levels of competence from the potential 
demining contractors, but found that there are enough 
organizations that are "capable and credible" to allow for a 
competitive bidding process in the near future.  QSI 
officials shared their overall impressions of the situation 
in demining, noting in particular widespread bureaucratic 
problems, project tenders divided into very small land areas 
(thus giving "everybody gets a chance" to win at least a 
small project), and general disinterest from nearly every 
party involved to "make a call" on how and when to move 
forward with the tendering process.  PolOff asked Cassidy and 
McCauley to contact him after the meeting with ITF 
Headquarters if they were anything other than fully 
cooperative. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment.  ITF Director Goran Gacnik's initial 
nonresponsiveness to DCM Coleman's comments was more a sign 
of his lack of political savvy than cause for concern, though 
it highlights the difficulties ITF continues to have in 
offering a strong, forthright message about transparency and 
accountability.  After the coffee break Gacnik managed to 
pull together a reasonable response to calm the nerves of the 
donor community.  Attendees also found the Bosnian 
representative's remarks encouraging.  As before, ITF 
continues to welcome USG actions, including the 
investigations from Quality Solutions International, and 
Gacnik continues to tell Embassy Ljubljana that ITF is 
completely on board with all USG plans to investigate 
allegations in the Bosnian demining sector.  End Comment. 
ROBERTSON