VZCZCXYZ0006
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVB #0629/01 2491122
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051122Z SEP 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8597
INFO RUEHPS/AMEMBASSY PRISTINA 0594
RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 0293

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000629 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR DAS JONES FROM AMBASSADOR BRADTKE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL OTRA ASEC PGOV NATO HR
SUBJECT: CROATIA: SCENESETTER FOR DAS JONES 
 
¶1. (U) Stu, the Croatia that you will be visiting on 
September 10 has changed greatly from your desk officer days 
and even from the time we worked together on NATO issues. 
Croatia has made steady progress in strengthening its 
democracy and rule of law, reforming its economy, cooperating 
with the Hague Tribunal, and playing a more constructive role 
in the region and beyond.  With President Bush's early 
commitment to support Croatian membership in NATO and his 
successful visit here in April, our bilateral relations are 
excellent, but need to be broadened and deepened by expanding 
our economic relations, increasing exchanges, and making it 
easier for Croatians and Americans to travel to each others' 
countries. 
 
REMAINING CHALLENGES 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Although Croatia has made progress, some legacy issues 
remain from the 1990's "Homeland" War, including refugee 
returns, war crimes prosecutions, and demining.  In all of 
these areas, however, President Mesic and Prime Minister 
Sanader are committed to finding solutions.  Some 130,000 
ethnic Serbs who fled Croatia during the war have returned at 
least part-time, and Sanader wants to deal with the remaining 
cases, perhaps 10,000 to 15,000, by the end of 2009. 
Croatian courts are trying war crimes cases involving 
defendants of all ethnicities in a reasonably fair manner, 
including high-profile cases transferred from The Hague 
Tribunal.  However, the trials can vary starkly depending on 
the court and judge involved, and concerns remain about a 
large number of outstanding war crimes indictments and in 
absentia convictions against Serbs that are often poorly 
documented.  On demining, Croatia is perhaps the only 
severely mine-affected country in the world to self-fund the 
large majority of its demining process, but with 1000 sq. km. 
of mine suspected territory still remaing, our assistance, $2 
million annually, is greatly appreciated. 
 
¶3. (U) Another major set of challenges is in reforming the 
judicial system, and developing more effective responses to 
and controls against corruption.  While the judiciary remains 
an area for further reforms and the public still perceives it 
as one of the country's main sources of corruption, we have 
nevertheless witnessed steady progress.  Court backlogs have 
shrunk 30 percent in the past two years, and improvements in 
court administration are expected to further speed the 
process. The Ministry of Justice, with past help from USAID 
(which closed its mission here earlier this year) and current 
attention from the EU, is actively improving the training of 
judges and supervision of judicial administration.  Croatia's 
implementation of its National Strategy to Combat Organized 
Crime and Corruption is yielding some results, though so far 
more indictments than actual convictions.  The government 
has, however, established police and prosecutor task forces 
to combat organized crime and has begun freezing assets in 
narcotics cases. 
 
SECURITY PROVIDER 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) As the legacy of the war fades, and key reforms take 
root, the focus of our bilateral relationship has shifted to 
place a much greater emphasis on Croatia as a partner and 
ally.  As you probably heard from Ambassador Grabar-Kitarovic 
during her introductory call with you, Croatia has moved from 
being a consumer of international security resources to a 
provider.  Croatia's commitment to international peace and 
security includes a nearly 300-troop ISAF contingent in 
Afghanistan; liaison officers involved in Operation Active 
Endeavor; soldiers and police in 11 UN peacekeeping missions 
from Kosovo to East Timor; and an active partnership in both 
the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Adriatic 
Charter.  A major focus of our efforts on our bilateral 
relationship is on bolstering Croatia's capacity to be a 
contributor to international security, either militarily, 
such as in ISAF, or politically, in venues ranging from the 
UNSC to the IAEA.  We do sometimes see nuanced differences of 
emphasis in the attitudes of the Government led by Prime 
Minister Sanader and the Office of President Mesic, but both 
are unquestionably pro-Western in outlook and emphatic in 
their support for NATO and EU membership.  Indeed, these 
goals are universally shared by every serious political party 
and politician in the country. 
 
