VZCZCXRO4732
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHVB #0628/01 2931411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201411Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9595
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000628 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF OSCE KAWC HR
SUBJECT: OSCE ZAGREB HEAD TO RECOMMEND ADDITIONAL YEAR FOR OFFICE 
 
ZAGREB 00000628  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Ambassador Foley paid an introductory call to 
Ambassador Enrique Horcajada, head of the OSCE office in Zagreb, on 
October 14.  Based on this year's annual assessment (currently in 
draft form) Horcajada indicated that he will ask for an extension of 
the office's mandate.  The recommendation for extension is based 
largely on the office's desire to continue war crimes monitoring. 
Horcajada will recommend that the office's mandate regarding housing 
care be dropped or severely reduced.  Horcajada suggested the 
Croatian government is softening in its objections to an extension 
of the office's mandate. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In his assessment of the current situation regarding war 
crimes trials, Horcajada said that Croatia had come far, 
particularly with the Justice Minister's admissions in December 2008 
that judges erred in many cases in the 1990s and that they needed to 
revise a large number of cases.  The Ministry's action plan on the 
review of more than one hundred in absentia verdicts from the 1990s 
expired in June 2009, he said, but there is still substantial work 
to be done and the cases are working their way through the 
prosecutors' offices and courts.  While the progress in these cases 
is positive, they are not yet finalized and he wants the OSCE to 
remain to monitor these cases in 2010. (NOTE: In a separate meeting 
with visiting War Crimes Envoy Rapp, Horcajada even suggested the 
office could possibly last into 2011. End Note.)  The OSCE's war 
crimes expert, Romana Schweiger, also noted that the Ministry of 
Justice (MOJ) recently committed to review amnesty decisions from 
the 1990s, which mostly cleared Croatians of any war crimes, and are 
the counterpoint to the in absentia verdicts largely targeting 
Serbs.  The reviews are progressing slowly, she said, although there 
is momentum to address these issues. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Horcajada also noted the commitment of the Minister of 
Justice to resolve the approximately 600 cases in which perpetrators 
are unknown.  (NOTE: The police and prosecutors' offices are 
responsible for investigating and bringing charges in war crimes 
cases and are not under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice. 
The police in local jurisdictions may be reluctant to investigate, 
especially in cases where perpetrators might be in or linked to the 
police or local governments.  The Chief State Prosecutor, however, 
has told Poloff that he is also committed to resolving these 
lingering cases. END NOTE.)  Horcajada explained that the 
investigation and prosecution of unresolved cases could take years 
and indicated that an OSCE presence could be necessary until they 
see that the process is sustainable.  Schweiger acknowledged this 
caseload would have to be prioritized. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Foley remarked that while the US recognizes the 
merit of continuing the office's work for one more year, this was a 
nuanced position and we would not support an expansion of the 
office's work as a bridge to indefinite extension.  Ambassador Foley 
stated that the project to reopen the cases had great merit, but 
also remarked that Minister of Justice Simonovic had expressed 
confidence in the ability of Croatia to complete the task. 
Horcajada admitted that realistically it is unlikely the OSCE office 
would remain once Croatia entered the EU. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In his assessment of the current situation regarding 
housing care, Horcajada said that approximately 1,500 units will 
remain to be delivered through 2010.  He said that although Croatia 
is behind on its benchmarks, the office believes the current program 
is sustainable and that the trend is positive overall.  He will 
recommend that further monitoring by the OSCE office is no longer 
necessary and suggest the housing care mandate be ended.  If the 
housing care mandate continues for another year he will suggest a 
reduction of staff to three persons to monitor the final delivery of 
units in the agreed benchmarks. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Horcajada said that while the Croatian Government initially 
seemed very resistant to the idea of an additional extension of the 
office, he has seen a recent softening in its position, particularly 
from Minister of Foreign Affairs Jandrokovic.  He remarked that the 
person most resistant to the continuation is the Croatian Ambassador 
to the OSCE, Neven Madey.  Horcajada laid out three possible 
scenarios regarding the extension of the office.  The first scenario 
would be a routine extension with no change in mandate.  The second 
scenario would be an extension but with a stipulated end date.  The 
third scenario would be an extension but with an unwritten 
understanding that it would be the last extension.  This last 
scenario would require a declaration of understanding among 
participating states.  Horcajada said that Ambassador Madey found 
options one and three unacceptable and desired option two. 
Horcajada explained that option two is unlikely, as it would set a 
bad precedent for other nations with OSCE offices to set arbitrary 
dates for closure instead of basing closure decisions solely on 
mandate fulfillment.  (NOTE: Option two is the course of action 
Croatia tried to pursue last December, but their efforts failed. 
The compromise was an awkwardly worded mandate extension that 
alluded to Croatia's progress.  It seems unlikely a similar attempt 
for a stipulated end date would succeed this year either.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Ambassador Horcajada's allusions to an extension 
 
ZAGREB 00000628  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
past 2010 of the OSCE office in Zagreb, to address both legacy and 
new issues related to war crimes, reinforces the need for OSCE 
member states to reach agreement about what a final "end state" for 
the office would entail.  Failure at this point to define clearly 
what remains for Croatia to do invites certain member states to 
continually move the goalposts.  The key benchmark should be whether 
Croatia has adequate institutions and systems in place to handle the 
issues remaining, rather than have a permanent presence here until 
all cases are handled or refugees returned.   END COMMENT 
 
FOLEY