Balkan Crisis Report No.533

[Ivo Skoric]

This IWPR report contains a couple of higly intriguing scandals in
the Balkans:
1) Kosovo will have a prime minister that also may be indicted for
war crimes at The Hague. Kosovo Albanian situation now evokes the
Serbian situation of half a decade ago - when Milosevic was
simultaneously supported by his own constituency as the president /
prime minister, while sought by the international community as war
criminal. It is going to be interesting to see whether the i.c. will
be as resolute in Haradinaj's case and how this will play on the
ground.
2) Russian surface-air missiles were smuggled from Montenegro to
Albania, apparently to be used by Albanian separatists in Macedonia
against Macedonian helicopter gunships (which so far proved to be the
weapon of choice used by Macedonian authorities in efforts to quell
Albanian separatist insurgency). Albanian police seized the weapons
and arrested smugglers. However, a similar operation may once succeed
and renew hostilities in Macedonia (without helicopters, Macedonia
would not be able to control the insurgency).
3) Croatian secret police chief was relieved from his duties for
allegedly spying on the country's president - Stipe Mesic. Why did he
do it is still a mistery, though. But the affair broke right before
the presidential elections campaign, and possibly gave a boost to
Mesic's political standing.
ivo

------- Forwarded message follows -------
WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 533, December  16, 2004

TALK OF HARADINAJ INDICTMENT UNNERVES KOSOVO
If the Hague tribunal indicts the former KLA commander, violence may
erupt in his western Kosovo heartland. By Zana Limani and Muhamet
Hajrullahu in Decani, and Jeta Xharra in London

MISSILES SEIZED IN ALBANIA
Albanian police have arrested four people smuggling in surface-to-air
missiles allegedly destined for Albanian separatists in Macedonia. By
Neil Barnett in Tirana

POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY FOLLOWS ROMANIA VOTE
Romania is braced for a period of political uncertainty after
centrist
candidate Traian Basescu won an unexpected victory in the
presidential
election this week. By Marian Chiriac in Bucharest

COMMENT: BULGARIA'S BORDER BLUES
Bribery and corruption appear routine among officials on what may
soon
be the gateway to the European Union. By Marcus Tanner in Belgrade

WATERGATE-STYLE SPYING SCANDAL ROCKS ZAGREB
Revelations that the secret services placed the president under
surveillance have pushed Croatia to the brink of a constitutional
crisis. By Drago Hedl from Osijek



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TALK OF HARADINAJ INDICTMENT UNNERVES KOSOVO

If the Hague tribunal indicts the former KLA commander, violence may
erupt in his western Kosovo heartland.

By Zana Limani and Muhamet Hajrullahu in Decani, and Jeta Xharra in
London

The situation in western Kosovo is increasingly fragile two weeks
ahead of the December 31 deadline for the Hague tribunal to issue the
final war crimes indictments in the former Yugoslavia.


Many people interviewed by IWPR in the Decani region, home to Ramush
Haradinaj, the new prime minister of Kosovo, are predicting major
unrest if he is indicted in the final three weeks.


Tribunal officials visiting Pristina have already questioned
Haradinaj
twice, on November 10 and 11, over his role as a commander of the
Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, in 1998-99 in the western Dukagjini
region.


The possibility that an indictment might be issued did not prevent
Haradinaj from being nominated to the second most important post in
the Kosovo government after the presidency.


He was inaugurated as prime minister on December 3, after a coalition
deal was struck between Kosovo's biggest party, the Democratic League
of Kosovo, LDK, and Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo,
AAK.


Although Haradinaj says he is confident that he will continue to run
the government, some of his hard-line supporters in the Decani area
are preparing for the worst.


Ibrahim Selmanaj, mayor of Decani, says local officials are bracing
themselves for turbulence.


"Knowing the mentality of my people, and knowing that Ramush's family
is highly respected for the sacrifice of family members in the war,
people will react very badly to his arrest," Selmanaj told IWPR.


