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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000469 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EIND KCRM KCOR HR
SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY REPORT- JULY 30 
 
¶1. (U) DEADLY TRAIN CRASH LEADS TO CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION: 
Six people were killed (four Croatians and two foreigners) and 55 
injured on July 24 after a train derailed outside of Split. No 
AmCits were among the killed or injured, although many casualties 
were tourists.  The initial stage of an ongoing investigation 
suggests that a fire retardant produced by the U.S. company 
Universal Fire Shields, applied on the track just minutes before the 
accident, was the likely cause.  The top management of a Croatian 
Railroads (HZ) subsidiary "HZ Infrastructure" has been was fired and 
six persons arrested, including the company's director in charge of 
environmental protection, Ivan Medak.  Medak is held responsible for 
selecting, in a seemingly non-transparent procurement, the 
contractor that supplied the retardant, which was then improperly 
applied by an unqualified subcontractor.  Media reports claim the 
retardant was never certified by Croatian authorities and may have 
been imported illegally.  Investigations continue. (ZTomic) 
 
¶2. (U) CROATIA MOVES TO FORMALLY OUST ITS UN PERMREP: 
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Croatian Parliament on July 27, 
recommended to President Mesic that he relieve Croatia's Ambassador 
to the United Nations, Neven Jurica, of his duties. Jurica has not 
been actively at his post since mid-April when the heavy smoker was 
hospitalized for internal bleeding in his lungs. Subsequent to his 
illness, an internal audit of Croatia's mission in New York turned 
up spending irregularities valued at USD 150,000.  Media suggest the 
pending audit results contributed to Jurica's decision to go on sick 
leave.  On the same day as the parliamentary action against Jurica, 
Croatia's Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized 
Crime (USKOK) said it had opened a formal investigation regarding 
the embezzlement of these funds. The parliamentary committee did not 
discuss any potential permanent replacements for Jurica, but local 
media are speculating that the current deputy chief of mission in 
New York, Ranko Vilovic, is the leading candidate to get the job. 
(DMeges) 
 
¶3. (U) THOMPSON HATE SPEECH TIED TO ETHNIC VIOLENCE: Controversial 
pop-singer Marko Perkovic Thompson was again in the spotlight after 
accusations that the singer encouraged audience members to yell a 
fascist salute at a recent concert in Biograd, a Croatian coastal 
town.  The slogan "Za Dom Spremni" (For the Homeland - Ready) was 
used by the fascist puppet Ustasa government during WWII.  According 
to media reports Thompson went on to say that he would "not be 
silent" and that he is "ready for the homeland" though some 
"traitors" did not wish him to be. He accused President Mesic of 
being a traitor and claimed that anti-fascists did not create the 
Croatian state.  Mesic responded by noting that anti-fascism as a 
founding principle of Croatia is written into the Croatian 
Constitution.  Though police investigated, no charges will be 
pressed as there was no video or tape recording of his speech. 
Shortly after Thompson's concert, a group of hooligans vandalized 
the home and car of a Serb national in a town less than 25 miles 
away.  The perpetrators yelled "Kill Serbs" and "Hang the Serbs." 
(JNCallahan). 
 
 
¶4. (U) SENTENCE FOR RAPE OF U.S. BASKETBALL PLAYER REDUCED: 
The sentence of Gospic businessman Josip Mraovic, for the 2005 rape 
of U.S. basketball player Illisha Jarret, has been reduced from 
three years imprisonment to two.  Mraovic was originally acquitted 
of charges but was later found guilty by a higher court.  Mraovic 
appealed this decision asking for acquittal or a re-trial.  The 
Supreme Court denied his appeal, but reduced his sentence.  Press 
reports stated that Mraovic is still hoping to avoid jail time on 
medical grounds. (VDjukic) 
 
¶5. (U) PROFESSORS SENTENCED IN "INDEX" CORRUPTION SCANDAL: 
 Nine professors from Zagreb's Faculty of Transport and Traffic 
Engineering and four middlemen were sentenced on Wednesday to prison 
terms ranging from six months to two years for taking bribes from 
students in exchange for letting them pass exams.  The remaining 17 
accused middlemen, students, and their parents were given suspended 
sentences, while two were acquitted, including a teacher.  All the 
convicted teachers were banned from teaching for five years. 
(VDjukic) 
 
¶6. (U) EURO-SKEPTICISM STILL DOMINANT IN CROATIA: 
The European Commission's Standard Eurobarometer survey, conducted 
in January and February 2009, found that 29 percent of Croatians 
believed the country's entry into the EU would be a good thing, 
while 36 percent were convinced that integration with the EU was a 
negative thing.  30 percent did not have an opinion on the issue. 
Asked whether Croatia would benefit from membership in the Union, 50 
percent said no, 38 said yes and 12 percent did not know.  Though 
the levels of "Euro-optimism" in Croatia are among the lowest in 
Europe, these results present a slight improvement from the same 
time last year when the supporters were at 23 percent. (ZTomic) 
 
¶7. (U) TOURISM MINISTRY CLAIMS TOURIST NUMBERS STEADY: 
 
ZAGREB 00000469  002 OF 002 
 
 
According to Minister of Tourism Damir Bajs, results from this 
year's tourist season so far are meeting expectations.  In terms of 
tourist traffic, Minister Bajs stated that by July 1 there was only 
a seven percent drop in tourist entries into the country from the 
same period last year, and only three percent fewer overnights than 
last year.  The Minister emphasized that these decreases are 
substantially less than those of countries that compete with Croatia 
for tourism, and said his goal is to suffer fewer losses than those 
of other tourist destination countries. (DMatijas- Vengar) 
 
WALKER