VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVB #0098/01 0511506
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201506Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9021
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000098 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD, EUR/RPM AND EUR/ERA 
OSD FOR POPOVICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON HR
SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - FEBRUARY 19, 2009 
 
¶1.  (U)  MFA REPORTS THAT ALL NATO PARLIAMENTS HAVE APPROVED 
CROATIA'S NATO ACCESSION PROTOCOL 
The MFA issued a press release on February 18 stating that it 
received information that the Parliament of Greece approved 
Croatia's accession protocol.  The MFA also reported that 
over the last week it received notification that the 
parliaments of Iceland, the Netherlands, and Portugal had 
also approved the protocol.  With the action taken by these 
four countries, the MFA now considers that the parliaments of 
all 26 NATO member countries have voted on Croatia's NATO 
protocol.  (PD'Amico) 
 
¶2.  (U) CACIC BOWS OUT OF ZAGREB MAYORAL RACE, MAY RUN FOR 
PRESIDENT: 
On February 16, president of the Croatian Peoples Party 
(HNS), Radimir Cacic, announced that he would not run for the 
mayor of Zagreb.  In his place the HNS will run either the 
president of the city-council and former MP, Alenka Kosisa 
Cicin-Sain, or former Zagreb-city minister of culture, 
Andreja Zlatar Violic.  Local media have reported that 
sources close to Cacic indicate that he is turning his sights 
to a potential presidential run later this year.  In keeping 
with the HNS's distaste for current Zagreb Mayor Milan 
Bandic, HNS has hinted that should their candidate not make 
it to a second round run-off--presumably against Bandic--they 
will back the mayoral candidate of Croatian Democratic Union, 
Jasen Mesic.  However, the absence of Cacic makes it more 
likely that Bandic will win an outright majority in the first 
round (Septel). (DMEGES) 
 
¶3. (U) NATIONAL BANK GOVERNOR STANDS FIRM ON MAINTAINING 
VALUE OF KUNA: 
In a rare press conference on February 18, Croatian National 
Bank (HNB) Governor Zeljko Rohatinski stressed the importance 
of maintaining the stability of the financial system as a 
means of preserving Croatia's economy through the global 
crisis. He criticized the group of commercial banks who 
recently tried to make their provision of loans to the GOC 
conditional on the GOC's forcing changes in certain HNB 
policies. Rohatinski reaffirmed the HNB's commitment to 
defending the kuna despite the expected consequent rise in 
interest rates. He also said he believes Croatia knows well 
what steps must be taken to overcome the crisis without IMF 
assistance. He noted, however, that he said the same thing 
two months ago, but that little progress had been made. He 
said the crucial question is whether the government can 
introduce the necessary unpopular measures on its own, or 
whether it needs a stand-by arrangement with the IMF as an 
alibi. (Note: The HNB has about 9 billion EUR in foreign 
currency reserves. In the past, Rohatinski has said he would 
recommend the government seek IMF assistance if reserves fell 
below 7 billion EUR.) (SLITKE) 
 
¶4.  CROATIA EXPORTING DEMINING EXPERTISE: The Croatian Mine 
Action Center (CROMAC) and the Yemen Executive Mine Action 
Center signed a cooperation agreement on February 11 in 
Cairo, Egypt.  Egypt also expressed interest in establishing 
cooperation with Croatia for mine action.  The director of 
the Yemen center said he was interested in gaining Croatian 
expertise in mechanical (machine) demining.  CROMAC 
established a subsidiary in 2003 for testing, development and 
training (CROMAC-HRTO).  The Yemen agreement marks the first 
project outside of the Balkan region for CROMAC as it tries 
to expand its systems management and training operations. 
(CZIMMER) 
 
¶5.  PROMINENT CROATIAN JOURNALIST GIVES EMBASSY STAFF INSIGHT 
ON MEDIA LANDSCAPE:  The Public Affairs section held a media 
class for the embassy to review the mission's media policy 
and help staff to better highlight positive Croatian-American 
relations and explain USG policies to journalists.  The 
session also featured a conversation with Davor Glavas, one 
of Croatia's preeminent journalists and a long-time friend of 
the embassy.  (Note: PD is working with Glavas and the 
Croatian American Journalists' Association to organize a 
regional media conference to be held in Zagreb in May.)  In a 
frank interchange with staff, Glavas provided a broad 
overview of the media and an insider's look at the players 
and issues on the Croatian media landscape.  Croatia's print 
media, like many others worldwide, face the challenging 
problem of declining circulation and newsroom budgets. 
Glavas also discussed the problem of excessive commercial 
influence on the media, describing the converging interests 
of media owners, advertisers, and distributors. (KWETZEL) 
 
¶6.  CELEBRATING THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BICENTENNIAL AT THE 
AMERICAN CORNERS: Marking the bicentennial of Abraham 
Lincoln's birth, APAO delivered lectures to secondary school 
students at the American Corners in Zagreb and Zadar on 
Lincoln's life and presidency.  Featuring quotes from 
President Obama on Lincoln's background and the American 
dream, the presentation explained Lincoln's meaning for 
Americans, tracing the progress of civil rights from 
emancipation through Martin Luther King to the election of 
President Obama.  The presentation will be delivered at the 
American Corner in Rijeka to university students in March. 
(KWETZEL) 
BRADTKE