"This reaction will be directed at everything and everyone, including
my own institution", the mayor added.


Others are also predicting that Haradinaj's arrest will trigger
unrest
in the town, which is burdened with high unemployment, especially
among the young, and poor infrastructure.


Naim Rashiti, a researcher with the International Crisis Group office
in Kosovo, who spent two days in the western areas researching the
security situation, says a combination of economic deprivation and
demographics could lead to serious trouble in the event of
Haradinaj's
arrest.


"Six hundred students graduate yearly from Decani high schools, of
whom only 100 go on to university," said Rashiti. "The rest of the
unemployed young people are left behind, listening to stories and
legends about the [1998-99] war. They would have no problem with
violence if somebody with a heroic reputation, such as Haradinaj, was
arrested."


"There will definitely be riots like those in March if he [Haradinaj]
is arrested," agreed Rexhë Kukalaj, who runs a Kosova Petrol gas
station in Decani. "Once they start, who knows what will happen next?


"If they wanted to arrest him, they shouldn't have let him become
prime minister in the first place."



Naim Haxhosaj, 25, a student from Decani, confirmed he was ready to
take to the streets if Haradinaj was indicted, adding that he would
direct his anger at the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK.


"I will join protests against UNMIK because they are the ones who are
cooperating with The Hague over these unfair arrests", Haxhosaj told
IWPR.



Veterans from the Kosovo war also said they held UNMIK responsible.


"We blame UNMIK for every arrest so far, and they are the ones we
protest against," said Sherif Krasniqi, president of the Association
of War Veterans, which says it defends KLA war values.


"In Kosovo, they are the ones leading the inquiries, not The Hague,"
he added.


The anger vented against UNMIK is ironic given that Carla del Ponte,
the Hague tribunal's chief prosecutor, publicly criticised the UN
body
at the NATO summit on December 3 for its alleged failure to cooperate
over war crimes in Kosovo.


In spite of the mounting hostile chorus, the NATO-led peacekeeping
Kosovo Force, KFOR, says it is not convinced there is any serious
cause for concern at the moment.


"The situation is calm and quiet and we love it like that," KFOR
spokesman Colonel Yves Kermorvant told the media in Pristina on
December 10.


A former member of the KLA living in Decan, however, told IWPR that
UNMIK might find itself facing paramilitaries if Haradinaj was
indicted.


"No one has given up all the arms they had in the war," he said. "We
could easily get a thousand armed people together overnight."


"These are people who have nothing to lose," said Naim Rashiti. "They
are not necessarily members of the AAK [Hardinaj's party] but they
would be former KLA fighters, or members of more militant
organisations who have been involved before in conflicts in the
Presevo valley and Macedonia."


Other potential fighters, according to Rashiti, would be young people
who did not fight in any of these previous conflicts but who are now
desperate to vent their frustration.


UNMIK head Soren Jessen-Petersen certainly knows he will have his
hands full if violence does erupt if Haradinaj is arrested.


On December 13 he told the BBC's Hardtalk show that he had asked KFOR
to ensure that troops in the ground were "more mobile, more flexible
and also more visible".


However, fears remain that it will take more than efficient
deployment
of troops to keep control of Kosovo if there is an eruption of
violence, which many believe is imminent.


Zana Limani and Muhamet Hajrullahu are journalists with IWPR's Kosovo
office. Jeta Xharra is IWPR Kosovo project manager.



MISSILES SEIZED IN ALBANIA

Albanian police have arrested four people smuggling in surface-to-air
missiles allegedly destined for Albanian separatists in Macedonia.

By Neil Barnett in Tirana

The seizure in Albania of three shoulder-launched surface-to-air
missiles allegedly destined for Albanian separatists in Macedonia has
sparked fears of a brewing security threat in the region.


