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FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000268 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD, EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA, AND G/TIP 
OSD FOR POPOVICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM HR
SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - MAY 14, 2009 
 
REF: A. ZAGREB 259 
     ¶B. ZAGREB 229 
     ¶C. MEGES-WESTLEY 3/12/2009 E-MAIL 
 
¶1.  (U) GOVERNMENT HOLDS SEMINAR ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
AND PRESENTS NEW NATIONAL PLAN: 
The head of the Government's Office for Human Rights and 
National Coordinator for the Suppression of Trafficking in 
Persons, Luka Maderic, held a two-day seminar this week in 
coordination with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry 
of Health and Social Welfare to educate and train mobile team 
members and present the National Plan for Combating 
Trafficking for 2009-2011.  Mobile-teams are a vital part of 
the Croatian response network for trafficking victims and are 
made up of volunteers who immediately assist victims as soon 
as they are identified.  On March 25, parliament adopted a 
new National Plan for Combating Trafficking for 2009-2011. 
The plan continues many of the mechanisms already in place to 
assist victims and prevent trafficking, but also establishes 
clearer protocols on the voluntary repatriation of foreign 
victims.  According to Mr. Maderic although historically 
women have been most at risk for trafficking, Croatia has 
seen an increase in men trafficked for the purpose of labor 
exploitation.  He claimed that no area of the country was 
immune from the threat and that the risk of trafficking for 
purposes of sexual exploitation is increasing as Croatia 
enters the summer tourist season.  (JNCallahan) 
 
¶2.  (U) FORMER CROATIAN POLICEMAN WILL SERVE 20 YEARS FOR 
TRIPLE MURDER: 
On April 9, 2009, the Supreme Court confirmed a July 2008 
ruling by the Osijek County Court finding Antun Gudelj guilty 
of killing the local police chief, Josip Reihl-Kir, and two 
ethnic Serb politicians in July 1991, and of attempting to 
kill another Serbian local politician.  The county court 
sentenced Gudelj to 20 years in prison after he admitted the 
killings but claimed he thought the car was driven by armed 
Serb rebels who ignored his calls to stop.  Riehl-Kir and the 
Serb politicians were shot dead in an ambush while on their 
way to talks with Serb rebels who opposed Croatia's 
declaration of independence.  Gudelj was convicted in 
absentia in 1994, extradited from Germany for retrial in 
1996, and granted amnesty by the Supreme Court in 1997.  In 
2001, the Constitutional Court invalidated the amnesty. 
Gudelj was extradited from Australia in 2007, where he had 
been living since receiving amnesty.  (VDjukic) 
 
¶3.  (U) ELECTION WILDCARDS IN PLAY FOR SUNDAY VOTE: 
The Catholic Church on Sunday, May 10 issued a statement that 
urged the faithful to vote in the upcoming local elections on 
May 17, to support candidates that favored the current ban on 
Sunday work, and criticized politicians that the church 
perceives as diminishing the crimes during communist times. 
Local media was quick to point out that this message was 
widely seen as a call to back the candidates of the Croatian 
Democratic Union (HDZ).  In the campaign, Prime Minister and 
HDZ chief Ivo Sanader has been trumpeting the HDZ,s 
conservative social values in order to energize its base. 
The message should also resonate with the supporters of the 
HDZ,s main coalition partner, the Croatian Peasant Party. 
Additionally, the HDZ has lashed out against a "conspiracy" 
of the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party 
(SDP), in fomenting recent student strikes and a public 
workers, strike, and for influencing the timing of the 
guilty verdict for right-wing war criminal Branimir Glavas 
(REF A), all of which have hurt the HDZ politically.  The 
Glavas verdict is almost certain to increase the sympathy 
vote for Glavas, party in eastern Croatia, while the labor 
and student protests probably will strengthen the SDP chances 
with undecided voters, who may view the social discord as a 
result of the HDZ,s poor management of the economy. 
However, we still expect the results of these elections for 
mayors, county prefects, and city and county councils to give 
both the HDZ and SDP a chance to claim significant electoral 
support (REFS B and C). 
 
¶4. (U) CROATIAN NGOs GEAR UP TO MONITOR LOCAL ELECTIONS: 
Croatia's premier democracy-oriented NGO, GONG, has announced 
that this weekend's elections would be monitored by 1,000 
GONG-trained observers and 105 mobile teams, and would do its 
best to cover as many of the nearly 7,000 polling stations as 
possible.  Since only voters registered at addresses within 
Croatia can vote in local elections, there will be no polling 
stations for the diaspora in Bosnia or elsewhere.  GONG 
observers will primarily focus on the respect of the 
elections laws and identifying any irregularities.  Some 
local analysts have alleged that voter rolls in some border 
localities include lots of voters who do not actually live in 
 
ZAGREB 00000268  002 OF 002 
 
 
those places.  Political parties are also expected to deploy 
election observers. (DMeges) 
 
¶5.  (U) DCM SPEAKS AT CROATIAN DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY CONFERENCE: 
Deputy Chief of Mission Vivian Walker spoke on "Women in 
Diplomacy" at a conference hosted in Dubrovnik on May 8, by 
the Croatian Diplomatic Academy.  The participants included 
directors and students of Diplomatic Academies and Embassies 
from 18 countries.  Beyond exploring themes related to the 
diplomatic life and career, the DCM also responded to 
questions on various aspects of U.S. policy and gave a brief 
interview to Radio Dubrovnik which aired as part of a story 
on the conference.  The Director of the Diplomatic Academy 
said next year's conference will focus on strategic public 
diplomacy, and asked if the Embassy would again assist with 
the program.  (MCrnjakovic/KWetzel) 
 
¶6.  (U) PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTINUES OUTREACH ON NATO ISSUES: 
Embassy PA staff traveled this week to the towns of Gracac 
and Karlovac and met with high school students to discuss 60 
years of NATO history and the meaning of Croatia's full 
membership in the alliance.  One of Croatia's poorest 
municipalities, Gracac experienced large outflows of its 
ethnic Serb population during the fighting for Croatia's 
independence in the 1990's.  APAO and IRC Director also met 
with the mayor and library director, who expressed 
appreciation for U.S. embassy support to the Gracac public 
library over the past year.  The lecture in Karolovac builds 
on recent lectures there on Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, 
and U.S. education.  Following the presentation in Karlovac, 
the APAO gave a short interview to local television. 
(MCrnjakovic/KWetzel) 
BRADTKE