If one is to believe the assessments by the Central Intelligence Agency and the diplomatic EU representative in Croatia, then Croatia could truly be directly endangered by Al Qaeda activities and the activities of other radical Islamic terrorism organizations. These suspicions are contrary to the general domestic assessment that Croatia, due to the structure of its population, geopolitical position and relatively insignificant role in global political processes is unlikely to be a direct target of international terrorism.

Police experts already analyzing the challenges to aircraft and air travel safety Croatian police experts are aware of the serious problems and challenges that arose following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US on air travel and aircraft safety. Soon after the attacks, Marko Kričanić, a Croatian police expert for security issues and a member of the UN mission in Kosovo, where he teaches Kosovo and Serbian police criminal justice procedure, drafted an expert paper on the various aspects of security in the Croatian air travel system following the Al Qaeda attacks on the US. In his paper, published in the expert journals Police and Security and Informator, he claims that there is no room for ease in the Croatian air travel system, even though Croatia is likely not a target for international terrorism. Kričanić describes that the legal framework in Croatia includes the basis where the police can protect air traffic from terrorism, and he suggests the desired direction of the operation of that protection. Air travel and aircrafts can be protected by concentrated protective rings forms by the interweaving of various security agencies – from the police to security teams which are directly hired by the airports for various control and security tasks. He describes in detail the system of technical security and electronic security, and he suggests possible ways of protecting airplane staff from attacks in the aircraft. As one of the possibilities, the author suggested employing air attendants who are trained in the martial arts, such as aikido or jiu jitsua.Nacional received confirmed of this dramatic assessment from several foreign political officials last week. Furthermore, Nacional uncovered that certain international experts are beginning to suspect that a portion of the financiers of international terrorism and Al Qaeda from Saudi Arabia have been present in Croatia for years, through their co-ownership in five Končar companies.

The US CIA suspects that Croatia Airlines could be a target of the Al Qaeda terrorists. According to one scenario the CIA mentions in writing, Al Qaeda terrorists could attack and hijack a Croatia Airlines flight, redirect it towards London and crash into Heathrow Airport. Croatia is not the only country threatened by such a terrorist attack. The CIA also suspects that Al Qaeda could attack Heathrow in the same way by hijacking Polish, Czech or Hungarian planes. Nacional’s sources claims that in mid 2003, the CIA informed the potentially threatened countries of their suspicions. It can be assumed that the authorized bodies of the Croatian government and the other nations mentioned reacted appropriately and discretely increased security measures in order to protect their aircraft. Though the events in the intelligence reports have not happened, which perhaps could be due to the adequate reactions of these countries, that does not mean that the CIA’s suspicions were not firmly grounded or that they should be ignored and forgotten over time. The CIA has had information for some time that Al Qaeda is planning its next attack on Heathrow airport. The information on the potential threat to Croatian aircraft appeared less than four months after Heathrow was almost closed down in February 2003 due to terrorist threats.

The Italian daily Corierre della Sera published similar information in early August 2003, and Croatian papers carried the news. The Italian paper stated that members of Al Qaeda could enter into Italy through Croatia carrying Italian passports. Allegedly, that was the time of the first contact between the CIA and the government in Zagreb, informing them that terrorist groups were preparing to carry out suicide attacks and airplane hijackings. Allegedly, the suspected group included about ten Iranian men with forged travel documents. At that time, it was mentioned that the group could be planning to hijack an Al Italia jet, but it was not stated that the destination was London.

Much more concrete suspicions arose at the beginning of this year. At that time, American, British and French authorities cancelled five flights on 1 and 2 January due to terrorist threats. Three British Airways and two Air France flights were cancelled: from London to Miami and Washington and from Washington to London, and Air France flight from Paris to Washington and Washington to Paris. These preventive security measures resulted in public concern, and Britain was in fear of the potential catastrophic economic consequences for Heathrow airport. It is most likely due to similar serious economic and security consequences for Croatia, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary that the CIA suspicions of the threats to their aircraft were held in complete secrecy.

Not only are Croatian airplanes a potential Al Qaeda target. Foreign political officials have confirmed for Nacional that the Embassies of Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Poland in Croatian are also afraid of potential attacks. These countries all have active troops in Iraq. Likely the US Embassy in Croatia is also not excluding such a possibility, as its embassies have been attacked before throughout the world and the number of victims large. Not one of the countries mentioned considers Croatia to be an unsafe country, however, they believe that due to the increased global terrorism threats that they must increase the security of their embassies throughout the world, including in Croatia. All of the embassies of the EU member states present in Croatia have for some time been considering how to more effectively protect their staff and property in Zagreb. Allegedly, they have already discussed this issue at the lower diplomatic levels with representatives of the Croatian Foreign Ministry. The Italian Embassy has already requested addition police security, while the Spanish Embassy did the same earlier. However, the Croatian side allegedly told the Spanish that they should seek addition protection from private security companies. That angered the Spanish diplomatic mission, who then warned the Croatian side that they were in violation of the Vienna Convention and that in Spain, all the embassies have state guards.

Though the security assessments of foreign embassies on the danger to their property in Croatia mention the global terrorist threat in which Croatia is only one of many potential targets, the geopolitical position of Croatia suggests that additional security measures are needed due to neighbouring Bosnia Herzegovina. For example, in summer 2003, the Italian troops uncovered a terrorist training base only one hundred kilometers from Sarajevo and within, they found arms and documents written in an Arab tongue.

