VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBW #0958/01 2561414
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121414Z SEP 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0420
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNS/NSC WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000958 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC KAWC SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA HOPES FOR REWARDS AFTER ICTY PROSECUTOR VISIT 
 
REFS: A) BELGRADE 357, B) BELGRADE 577, C) BELGRADE 773 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Serbian officials said they were pleased with the September 
10-11 visit to Belgrade of Chief Prosecutor of the International 
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Serge Brammertz. 
They said they were confident they had demonstrated Serbia's 
willingness to capture the remaining two fugitives.  Some officials 
said they expected progress on the EU Interim Trade Agreement as a 
result of Brammertz's feedback to the EU.  Brammertz said publicly 
that he was pleased with the tone of the meetings and was cautiously 
optimistic that Mladic and Hadzic would be captured soon.  Positive 
actions from the EU at the General Affairs and External Relations 
Council (GAERC) on September 15 would encourage the government to 
fulfill this commitment.  End Summary. 
 
Prosecutor Meets New Government 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz visited Belgrade 
September 10-11 to discuss Serbia's cooperation with the ICTY.  This 
was Brammertz's first meeting with the new government.  He met with 
President Tadic, Prime Minister Cvetkovic, Justice Minister Snezana 
Malovic, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, new Security Information 
Agency head Sasa Vukadinovic, ICTY Coordination Council Chief Rasim 
Ljajic, war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, and members of the 
action team responsible for locating the remaining two fugitives, 
Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. 
 
Serbian Government Pleased and Hopeful 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Director of the Serbian government's ICTY Coordination 
Council Dusan Ignjatovic told us on September 12 that Serbian 
officials felt the meetings had been good.  In public statements 
well-covered by the press, Serbian officials said the meetings had 
demonstrated Serbia's will to cooperate fully with the ICTY.  In a 
press conference on September 10, Ljajic said the government 
realized the job would not be finished until Mladic and Hadzic had 
been captured and turned over to The Hague.  President Tadic issued 
a statement on September 11 that the government was committed to 
delivering the remaining two fugitives because it was in the 
interests of justice and reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia. 
Tadic added he hoped the prosecutor would consider the fact that 
Serbia had already delivered 44 indictees to the Court.  Prime 
Minister Cvetkovic and Justice Minister Malovic each echoed those 
sentiments in their own public statements. 
 
¶4. (U) Serbian officials implied they expected Brammertz's 
statements to influence the September 15 EU Council of Ministers 
discussion of the Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia.  Both Ljajic 
and Dacic stated publicly that they expected the EU Council of 
Ministers to move forward on the trade agreement. 
 
¶5. (U) Some officials made the point in their public statements that 
the ICTY had to show its impartiality to improve its image in 
Serbia.  Cvetkovic said the result of the prosecutor's appeal of the 
not guilty verdict of Ramush Haradinaj (ref A) was important to 
improving the image of the Tribunal in Serbia.  Dacic said it was 
essential for the Tribunal to treat all cases equally, regardless of 
the nationality of the defendant and for the Tribunal to respect the 
rights of defendants. 
 
Brammertz Cautiously Optimistic 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In statements to the media on September 10 and September 
11, Brammertz congratulated the Serbian government on the arrests of 
Stojan Zupljanin and Radovan Karadzic (refs B and C).  He applauded 
the dedication of the action team, said the capture of Mladic and 
Hadzic was the key to full cooperation with the Tribunal, and said 
he was cautiously optimistic that the search would be successful 
because the new government was committed to full cooperation.  ICTY 
Belgrade office head Deyan Mihov told us on September 12 that the 
meetings had been very constructive from ICTY's perspective.  He 
said Serbian officials had shown progress and demonstrated there was 
a good environment for ICTY cooperation, even if Serbia had not 
achieved full results.  Mihov told us that while Brammertz did not 
plan to present an early report to the UN Security Council, nor had 
he been invited to speak officially in Brussels at the Council of 
Ministers on September 15, the EU was unofficially noting 
Brammertz's statements.  (The French Embassy has also confirmed to 
us that France, in its EU presidency capacity, would seek 
Brammertz's assessment in advance of the GAERC.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Serbia's new government is hoping for a carrot in exchange 
for the political risk it took in capturing Karadzic in July. 
Government leaders are looking for proof that ICTY cooperation will 
deliver Serbian integration into the EU.  Without some positive sign 
at the GAERC, the new government will have a harder time making this 
connection.  End Comment. 
 
MUNTER