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Cablegate: Zagreb Daily Activity Report: January 21, 2010

VZCZCXRO4177
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHVB #0045 0211424
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211424Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9838
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000045

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR
SUBJECT: ZAGREB DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT: JANUARY 21, 2010

1. (U) PRESIDENT'S OFFICE ISSUE STATEMENT CLARIFYING MESIC'S
RECENT COMMENTS ON BiH: Mesic's office released a statement
on January 21 responding to "certain nervous and unfounded
reactions" to this week's comments by Mesic that Croatia
would be ready to respond militarily if Republika Srpska
moved to secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The January 21
statement said that Mesic has been speaking only in the
conditional, and that his comments should be understood only
as "a radically formulated warning to the world not to turn a
blind eye" to Dodik's policies in the RS. The statement went
on to say that the disintegration of BiH "would be absolutely
unacceptable for Croatia" but that the President is aware
that only the Croatian Parliament can decide to deploy the
Croatian military.

2. (U) FM JANDROKOVIC MEETS WITH NEW SERBIAN AMBASSADOR;
TADIC WILL NOT ATTEND CROATIAN PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION: The
MFA reported on January 20 that FM Jandrokovic met with the
new Serbian Ambassador to Croatia Stanimir Vukicevic in
Zagreb on Wednesday. Both sides claimed that relations
between Croatia and Serbia were better than they were
perceived in public and the FM noted that the GoC would give
to Serbia and other interested Southeast European countries
translated copies of the EU's "acquis communautaire"
documents. The Croatian press also reported that Serbian
President Tadic will not come to President-Elect Ivo
Josipovic's inauguration as President Sejdiu of Kosovo has
now confirmed his plan to attend. More details to follow on
bilateral relations between Croatia and Serbia.

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3. (U) SLOVENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT BEGINS DELIBERATIONS ON
ARBITRATION AGREEMENT WITH CROATIA: Croatian media report
that Slovenia's Constitutional Court will begin deliberations
January 21 to determine whether specific provisions of the
Croatia-Slovenia Arbitration Agreement on their border
dispute are constitutional. The reports speculate that these
deliberations will take weeks, or even months, to conclude.
On January 20, the Croatian NGO "Sea is Land" claimed that
they had gathered just over 200,000 signatures (or less than
half the number required) on their petition to force a
referendum on the Agreement. Despite this failure, the NGO
said it would ask the Croatian Constitutional Court to rule
on the constitutionality of the document. GoC contacts
consider this appeal very unlikely to succeed.

4. (U) "NO UNTOUCHABLES IN WAR ON CORRUPTION", SAY CROATIAN
JUSTICE AND INTERIOR MINISTERS: Croatian Minister of Justice
Ivan Simonovic discussed recent accomplishments in the GoC's
"all-out war" on corruption and organized crime, during a
January 20 radio interview. Simonovic stressed that on the
political level both PM Jadranka Kosor and President-Elect
Ivo Josipovic had identified corruption as their top
priority. Croatia's Minister of the Interior, Tomislav
Karamarko, and the national Police Chief, Oliver Grbic, in a
separate press conference, warned that there are no
untouchables in the corruption crackdown. Karamarko said he
would not hesitate to investigate anyone in the country who
was suspected of criminal activities. Grbic also cited
recent police investigations of corruption allegations
against several CEOs and management officials of State Owned
Enterprises (SOEs), which have led to criminal charges.

5. (U) THIRD CROATIAN CONTINGENT SENT TO KOSOVO: The MoD
reported on January 20 that the third Croatian contingent,
comprised of 20 members of the Croatian Armed Forces, as well
as two Mi-171-Sh transport helicopters, was sent to Kosovo to
participate in KFOR for a four month rotation.
FOLEY

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