The SA-7B Strela missiles were intercepted on December 13. They are
believed to have originated in Bosnia or Serbia and may have been
destined for Macedonia, where ethnic-Albanian insurgents fought a
brief war against the authorities in 2001.


Albanian police arrested four people – Sokol Mujaj, Ilim Isufi,
Armir Troshani and Mentor Cani – in possession of the missiles
shortly after they entered the country from Montenegro.


Bajram Ibraj, director-general of the Albanian police, said, "Four
men
were caught travelling with the missiles on the Rinas-Vlora road, in
a
van belonging to a company dealing in sausages. This was a police
operation prepared in advance. We are still investigating the origin
and destination of the missiles, and our counterparts in Montenegro
are also investigating."


Security sources told IWPR that an Albanian separatist group
operating
in Kosovo and Macedonia is believed to have ordered the missile. The
deal was allegedly brokered by a Bosnian national, who sourced the
weapons from a group with links to Islamist and criminal networks.


The Russian-made Strela and other surface-to-air missiles, SAMs, pose
a significant threat to both civilian and military aircraft. Similar
shoulder-launched missiles were launched - unsuccessfully - against
an
Israeli airliner in Mombasa in 2002 and a more advanced version,
Strela 3, hit a DHL cargo plane on approach to Baghdad airport in
2003.


According to IWPR's security source, ethnic Albanian extremists in
Macedonia have dramatically stepped up military activities in the
last
three months.


They have attempted to obtain SAMs from several sources, possibly for
use against surveillance drones and Macedonian attack helicopters.
There has also been an upsurge in recruitment, local and
international
funding and the purchase of medical supplies. The source also claims
that insurgent radio communication networks silent since 2001 have
recently been heard making test broadcasts.


Tension has been rising in Macedonia since mid-November, when up to
300 armed ethnic Albanians appeared in the village of Kondovo near
Skopje. The men have since taken control of the village, digging
trenches apparently unhindered by security forces.


Their intentions are unclear, as are their loyalties.


The interior ministry has dismissed the men as a group of criminals,
while speculation in the local press says they are Islamists linked
to
a foreign-funded madrassah or religious school in the village.


Some local sources claim they are simply unemployed men airing their
frustration with the leader of the Albanian party now in the
country's
governing coalition, Ali Ahmeti, over the poor state of the economy.


Whatever the explanation behind the Kondovo incident and the arms
intercept, analysts warn that the combination of unfinished political
business, porous borders, weak law enforcement and a plentiful supply
of weapons continues to pose a threat to the stability of the
Balkans.


However, international attempts to step up efforts against organised
crime in the region, including arms trafficking, are bearing some
fruit.


The announcement of the missile seizure came during a regional
conference in Tirana, hosted by Albania's ministry of public order,
on
tackling small arms and light weapons trafficking in south-east
Europe.


The conference was organised by the Southeast European Co-operation
Initiative, SECI, a Bucharest-based centre for regional co-operation
on organised crime, and was attended by law enforcement officers from
around the region.


As well as SECI, there are numerous police training, liaison and
assistance schemes in the region run by Interpol, the United Nations,
the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the
European Union.


It is clear, however, that the task of combating arms trafficking is
huge.


One conference delegate, who did not want to be named, pointed out
that as no Balkan country grades its criminal intelligence according
to the reliability of its sources, it is hard for SECI to assess it.


"The idea of doing serious analysis of criminal organisations – the
kind that would allow one to take down a whole network rather than
just individuals - is also new," he added.


Not only is there considerable mistrust between different national
police forces, there is also limited co-operation between the various
law-enforcement agencies within the same country.


Yet many south-eastern European countries are working to limit the
trafficking of weapons through their territory, partly to meet strict
membership criteria laid down by the European Union, and also to show
the West that they are serious about tackling organised crime gangs.


There is no doubt that Albania and others in the region are making
progress, but the improvements sometimes run in parallel to criminal
activity that allegedly reaches the highest levels of government.


