KOSOVO: KOSOVO SERBS SKEPTICAL ABOUT PROPOSED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 001052

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016
TAGS: PREL KCRM PGOV PINR KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: KOSOVO SERBS SKEPTICAL ABOUT PROPOSED
ALL-SERB CONGRESS

REF: PRISTINA 924

Classified By: COM TINA S. KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Croatian MP Dr. Milorad Pupovac is
discretely working at the behest of Kosovo Prime Minister
Agim Ceku to organize an all-Kosovo Serb Congress to unify
Kosovo Serbs and help them better represent themselves.
Kosovo Serbs are skeptical about this endeavor, and key
leaders are split over whether to participate. Even if only
some key Serbs participate, the Congress could provide an
important and timely forum for them to consider jointly their
future in Kosovo. END SUMMARY.

Pupovac Effort Supported by PM Ceku


2. (C) Croatian MP Dr. Milorad Pupovac (himself an ethnic
Serb) explained his proposal for an "All Kosovo Serb
Congress" at a November 22 meeting, sponsored by OSCE, with
Pristina liaison office representatives. Pupovac described
the Kosovo Serb population as fragmented, disoriented and
disorganized, and said that the Congress will provide a forum
in which they can gather, discuss challenges facing their
community and come up with their own solutions. (NOTE. A
similar initiative was also proposed by Nenad Radosavlejevic,
the Kosovo Serb owner and director of Leposavic-based TV Mir
(reftel). END NOTE) At the meeting, Prime Minister Agim
Ceku said that he asked the OSCE to engage Pupovac in this
effort, and extended his full support to the initiative.


3. (C) Pupovac said he has traveled extensively around
Kosovo over the past four months and believes he has gained
the trust of local Serb leaders. He stressed that the
Congress is not an attempt to unify Kosovo Serbs under one
political party, but rather to create an "umbrella"
organization that will incorporate a plurality of political
options. When pressed by skeptical attendees to explain how
he will convince northern hard-liners to participate, Pupovac
responded enigmatically, "you will see." Pupovac mentioned
that, regardless of status, Kosovo Serbs need to organize
themselves politically.

Some Kosovo Serbs Willing, Others Less So


4. (C) On December 4, moderate Kosovo Serb members of the
Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija (SLKM) Oliver Ivanovic,
Goran Bogdanovic and Randjel Nojkic shared their views with
us about the initiative. Ivanovic said he will participate
in the Congress and is actively involved in the planning. He
added that Pupovac accepted his proposal to postpone the
event, which will probably take place at the Narcis hotel in
Strpce, until just after the January 21 Serbian parliamentary
election. According to Ivanovic, there will be approximately
150 invitees, including leaders from all segments of the
Kosovo Serb community: SLKM, Serbian National Council (SNC)
hard-liners, MPs, party leaders, and elected municipal
leaders and village presidents, as well as influential Kosovo
Serb members of the media, Serbian Orthodox Church and key
NGOs. Ivanovic suggested that it would be a powerful message
if the Congress meets and calls on the SLKM to rejoin the
Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG).


5. (C) Nojkic, in contrast, said the Congress is a bad idea
that could divide Kosovo's Serbs into northern and southern
camps. He stressed that it should only provide a forum for
discussion and not have any greater political agenda. Nojkic
complained that Pupovac is ignoring Belgrade and accused him
of working for Ceku, while Ivanovic defended Pupovac, saying
he is working for the OSCE, not Ceku. Bogdanovic complained
that instead of consulting him and his Belgrade-based (under
Serbian President Boris Tadic) Democratic Party (DS) on this
initiative, Pupovac is instead focusing on "weak,
non-relevant" political factors, like the newer Kosovo-based
parties formed by Slobodan Petrovic and Dragisa Miric (who
were also present for the discussion). Ignoring the insult,
Petrovic countered that he thinks the initiative is a good

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idea.


6. (C) Other key Kosovo Serbs have also expressed skepticism
about Pupovac, saying that Croatia has not successfully
integrated its own Serbs, and claiming that there is nothing
positive Kosovo Serbs can learn from that experience.
Hard-line Mitrovica municipal SNC head Nebojsa Jovic told us
that the initiative is "a waste of precious time and energy."
President of the Kosovo-based Serbian People's Party (SNS)
Mihailo Scepanovic told us that Kosovo Serbs need one of
their own to unite them, not a Serb from Croatia, who is --
in Scepanovic's words -- among those who have failed to
ensure the full return of displaced Serbs to that nation.
Scepanovic called the entire program a "marketing effort" by
the PISG to improve their image and show that they are doing
something to integrate Kosovo Serbs. He said the only reason
the PISG has succeeded in fulfilling some standards, mostly
on paper, is because of intense pressure from the
international community.

Comment


7. (C) The Pupovac effort strikes as a good idea, but one
whose execution might prove impossible due to the the many
conflicting agendas at play: Belgrade vs. Kosovo, north vs.
south, integrationists vs. rejectionists, plus the host of
strong Serb and Albanian personalities involved. Kosovo Serb
suspicions -- largely well-founded -- that PM Ceku lies
behind this initiative may also condemn it to oblivion. Ceku
and Pupovac are aware of this, and have kept their relations
low-key. The Congress could theoretically provide a timely
forum for Kosovo Serbs to gather and discuss their common
future and objectives, and perhaps even overcome some of
their differences, but the odds are against a fully
successful, sustained endeavor to unite Kosovo's Serb
community in the run-up to status. END COMMENT.


8. (U) Post clears this message in its entirety for release
to Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW