VZCZCXRO5093
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0196/01 1000816
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100816Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9140
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000196 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD, EUR/RPM AND EUR/ERA 
OSD FOR POPOVICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR
SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - APRIL 10, 2009 
 
¶1.  (U) CROATIA CELEBRATES JOINING NATO 
Croatia marked its accession to NATO on April 7 first by 
raising the flag of the Alliance at the Ministry of Defense 
(MOD).  During his official remarks at the ceremony, 
President Mesic said that the NATO flag should remind Croatia 
of the path it had chosen, the path of peace in unity with 
Croatia's allies.  PM Sanader, who had just flown back from 
the flag raising ceremony for Croatia and Albania at NATO 
headquarters earlier in the day, told the press in front of 
MOD that Croatia joining NATO was "the culmination of the 
endeavor that began with independence and resisting military 
aggression, that led to the current international position of 
the country."  Later in the evening on April 1, Croatia's 
NATO accession was further celebrated during a performance at 
the Croatian National Theater.  In his speech at the event PM 
Sanader stated that in a 15 year time period Croatia had gone 
from being a country that was the recipient of international 
assistance to one that had taken on the responsibility to 
participate in key decisions affecting global security. 
President Mesic noted that while Croatia should be satisfied 
by its achievement it should also realistically assess what 
responsibilities it had assumed by entering NATO.  The 
Speaker of the Sabor, Luka Bebic, government ministers, 
members of parliament, military personnel, representatives of 
the diplomatic community, and other prominent figures 
attended both events.  (PD'Amico) 
 
¶2.  (U) INDEPENDENT ACADEMICS JOIN FORCES TO CONTEST MAYOR 
BANDIC: 
Josip Kregar, one time interim mayor of Zagreb and current 
Dean of the Law Faculty, has joined forces with another 
independent candidate for Zagreb mayor, Economic Professor 
Velimir Srica.  Kregar will remain the candidate for mayor 
for their combined non-party group and Srica will top their 
list for head of the city council.  The two candidates, who 
tout on every occasion their personal integrity, have 
produced a local election ethics code, which will guide their 
campaign activities and ensure to the public that will govern 
transparently.  Recent telephone polls put their combined 
first round strength at near 20%, compared to about 30% for 
Bandic, but their campaign is gaining strength and it is 
becoming more likely that the Zagreb mayoral contest will be 
decided in an increasingly competitive second round run-off 
between Kregar and Bandic. (DMeges) 
 
¶3.  (U) COMMEMORATIVE CEREMONY HONORS FORMER SECRETARY RON 
BROWN HELD IN DUBROVNIK: 
On April 3, 2009 the Ambassador participated in a memorial 
service in Dubrovnik honoring former Secretary of Commerce 
Ronald H. Brown.  The service, held annually, marks the date 
of the tragic air crash outside of Dubrovnik of the plane 
carrying Secretary Brown and 34 others (including Commerce 
employees and business leaders) who were involved in a 
regional trade mission.  Ambassador Bradtke, Dubrovnik Deputy 
Mayor Kisic, and Chief of the Cabinet and International 
Cooperation for Dubrovnik-Neretva County AIDA Cvjetkovic, 
made remarks at the ceremony.  Afterwards, the Ambassador, 
Senior Commercial Officer Pamela Ward, Director of Cilipi 
Airport Toni Peovic, and other county and city government 
officials and airport representatives hiked up the Mt. St. 
Ivan mountainside to the site of the crash and placed flowers 
and candles at the memorial that has been erected there.  The 
Ambassador expressed the U.S. government's great appreciation 
of the honor that continues to be paid to Secretary Brown and 
his delegation.  (PWard) 
 
¶4.  (U) EMBASSY ZAGREB PARTICIPATES IN CROATIA'S PREMIER 
TOURISM SHOW: 
CROTOUR, Croatia's premier tourism show, was held from April 
1-5 in Zagreb.  For the first time, Embassy Zagreb 
participated, setting up a booth to showcase U.S. travel 
destinations to the Croatian public and tourism industry. 
The Ambassador attended the Opening Ceremony of CROTOUR and 
toured the U.S. booth with Croatia's Minister of Tourism 
Bajs.  At a reception hosted by the U.S. Commercial Service 
that evening, the Ambassador encouraged attendees to visit 
the United States, visit the new tourism website 
(www.discoveramerica.gov) and use the U.S. Commercial Service 
office as a resource for travel related information.  The 
U.S. booth provided information on destinations including New 
York City, San Francisco and Washington D.C.  Numerous U.S. 
cities were presented through promotional DVDs and 
slideshows.  A representative from the Consular Section was 
available to discuss the visa process for Croatians traveling 
to the U.S.  A representative from the Institute for the 
Development of Education also gave a presentation promoting 
educational study in the U.S.  (PWard) 
 
 
ZAGREB 00000196  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5.  (U) U.S. EMBASSY DONATES BOOKS TO ROMA MAJORITY SCHOOL IN 
MEDJIMUREJE: 
In celebration of International Roma Day, Deputy Chief of 
Mission Vivian Walker visited the Dr. Ivan Novak elementary 
school in Macinec, donating 400 English-language books to the 
school library.  The school's is the only elementary school 
in Croatia where Roma constitute a majority of the students. 
Students begin learning English from the first grade.  The 
books were provided by the Zagreb Office of the Sabre 
Foundation, a U.S. NGO dedicated to improving education 
through donations of books and educational materials.  During 
the visit, Ms. Walker met with Roma students from various 
grade levels, received a tour of the school from the 
Principal, Prof. Bozena Dogsa, and was treated to a number of 
performances from the children as part of their spring 
recital.  (JNCallahan) 
 
¶6.  (U) LNG HRVATSKA ESTABLISHED, NEXT TO JOIN ADRIA LNG 
CONSORTIUM: 
On April 6, INA, HEP and Plinacro signed the long-awaited 
agreement establishing LNG Hrvatska:  HEP will own 56 
percent, INA will own 40 percent, and Plinacro will own 4 
percent.  LNG Hrvatska will be the Croatian party of the 
Adria LNG consortium, with a 25 percent stake.  The 
consortium currently comprises E.ON Ruhrgas, Total S.A., OMV, 
RWE, and Geoplin.  (DMatijas) 
BRADTKE