SOUTHERN SERBIA: ALBANIANS CONSIDERING PARTICIPATION IN

UNCLAS BELGRADE 001917 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SR MW YI SUBJECT: SOUTHERN SERBIA: ALBANIANS CONSIDERING PARTICIPATION IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Almost all Albanian party leaders from southern Serbia have expressed support for a joint Albanian list in Serbia's upcoming Parliamentary elections. Party leaders hope to announce an agreement by November 28, but remain wary that one or more parties will reverse and mount a boycott campaign. Alongside USG and OSCE encouragement, some party representatives told us that Kosovo Albanian leaders in Pristina are urging Albanians in the Presevo Valley to participate. Albanian participation in elections, after years of boycotts, would send a positive signal of their commitment to a future within Serbia. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) Embassy and OSCE representatives chaired a private roundtable discussion with all Albanian political party leaders at the OSCE regional headquarters in Bujanovac on November 22. Poloff and OSCE coordinator Martin Brooks urged them to participate unified behind a single list. The new Serbian election law affords minorities an easier threshold for parliamentary representation, making it likely that a combined Albanian list could result in between one and three MPs in Belgrade. This would mark the first time in decades that Albanians would participate in Serbian elections, and would represent a major step towards multiethnic representation in Serbia. ¶3. (U) Riza Halimi, leader of the largest and most influential party (PVD),lent support to a joint list and was joined by Skender Destani (DUD) and - perhaps surprisingly - hardliner Jonuz Musliu (LPD). (Note: Halimi, who is respected and a fixture of south Serbia politics for decades, is a natural choice to be first on the list for Parliamentary representation. End Note.) Presevo Mayor Ragmi Mustafa (PDSh) was the only major party leader to refrain from supporting participation, citing the need for more consultations within his party. One minor party, a hardline splinter from Musliu's LPD, announced it would reconsider a previous decision to boycott in light of USG and OSCE messages. ¶4. (SBU) Poloff met privately with Mustafa to emphasize the USG view that Albanian participation would represent a positive step for regional stability and the interests of the Albanians in Serbia. Mustafa said he was already advocating participation but some within his party were not convinced it was the right move, citing local concerns about Serbian militarization and lack of attention by Belgrade. The Mayor acknowledged that Albanian representation in Parliament would allow Albanians to address their concerns in a higher profile setting, and promised to "redouble his efforts" to convince his party to support the list. ¶5. (U) Leaders at the roundtable uniformly expressed the need to come to decision soon and agreed that 11/28 (also Albanian Flag Day) could provide an appropriate symbolic occasion for a public announcement and to begin the necessary gathering and certification of signatures to put a list on the ballot. ¶6. (SBU) SUMMARY: While obstacles remain (e.g., Mustafa's customary harder-line stance),the fact that so many Albanian leaders are having a serious discussion about a joint list represents a positive step forward. Although the Albanian parties are worried that one or more among them will break away and mount a boycott campaign for their own local interests, USG and international community attention and pressure (as well as from leaders in Pristina) will be important to keeping the Albanian parties united and on track to participate. END SUMMARY. POLT