VZCZCXRO6734
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHVB #0102 0491239
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181239Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9908
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000102 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL HR ECON
SUBJECT: Zagreb Daily Report - February 18, 2010 
 
¶1. (SBU) Deputy Secretary Lew Arrives for Presidential Inauguration: 
 Deputy Secretary Lew arrived in Zagreb on February 17 to attend the 
inauguration of Croatia's third president, Ivo Josipovich.  Prior to 
the February 18 ceremony, the Deputy Secretary met privately with 
President-elect Josipovic. On the margins of the inauguration 
ceremony, the Deputy Secretary had bilateral meetings with Croatian 
Foreign Minister Jandrokovic, Albanian President Topi, Slovenian 
President Turk and others.  Details to follow via septel. 
¶2. (U) Croatian Media Reports on Serbian Attendance at Josipovic's 
Inauguration: In response to Serbia's absence at the presidential 
inauguration, the Croatian press reported on February 17 that 
President-elect Josipovic said, "I'm sorry that President Tadic is 
not coming. I think that it is a missed opportunity to start 
dialogue as soon as possible." Josipovic noted that he did not see 
Tadic's decision as an act of animosity towards him or towards 
Croatia.  Commenting on Josipovic's statement that Croatia was 
offering Serbia its hand in friendship, the Croatian press noted 
that Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Croatia was clearly 
told that Serbian representatives would not attend the event if 
representatives of Kosovo attended.  Jeremic added that Serbia was 
willing to cooperate in everything and wanted the best possible 
relations with Croatia, "but not at the price of any humiliation or, 
God forbid, the recognition of Kosovo ...." 
¶3. (U) Poll Shows Croatians Have High Hopes for New President: On 
the day of Ivo Josipovic's inauguration a new poll indicates that 
Croatians are very positive about the new president and his ability 
to improve conditions in Croatia.  Nearly two-thirds of the 
respondents think that Josipovic is likely to raise the standard of 
living.  Additionally, more than 80 percent of respondents believe 
that Josipovic will be a positive force in the government's fight 
against corruption.  Despite the fact that the president has very 
little influence in the economic sphere, the same poll shows that 
more than half of respondents think that Josipovic's presidency will 
help stimulate economic reforms, spur job growth and lead to lower 
taxes. 
 
¶4. (U) Office for Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption 
(USKOK) presents its report to the National Council for Suppression 
of Corruption: USKOK's office reported that in 2009, 192 individuals 
were convicted of corruption, which represents an increase of 138% 
compared with 2008.  The Director of USKOK reported that many of the 
cases included high-level corruption and high-level officials, 
giving the example of the government's former vice president, a 
former minister and a state secretary.  USKOK's director 
additionally reported that in 2007, illegally gained property worth 
15 million Euros was frozen.  The USKOK director stated that his 
office and the office of the Chief State Prosecutor are not subject 
to political influence. 
 
¶5. (U) ICITAP Case Management Training: ICITAP just completed a 
two-day seminar on complex criminal case preparation for the 
directors and senior staff of the Police's Office for Suppression of 
Organized Crime and Corruption (PN USKOK) and the Prosecutor's 
Office for Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption (USKOK). 
The seminar is designed to increase the conviction rate and develop 
a better working relationship between the prosecutor and the police. 
  In February and March, ICITAP will offer additional case 
management training seminars for police officers and state 
prosecutors who work on complex criminal cases in Osijek, Split and 
Rijeka, where PN USKOK and USKOK offices are located. 
 
¶6. (U) Bojan Guduric, Wanted for Pukanic's Murder, to be Extradited 
to Croatia: Croatian media report that the Bosnian Federal Court has 
ruled that Bojan Guduric, accused of murdering Ivo Pukanic, the late 
publisher and co-owner of the NCL media group in Zagreb, is to be 
extradited to Croatia. After the Bosnian Minster of Justice signs 
the extradition decree, law enforcement officials in Bosnia and 
Croatia will agree on the technical details of Guduric's 
extradition. 
 
 
 
 
FOLEY