Erion Veliaj, leader of the Albanian civic protest movement Mjaft!
(Enough!), told IWPR, "Everything the government doesn't traffic
itself, it intercepts to impress the international community."


Earlier in 2004, Prime Minister Fatos Nano was accused of
facilitating
the trafficking of arms to the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation
Army,
KLA, on the strength of allegedly incriminating conversations he had
in 1997. He subsequently said that assisting the KLA was morally
justifiable.


"[Nano's] Kosovo trafficking admission proves people at the top of
government know how to traffic arms, and so it may have happened in
other incidents. I've seen Albanian-made Kalashnikovs in Rwanda with
my own eyes," said Veliaj.


Moving weapons, drugs, human beings or contraband across Balkan
borders is slowly becoming a riskier business, but it will be many
years before trans-national criminals decide that the likelihood of
being captured and successfully prosecuted outweighs the
attractiveness of illicit profits.


Neil Barnett is an independent foreign correspondent
(www.neil-barnett.com)



POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY FOLLOWS ROMANIA VOTE

Romania is braced for a period of political uncertainty after
centrist
candidate Traian Basescu won an unexpected victory in the
presidential
election this week.

By Marian Chiriac in Bucharest

Romania is braced for a period of political uncertainty after
centrist
candidate Traian Basescu won an unexpected victory in the
presidential
election this week.


But as Basescu's alliance of Liberals and Democrats, DA, failed to
secure a parliamentary majority, the possibility of a snap election
has been raised.


Basescu, 53, the mayor of Bucharest, became Romania's third
post-communist president following a campaign that centred on
replacing the ruling ex-communists with a reformist team in the run-
up
to European Union entry, which is hoped for in 2007.


He takes over from Ion Iliescu, who has been president for 11 of the
15 years that have passed since the revolution that deposed Romania's
former dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu.


In his victory speech December 13, Basescu said his priority would be
to fight corruption and to free state institutions from political
interference and "put them to work on behalf of the citizens".


He added, "Political influence should not be allowed. The president
should watch over this".


The remarks seemed aimed at his opponent, the defeated presidential
candidate Prime Minister Adrian Nastase.


Nastase's Social Democratic Party, PSD, is widely seen as tainted by
corruption and political foul play. However, it retains a strong
following in rural areas, among the older generation and lower income
groups.


Their support ensured Nastase's party won 189 of 469 seats in the
parliamentary elections held on November 28, ahead of the DA, which
took 161 seats.


The rest went to the ultra-nationalists of the Greater Romania Party;
a small pro-business party, PUR, and a party representing ethnic
Hungarians, UDMR.


"This is the most fragile political situation Romania ever faced in
the last 15 years as neither side has enough seats to form a
parliamentary majority," journalist Mircea Zamfir told IWPR.


"This shows Romania is deeply divided, with rural people mostly
voting
for the ruling party and urban types preferring the opposition."


Nearly half of Romania's population lives in the countryside, where
most people rely on low state pensions, which the PSD promises to
raise.


The country's division along social and geographical lines opens up
the prospect of a future confrontation between the right-of-centre
president and the dominant centre-left faction in parliament.


In Romania, unlike most European countries, the president nominates
the prime minister, who then forms the government.


Basescu will want to give that post to a candidate from his centrist
alliance, which will not have a majority in parliament.


He said it would not be easy for the president to bring either the
PSD
or the ultranationalists into government without jeopardising reforms
which are vital for EU entry.


"Any political edifice that includes the Social Democratic Party or
fringe nationalists would render the fight against corruption
impossible and would be against the national interest," Basescu said.


The new president may have no choice, however. His only other
possible
allies, the PUR and UDMR, are both close to the Social Democrats.


The PUR meanwhile has proposed that Basescu include the PSD in a new
"national coalition", which would open up the possibility of Nastase
remaining prime minister.


However, the DA has already rejected the proposal for a joint
government of leftists and centrists, saying it was "not the way
politics should be carried on today".


Analysts are struggling to imagine a workable third scenario.
"Romania
is still an intriguing country, where surprises often happen,"
Alexandru Purcarus, professor of NATO security issues at Bucharest
University, told IWPR.


He raised the possibility of a handful of PSD or PUR "turncoats"
switching allegiance over the next few days "to 'help' Basescu form a
new government".


However, Purcarus warned that "this would not produce a strong
government, capable of pushing forward necessary reforms. Fresh
parliamentary elections are very probable, early next year".


Under the Romanian constitution, parliament has two months to approve
a new government after the president has submitted this request at
least twice. After that, the president may dissolve the legislature
and call early elections.


Claudiu Saftoiu, a media and political trainer, told IWPR that months
of delays would be undesirable for a country racing to join the EU.


"I hope that a government, even a minority one, will soon be formed,"
Saftoiu said. "Any delays might create problems with the European
Union."


On December 14, Romania and neighbouring Bulgaria completed
membership
negotiations with the EU aimed at bringing them into the union in
2007.


However, Brussels has signalled that it will continue to take a
tougher line with Romania when monitoring progress in key areas,
including the fight against corruption, judicial reform and ending
state aid to companies.


Marian Chiriac is a regular IWPR contributor in Bucharest



COMMENT: BULGARIA'S BORDER BLUES

Bribery and corruption appear routine among officials on what may
soon
be the gateway to the European Union.

By Marcus Tanner in Belgrade

At the Bulgarian border with Serbia between Dragoman and
Dimitrovgrad,
lorries, cars and buses fan out into several lanes before the
flashing
lights at the checkpoint.


This is a busy frontier, handling growing freight traffic between
Turkey and the West and an increasing number of tourists and shoppers
heading to and from Bulgaria, where the retail sector has improved
dramatically in recent years.


The checkpoint has been upgraded to suit the fact that, in 2007, this
border will mark the external frontier of the European Union with the
western Balkans, if Sofia's application for membership is approved.


But if this is going to be Europe's front door in two years' time,
both Europe and Bulgaria have a lot of cleaning up to do first.


Corrupt practices appear routine among both Bulgarian and Serbian
customs officials, and the giving and soliciting of bribes is
flagrant.


IWPR investigated this malpractice by catching a regular bus service
from Sofia, 55 kilometres east of the frontier, for the Serbian city
of Nis, a further 100km west.


The vehicle, owned by Serbia's state-owned Nis Ekspres company,
reached the border on time at around 4.45pm.


It then spent four and a half hours standing there, as passengers
argued openly with customs officers over the scale of bribes the
latter sought before they would let the bus through.


The trouble started immediately, when the customs on the Bulgarian
side diverted the vehicle into an inspection zone.


It was hard to see why a regular passenger bus which plies this route
several times a week should be diverted into an inspection area
designed to reveal secret caches of goods or human beings in or
underneath sealed lorries.


The garage, in which inspectors can stand in deep trenches enabling
them to combing the underside of suspect vehicles, is hardly designed
for use on buses with glass windows, where everything is visible.
What
could be hidden in, or under, a bus, we wondered?


But our fellow passengers were not surprised. Nor did they expect the
bus actually to undergo an inspection. It was, they said, a waiting
game.


Some of the more experienced passengers on this route got off to talk
to the customs officials. Before they did so, they casually solicited
money from fellow passengers while ignoring us, the foreigners.


The negotiators returned later, disappointed. "They want more," one
of
them announced, referring to the customs officers. "How much more?" I
asked, revealing for the first time that I understood their language.
"Have you got ten euro?" the man asked, hopefully.


The first collection of money had clearly got nowhere and now the man
wanted ten euro from everyone before he returned to negotiate with
the
officials. We were carrying no euro, but agreed to hand over some
Bulgarian levs, worth less than half the required amount.


