VZCZCXRO9867
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0411 1551244
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031244Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8356
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 1986
RUEHLJ/AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 6414
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 0285
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 0831

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000411 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR PRM, EUR/SCE AND EUR/RPM, BELGRADE FOR REFCOORD 
JIKICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PGOV PREL HR EUC SR
SUBJECT: CONVALIDATION OF PENSIONS IN FORMER OCCUPIED SERB 
AREAS OF CROATIA MOVING TOWARD RESOLUTION 
 
REF: ZAGREB 357 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  Deputy Prime Minister Slobodan Uzelac, the 
highest ranking Croatian Serb in the government, appears to 
be making some progress toward solving problems related to 
the return of Serbs who fled Croatia at the end of the war. 
On May 17th, 2008, the Croatian Government published a 
Rulebook on the Convalidation of Working Years for pensions 
earned between 1991 and 1995 in areas which were not under 
Croatian control during the war. This document establishes a 
procedure whereby people who worked in the "Republika Srpska 
Krajina" during the war can now receive credit for that time 
on the job in the calculation of their retirement pensions. 
Resolving this "convalidation" issue has been a major 
outstanding issue under the so-called Sarajevo Process, and 
is also among the opening "benchmarks" sought by the EU prior 
to opening negotiations on Chapter 23 (Judiciary and 
Fundamental Rights) in Croatia's on-going EU accession 
negotiations. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) In an April 25th meeting with representatives of the 
international community (REFTEL), Uzelac and his Minister of 
Regional Development, Forestry and Water Management, Petar 
Cobankovic, both promised to resolve this problem quickly and 
quietly.  The new Rulebook allows for flexible methods for 
proving a person's working years/contributions, does not 
require applicants to be returnees to exercise this right, 
and imposes no further deadlines for applying.  The practical 
impact of the decision is lessened by the fact that crediting 
the time worked towards retirement will mean only a small 
increase of under $40 a month to most Serb retirees' 
pensions.  Nonetheless, the symbolism of this decision is 
significant, and the GoC will seek credit for the step with 
the international community.  The GOC will likely downplay 
the step domestically, however, to avoid provoking any 
political backlash among the portions of the Croatian public 
who still view anyone who participated in the "RSK" in any 
fashion as a de facto war criminal.  Embassy has seen no 
public announcement or media coverage of the step (which is 
consistent with Uzelac's desire not to publicize this move -- 
see reftel). 
 
¶3. (SBU) While an April 10, 1999 deadline for applying for 
convalidation still must be annulled to avoid legal 
complications and contradictory instructions, UNHCR has 
received assurances from the Ministry of Economy, Labor and 
Entrepreneurship that only the Rulebook provisions will be 
taken into account in its implementation. Officials were told 
that local offices have been instructed to "ignore" the 
earlier deadline, which had been introduced by a decree. 
UNHCR officials remain cautiously optimistic and are 
generally quite pleased with the overall provisions in the 
rulebook. Leading Croatian Serb politician Milorad Pupovac 
told POLCOUNS on May 30 that he was happy with the new 
decision.  He said that some details of implementation still 
needed to be clarified, but that if the new Rulebook was 
properly implemented, then he would consider the 
convalidation issue resolved.  Internal GOC documents shared 
with POLOFF indicate that up to 44,000 requests for 
convalidation will be accepted by the GOC. Conservative 
estimates from the same anonymous sources estimate that the 
GOC will need to allocate approximately 370 million kuna (79 
million dollars) from the budget in 2008 and approximately 
530 million Kuna (113 million dollars) in subsequent years to 
finance anticipated claims. 
 
¶4. (SBU) COMMENT:  We agree with both Pupovac and UNHCR that, 
assuming this decision is implemented, the new procedure 
means the convalidation issue will be solved.  Even if 
implementation is messy, which given the frailties of 
Croatian public administration it may well be, the new 
Rulebook still represents an important political decision for 
the GOC.  It has put the government on record as recognizing 
that employment within the local institutions of the "RSK" 
was in some sense legitimate work, even as the "RSK" was in 
armed conflict with the Croatian government.  As with its 
policy of providing housing to Serbs who lost their tenancy 
rights during the war, the GoC is gradually, and in as low a 
profile manner as it can, seeking to redress the legacy of 
population movements from the 1990's war.  END COMMENT 
Bradtke