VZCZCXRO6115
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPOD #0166/01 1630629
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110629Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0823
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 0908

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PODGORICA 000166 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, INL, DRL, AND IWI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MW
SUBJECT: DISPLEASED BY TIP RANKING, GOM BITES BACK 
 
REF: STATE 58434 
 
PODGORICA 00000166  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1.(SBU) SUMMARY:  The downgrading of Montenegro to Tier 2 Watch 
List has been front page news here.  Local media accurately 
reported the findings of the TIP report, and GoM officials 
expressed deep surprise in private while publicly criticizing 
the report's conclusions.  Montenegro's National TIP Coordinator 
told us he was "very surprised" and "very disappointed" at the 
ranking, and later told the press he would lodge a formal 
complaint with the Ambassador over the issue. Foreign Minister 
Rocen told the Ambassador on June 6 that he was puzzled and 
disappointed, while the weekend press reported sarcastic 
comments by the Prime Minister and the TIP coordinator 
questioning the report's veracity.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
2.(SBU) On June 3, per reftel, PolOff delivered the news of 
Montenegro's downgraded Tier 2 Watch List ranking to National 
TIP Coordinator Bojan Obrenovic.  PolOff also informed the 
Coordinator that there would be an interim assessment for 
Montenegro and that we hoped to work closely with his office to 
ensure that Montenegro improved its anti-trafficking efforts. 
Obrenovic expressed surprise at the ranking and claimed there 
was no trafficking phenomenon in Montenegro.  He also said there 
was no evidence of trafficking victims in the country. He did 
admit that Montenegro still had to adopt repatriation 
legislation, but said victims were encouraged to participate in 
prosecutions.  Overall, he contended that Montenegro was a 
successful regional example and that Montenegro could be 
"nothing but proud" of the way victims were treated. He ended by 
stating that the ranking would neither motivate nor demotivate 
his office, as he and his staff had always done their very best. 
 
 
 
3.(SBU) Foreign Minister Rocen told the Ambassador on June 6 
that he was puzzled and disappointed by the ranking, which he 
suggested came as a big surprise. The Ambassador told him that 
Ambassador Lagon would be briefing Ambassador Vlahovic in more 
detail about the report in coming days. 
 
 
 
4.(U) Major Montenegrin dailies ("Vijesti" and "Dan") reported 
factually about the report on June 4. Under the a large 
front-page headline, "Under U.S. Surveillance Again," Vijesti, 
the country's largest circulation newspaper, wrote that 
"Montenegro and Albania are the only states from the region that 
are not making enough efforts to combat TIP." The opposition 
paper "Dan," seeing a chance to attack the GoM, headlined its 
article, "Government Does Not Prevent Trafficking" and 
highlighted the report's conclusion that Montenegro does not 
comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of 
trafficking, as the authorities had identified only one 
trafficking victim during 2007. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) Over the weekend, press reported that PM Djukanovic 
sarcastically commented that Montenegro's performance on TIP 
issues was "100 percent worse" in 2007 as compared to 2006, 
since TIP cases had gone from zero to one during the reporting 
period.  Djukanovic also said "other countries would be lucky to 
have a TIP problem similar to Montenegro's."  DPM Gordana 
Djurovic was quoted stating she had "some reservations about the 
veracity of the statistics in the report."  She added that 
Montenegro would carefully analyze those assessments and compare 
them with their own statistics.  (Note: Post requested 
statistics from the National Coordinator's office, the 
prosecutor's office and the police in preparing the 2008 TIP 
report and received three different sets of statistics related 
to prosecutions, investigations and convictions for trafficking 
in persons.) 
 
 
 
¶6. (U) The press also reported that TIP Coordinator Obrenovic 
strongly criticized the as "sharp and unjust."  He questioned 
information gained from local NGOs, stating that sources should 
be limited to "legitimate" state bodies. (Note:  In preparing 
the report, post spoke with local NGOs, including the director 
of the government-sponsored anti-trafficking NGO, as well as the 
International Organization for Migration.) 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
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PODGORICA 00000166  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) As expected, the GoM reacted with surprise and 
indignation to Montenegro's downgrading, focusing on the small 
number of potential victims rather than the GoM's general 
efforts to combat trafficking. The National Coordinator was 
particularly defensive, despite the fact that we pointed out 
repeatedly to him that his office had called no inter-agency 
meetings during the reporting period, and that this period had 
witnessed a reduced number of prosecutions, a failure to address 
child begging, unclear statistics, and the disbanding of the 
special anti-trafficking police force.  We will continue to 
stress to the GoM the importance of addressing trafficking more 
aggressively.  In the meantime, we reiterate our earlier 
requests that G/TIP brief the Montenegrin Ambassador in 
Washington about the TIP report. 
MOORE