While we stood outside, waiting in the night air, a Roma trader stood
alongside, smoking furiously and cursing the customs officers for
their greed.


The woman pointed to another bus that had arrived after ours, but
which was now passing rapidly and painlessly through the checkpoint,
while ours remained behind.


This surprised us, as it contained more than twice as many passengers
as our own bus and the opening of the hold – inspected only briefly
– revealed stacks of bottles of alcohol and other merchandise.


"That belongs to a private company," she said. "Their driver will go
in and press 200 euro into the officials' hands.


"Our bus," she added, "belongs to a state company. The driver has no
money to give them, so we must stay."


The woman's acceptance of this regime of casual extortion and paid
favours shocked us, but her views, she said, reflected years of
experience gained by making this journey every week.


"I buy clothes in Sofia to sell at the market in Nis, and it is the
same wait every time – four or five hours, or even longer," she
told
IWPR.


Sometimes, she said, the bus and its passengers were still waiting
there when the customs officers' day shift went home. Then, they had
to start the whole process anew with the night shift.


"The big shots go through – it's small fry like us who suffer," she
said, bitterly.


"They take the last crust out of our mouths, while they buy villas
and
big cars on the money they take."


I understood her bitterness, as the bundles of goods of the small
traders on the bus would probably not have attracted the attention of
customs officials on a "normal" frontier.


This woman's goods consisted of some blouses and shirts, which filled
three, torn medium-sized plastic bags. Her income from these sales
does not exceed a hundred euro a month.


"You try keeping a family of four on that in Serbia," she said. Her
husband had lost his job in Nis five years ago, so she was the sole
earner. Her worn and malnourished face told its own story.


The 4pm bus from Sofia to Nis, which should have reached its
destination within three hours, arrived at 11pm. In the end, the
Bulgarian customs officials let us through. They always do,
apparently
- it is just a question of who gives in first.


Perhaps the customs officers had finally accepted that our last
little
tribute of levs and Serbian dinars was all that they were likely to
squeeze out of this particular lemon.


The second half of our four-and-a-half-hour ordeal was to be spent at
the hands of the Serbian customs, whose practices appeared to mirror
those of their Bulgarian counterparts.


The difference is this: Bulgaria is soon set to join not only one of
the world's most power powerful trading blocs, but a body that claims
to set standards of good government.


Serbia has not even applied to join. Standards of conduct on Serbia's
border are to an extent its own affair. The standards adhered to by
Bulgaria, however, will soon reflect on Europe as a whole.


Marcus Tanner is IWPR's editor/trainer in Belgrade



WATERGATE-STYLE SPYING SCANDAL ROCKS ZAGREB

Revelations that the secret services placed the president under
surveillance have pushed Croatia to the brink of a constitutional
crisis.

By Drago Hedl from Osijek

A showdown between President Stjepan Mesic and Prime Minister Ivo
Sanader in a controversial case of alleged spying has raised tension
between the country's two most powerful politicians, at one point
even
provoking fears of a constitutional crisis.


The affair broke at an inconvenient time for Croatia, mid-way through
its negotiations with Brussels on setting the date for the start of
talks on joining the European Union.


At a dramatic meeting on December 10, Sanader caved in to Mesic's
demand for the head of the secret service, Josko Podbevsek, to be
dismissed. Under Croatian law, such a decision requires the consent
of
both president and prime minister.


Mesic submitted a written request for Podbevsek's dismissal on
November 25, claiming the secret service, known as POA, illegally
interrogated Helena Puljiz, a reporter who at one point had been
assigned to cover the president's activities.


Mesic said that on October 5, POA agents grilled her for five and a
half hours in search of compromising details about his personal life
and official duties. At the time of the interrogation she was no
longer working as a reporter on presidential matters, and was out of
work.


According to Mesic, offered Puljiz a job with the media of her choice
if she cooperated. Instead, she reported the whole affair to the
council that supervises the conduct of the secret services.