YOUR SCHEDULE:  MEETING WITH FOREIGN MINISTER LIKELY TO FOCUS 
ON NATO AND REGIONAL ISSUES 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Upon your arrival from Sarajevo, DCM Vivian Walker 
will greet you to escort you up to my residence, where you 
will have an opportunity to freshen up and we can spend some 
time talking one-to-one.  At 10 a.m., you will meet with 
Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic, one of the younger 
members of the ruling HDZ party's leadership.  Discussion 
will likely center on the current state of the ratification 
process for Croatia's NATO accession, other bilateral issues, 
as well as developments in the region.  Given events in 
Georgia, I would expect Russia also to be a topic of 
conversation. 
 
¶6. (SBU) As you know, Croatia's top priorities are completing 
NATO accession and accelerating the EU accession process. 
The United States has earned significant credit with the GoC 
by ensuring that the NATO process has moved as quickly as 
possible, in fairly stark contrast to Croatia's halting 
progress toward the EU.  Public opinion in Croatia remains 
favorable to NATO with more than fifty percent of the 
population supporting membership, a number which is in the 
same range as support for joining the EU.  The GOC continues 
its NATO outreach efforts, and after our meeting, the Foreign 
Minister is opening a NATO exhibit at a local gallery. 
 
¶7. (SBU) On regional issues Croatia tries to send good, 
responsible messages to the Serbs, but since Kosovo 
recognition, the interaction has grown more strained, and in 
contrast with EU countries, Serbia has not returned its 
Ambassador to Zagreb.  Serbia remains one of Croatia's 
largest markets for exports and investment, however, and both 
President Stjepan Mesic and Prime Minister Sanader firmly 
support Serbia's future in Europe and NATO, on the condition 
that Serbia meet its obligations to the ICTY just as Croatia 
had to.  (NOTE: One of the two remaining ICTY fugitives, 
Goran Hadzic, is a rebel Serb leader accused of crimes in 
Croatia. END NOTE.)  On Bosnia, Zagreb's official policy is 
solid: they do not support a third entity.  PM Sanader is, 
however, very eager to see something done to protect and 
guarantee a role for the Bosnian-Croat community in BiH 
government structures. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Jandrokovic may raise two specific goals Croatia has 
previously expressed, inclusion in the Visa Waiver program 
and the hope that the mandate of the OSCE Office in Croatia 
terminate at the end of this year.  On Visa Waiver, we have 
acknowledged their interest but tried to keep the Croatian 
government focused on the need to meet the necessary 
pre-conditions such as issuance of ePassports with biometric 
data, a step that is likely a year or more off.  On the OSCE 
Office, that debate is only likely to be seriously engaged 
later in the fall.  We have been sympathetic to their desire 
to draw-down this costly presence, but also need to encourage 
the GoC to consider carefully what damage they might do to 
their relations with some EU member states if they push too 
hard without a better story to tell on housing numbers for 
returnees. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The other area of our bilateral relations, where we 
are trying to do more, is bilateral trade and investment.  As 
we have discussed, the postponement of the Vienna Conference, 
has left us with little to show in response to the Prime 
Minister's request to President Bush for support for closer 
economic ties. We are working on a visit to the United States 
by a Croatian trade delegation, headed by Deputy Prime 
Minister Polancec, but this trip, too, may be postponed, 
given our election calendar.  Your visit may also concide 
with some bad news on the economic front.  The FAA is likely 
to find that weaknesses in Croatia's civil aviation authority 
will make Croatia a "category two" country.  Even if this is 
not a finding about Croatian Airlines, the government and 
airline management are concerned about the damage that could 
result to Croatia's crucial tourist industry. 
 
¶10. (U) After your meeting with the Foreign Minister, you 
will have an opportunity to see our Embassy facilities and 
meet the country team before we take you to the airport for 
your flight to Pristina. 
 
¶11. (U) I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday. 
Bradtke