VZCZCXRO0285
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0940 2890702
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160702Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8231
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000940 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Pass to Gregg Rickman/SEAS 
 
EUR FOR OHI, EUR/SCE 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM CASC HR
SUBJECT: VISIT OF HOLOCAUST ISSUES ENVOY KENNEDY TO ZAGREB 
 
REF: ZAGREB 180 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Ambassador Christian Kennedy, Special 
Envoy for Holocaust Issues, was in Croatia September 19-21 to remind 
GoC officials of their obligations to ensure a just settlement of 
World War II and Communist era property claims, including those of 
Holocaust victims and American Citizens. While draft legislation 
currently under consideration by the GoC will provide U.S. citizens 
some rights to file claims for restitution of expropriated property, 
post is not optimistic that the GoC will pass this legislation 
anytime before parliamentary elections scheduled for November 2008. 
END SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
¶2. (SBU) As a follow up to his February 2007 visit, Ambassador 
Kennedy met with State Secretary Snjezana Bagic, (Ministry of 
Justice), SDP opposition party legal advisor Ivo Josipovic, and 
representatives of both the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of 
Science, Education, and Sport. While hesitant to comment on specific 
details in a proposed draft amendment to the 1996 Law on 
Compensation of Property Dispossessed During Yugoslav Communist 
Rule, State Secretary Bagic did relay her personal belief that any 
amendments would ensure that all persons (foreigners and Croatians) 
are entitled to seek redress, provided they have not already been 
compensated under any preexisting bilateral agreement with the 
Former Yugoslavia. (NOTE: The GoC has not shared with post the text 
of the draft amendment. END NOTE) 
¶3.  SDP Opposition legal advisor, Ivo Josipovic, confirmed to 
Ambassador Kennedy that his party anticipated that Property 
Restitution would be on the political agenda following the 
elections. Josipovic commented about the complicated layers of 
competing claims on properties from World War II, the Communist era, 
and finally the conflicts of the 1990s. Josipovic indicated that the 
issue would require more discussion and that property restitution in 
Croatia did not have a simple straightforward solution. He mentioned 
that these problems might be best resolved on a "case by case 
basis." 
¶4. Holocaust Education and Training also remained high on Ambassador 
Kennedy's agenda. In a meeting with the State Secretary of the 
Croatian Culture Ministry, Jadran Antolovic, Croatia's participation 
as a member of the Task Force for International Cooperation on 
Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research was emphasized. The 
discussion centered on the successes and challenges facing the 
Jasenovac Memorial Museum as a platform for launching discussions 
about Human Rights. In particular, the importance of the promotion 
of tolerance as a tool to reduce tensions and promote reconciliation 
was discussed at length.  Ambassador Kennedy was briefed about 
problems surrounding the restitution of cultural assets seized in 
Croatia during the 1991-1995 wars and taken to Serbia. Of particular 
concern to GOC officials was the return of items of Cultural 
Heritage such as icons, religious artifacts, and works of art that 
were stolen during the wars of the 1990s. Kennedy also raised the 
need to return Jewish property seized after WWII and emphasized that 
restitution was a necessary, although complicated, step. Kennedy 
expressed his hope that the GOC would make a "moral statement" by 
passing a restitution or compensation law in the months ahead. 
¶5. In a luncheon hosted by DCM Vivian Walker, Ms. Snjezana Koren 
(Historian, Lecturer, and author of elementary school history 
textbooks), Ms. Alida Matkovic (Head of Multilateral Cooperation at 
the Ministry of Science, Education, and Sport - in charge of 
Holocaust Education Training), and Ms. Natasa Jovicic (Director of 
Jasenovac Memorial Center) engaged in a lively and spirited debate 
about the progress and remaining problems of Holocaust Education and 
Training in the Republic of Croatia. Disagreement as to the extent 
and depth of Holocaust Education in the State Educational Curriculum 
during the Communist era, Tudjman era, and finally, under the 
current administration was evident among invited guests. While 
reaching consensus as to the successes or failures of Holocaust 
Education in the Croatian school system clearly was beyond the scope 
of this luncheon, all participants agreed that the topic of 
Holocaust Education is clearly covered more today than in past 
decades. 
¶6. Ambassador Kennedy has cleared on this cable. 
 
BRADTKE