Sanader initially resisted Mesic's demand for Podbevsek's removal,
according to the Croatian media. TV and newspapers reported that
after
Mesic submitted his request, the prime minister reacted by telling
aides, "Signing a decision to relieve the secret service chief of his
duties is the last thing I will do."


The prime minister denied that the POA had done anything illegal, and
gave the agency chief his firm backing.


The constitutional wrangle broke shortly before the start of
campaigning for the presidential election scheduled for January 2
next
year.


Mirjana Kasapovic, a professor at the Zagreb faculty of political
sciences, told the weekly newspaper Globus that the crisis was the
result of the incomplete reform of the presidential office in
Croatia.


After the death of Franjo Tudjman, the first president of independent
Croatia, parliament scrapped many of the powers he had enjoyed, she
said. But shared authority over the appointment or removal of the
head
of the secret service was not one of them. This creates the
conditions
for stalemate because there is no constitutional provision for the
event that the president and prime minister cannot agree on some
issue.


Ivo Josipovic, a Zagreb law school professor, told IWPR, "From a
legal
point of view, it's clear. The secret service chief can be neither
appointed nor relieved of his duties without the signatures of both
the president and the prime minister."


Josipovic's verdict is that "the problem requires a political
solution".


However, for two weeks after the crisis broke, there was no such
solution in sight, as both Mesic and Sanader firmly stood their
ground.


Meanwhile, serious charges against the POA surfaced in the pages of
Nacional, a weekly well known for its connections to the police. On
December 7, the newspaper claimed the secret service had placed Mesic
under "operational surveillance".


The weekly cited POA documents corroborating its sensational story,
and said the goal of the operation was to gather as much compromising
information on Mesic as possible and undermine him during his
election
campaign.


Sanader denied he had anything to do with the secret service's
surveillance of Mesic. "[These] insinuations are completely unfounded
and unacceptable," Sanader told a government meeting on December 9.
But his remarks failed to clarify whether he accepted that the secret
services had placed the president under surveillance.


Mesic, on the other hand, gave credence to the Nacional report. He
told the newspaper Feral Tribune on December 8, "I really have reason
to believe that the POA took an interest in my personal life and
character."


Asked exactly what the POA was interested in, Mesic said, "They asked
questions about me and my daily habits."


Mesic added that he did not believe Sanader was behind the operation.
Instead, he said he had reason to believe it was masterminded either
by someone trying to score points with Sanader, or by the secret
service itself.


A source close to Mesic told the IWPR that the president had no wish
to aggravate the matter further; all he sought was the removal of the
head secret police chief.


"Draw your own conclusions from the fact that Sanader backed down
after two weeks and agreed to relieve Podbevsek of his duties," the
source said.


At their showdown on December 10, Mesic and Sanader agreed to name
Tomislav Karamarko as successor to Podbevsek.


Karamarko was earlier in charge of the Tudjman-era national security
office or UNS which has since been dissolved.


He has now been instructed to assemble a team of experts to draft a
new law on the secret services that rules out abuses of authority
such
as the apparent surveillance of Mesic.


Professor Zlatko Cvrtila, chairman of the council for civilian
supervision of the secret services, has also resigned over the
affair,
disappointed with the fact that the majority of his fellow council
members did not want to discuss the issue of Helena Puljiz and her
interrogation.


He told IWPR that the law should extend the council's authority to
include oversight of human rights violations by the secret services,
in addition to possible unlawful actions.


"The council shouldn't be the only of its kind," said Cvrtila. "There
should be more bodies involved, and parliament's committee for
internal affairs and national security should also play a crucial
role."


Cvrtila said the parliament's national security committee should
always be controlled by the opposition. This was not the case at
present, he added, which had made cover-ups of such irregularities
possible.


Drago Hedl is a regular IWPR contributor from Osijek.



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