In addition to being a potential victim of a terrorist attack, Croatia could also be on the list of countries whose companies directly participate in financing international terrorism. Reason for such concern arose last year from Jean Charles Brisard, expert for international terrorism and Al Qaeda financing. His consulting company JCB Consulting was hired by the well known US company Motley Rice, which represents more than 600 of the victims’ families of the 11 September 2001 attacks. Ron and Ness Motley, attorneys who became famous in the US following their win over the tobacco giants and their $350 billion in damages won, hired Brisard as the lead investigator in the case in which they are seeking trillions of dollars in damages from seven international banks, eight Islamic foundations, humanitarian associations and their branch offices and numerous companies, primarily from Saudi Arabia, who have been accused of directly financing Bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

Brisard is author of many papers analyzing the financing of Al Qaeda written for the needs of the UN Security Council and on 22 September 2003, he spoke before the UN Senate Banking Committee, in which he precisely described the religious foundation, motive and technology allegedly used by the government of Saudi Arabia, its banks, companies and distinguished individuals in financing terrorism and Bin Laden. He arrived at a significant part of his conclusions thanks to a documents seized by the Bosnian authorities in 2002 and which reveals the so-called Golden Chain of 20 Al Qaeda financers from Saudi Arabia, who together control over $80 billion.

Due to this discovery, Brisard turned his attention in particular to BiH, and investigated just how the Vakufska and Depozitna Banks there came to be. His discoveries suggest that the banks were founded on the money of Yasina Al Kadija and Chafika Aayadija, persons on the UN sponsors of terrorism list, and by the money of the off-shore company Mahmal Investment. A large stockholder in this company is the Nesma Group from Saudi Arabia, which owns stocks in the five companies of Končar d.d. in Croatia. These banks harshly, though not fully, refuted the claims.

The Nesma Group, which Brisard connected to two international terrorist groups in BiH as well as other companies directly connected to Bin Laden, entered into the Končar Group in the mid 1990s. On 4 December 1995, Končar sold a minority share of the companies Končar – Mjerni Transformatori, Končar –Visokonaponski aparati and Končar – sklopna postrojenja to Nesma Contracting (P.O. box 7195, 21 462 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). In January 1996, Nesma Contracting became a minority shareholder in the companies Končar – Električni aparati srednjeg napona and in April of the same year, Končar – Distributivni i specijalni transformatori.

Head of Končar, Darinko Bago, learned of this information from the published Bosnian newspaper articles which described the links between the Depozitna and Vakufska Banks with international terrorism and the Nesma Group. “We learned of the possible involvement of the Nesma Group in financing international terrorist activities in August 2003, direct from the media. At the meeting of the Agency for combating money laundering, we were verbally informed that from this information, Nesma and its activities in Končar could not be connected with terrorism. Several of the then high ranking officials in the government also received the same information. I must state that the Nesma representatives have participated in the management of the Končar group companies since day one, in accordance with their share in the capital of those companies, and have participated in the working of the assembly and the supervisory boards,” commented Bago for Nacional.

Končar unofficially confirmed for Nacional that Nesma helps them get deals in the Near East. However, they were unable to explain which of the ten sheiks Al Turki is the true owner of the Nesma Group. Nor did they hide that fact that Nesma Contracting became more than 25% shareholder in the companies Končar – Distributivni i specijalni transformatori and Končar – Mjerni transformatori illegally, by not offering to sell off all the shares owned by small shareholders at a price by which they gained more than 25% of the shares. Končar claims that this was not a hostile takeover attempt, and that they sued Nesma before the Commercial Court due to a number of strange complications. The case is still ongoing and the verdict uncertain, as Nesma could not receive the lawsuit as allegedly, there is no treaty on legal aid between Croatia and Saudi Arabia.

The small shareholders do not believe this story, and have blamed Bago and the others hiding behind the company Consult-Info, which no longer exists today, which they believe sold Nesma the shares in question.

For the time being, Končar likely has no reason to worry about the suspicions of the business intentions of their Saudi partners, particularly since the Nesma Group is not included on the black list of blocked persons and companies with the US Finance Department. Last week, Nacional receive direct confirmation from the US State Department via the US Embassy in Zagreb that the Nesma Group is currently not directly tied to terrorism. However, this is obviously not the same opinion help by the team representing the families of the victims in the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Team leader Brisard recently accused the whole of Saudi Arabia before the US authorities for sponsoring Al Qaeda and other international terrorist groups. He stated before the authorities in September 2003 that he was personally informed by a top official in the FBI in June 2001 that all the answers in uncovering Bin Laden’s web were to be found in Saudi Arabia. It must be noted that following the 11 September 2001 attacks, only 41 Saudi bank accounts with a total of $5.6 million, or a ridiculous total of 4$ of all the frozen resources throughout the world connected to terrorism. Of course, one must not suggest that the entire nation, all its companies and all its citizens support terrorism. Just as the suspicions of the connection of Končar’s Saudi partners with international terrorism must not be immediately accepted as being true, even though Croatia could be facing political problems if the US decides to change its policies towards Saudi Arabia.