Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PRISTINA1117
2006-12-28 13:44:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:  

KOSOVO ASHKALI LEADERS THREATEN TO WITHDRAW FROM

Tags:  KCRM KDEM PGOV PINR PREL YI UNMIK EAID PHUM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5560
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPS #1117/01 3621344
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281344Z DEC 06
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6878
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0974
RHFMIUU/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT
RHMFIUU/CDR TF FALCON
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEPGEA/CDR650THMIGP SHAPE BE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUFOANA/USNIC PRISTINA SR
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 001117 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE
NSC FOR BRAUN
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI
EUR/ACE FOR DMAYHEW

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KDEM PGOV PINR PREL YI UNMIK EAID PHUM
SOCI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO ASHKALI LEADERS THREATEN TO WITHDRAW FROM
INSTITUTIONS

REF: A. 2000 PRISTINA 4129


B. 2000 PRISTINA 4371

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 001117

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE
NSC FOR BRAUN
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI
EUR/ACE FOR DMAYHEW

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KDEM PGOV PINR PREL YI UNMIK EAID PHUM
SOCI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO ASHKALI LEADERS THREATEN TO WITHDRAW FROM
INSTITUTIONS

REF: A. 2000 PRISTINA 4129


B. 2000 PRISTINA 4371

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The Pristina District Court sentenced
Kosovo MP and President of the Ashkali Democratic Party of
Kosovo (PDAK) Sabit Rrahmani to five months in prison for
fraud. Fellow PDAK party leaders do not deny the charges,
but told us that Ashkali are being targeted for prosecution,
and warned us that if Rrahmani goes to prison, members of the
Ashkali community will withdraw from Kosovo institutions,
withdraw their children from schools, and organize violent
protests. Although this is a hollow threat from a small and
historically marginalized community, we urged these leaders
not to contemplate extreme measures and to stay engaged with
Kosovar institutions. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) According to court documents, the Municipal Court
in Ferizaj/Urosevac convicted Ashkali MP Sabit Rrahmani of
fraud and imposed a fine of 400 euros in June 2004. (NOTE.
Ashkali are an Albanian-speaking ethnic minority often
grouped together here with Roma and Egyptians. END NOTE.)
Arguing that the sentence was too lenient, given the
aggravating circumstances in which Rrahmani abused the trust
placed in him as a public official by members of his
community, the Chief Municipal Prosecutor appealed the
sentence in July 2004. On November 9, 2006 the Pristina
District Court sustained the appeal and imposed an aggregated
sentence of five months imprisonment. According to court
documents, Rrahmani did not exercise his right to appeal the
previous decisions, but he still has the right to submit an
extraordinary appeal to the Supreme Court. This was not
Rrahmani's first brush with the law -- fellow Ashkali accused
him of embezzlement as far back as 2000 (Ref A).


3. (SBU) On December 15, three leaders of Rrahmani's Ashkali
Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDAK) -- Avni Rama, Gzim Rama and
Qerim Gara -- urged USOP to take action to prevent Kosovo
authorities from enforcing the prison sentence, which was
scheduled to begin on December 27. They did not deny that
Rrahmani committed the crimes, but insisted that he used the
money to help his community. Rama said that Rrahmani has the
full support of his community, who, he said, are gathering
funds to help him repay his 184,000 euro debt. The party
leaders warned that if Rrahmani goes to prison, the Ashkali
community will withdraw from Kosovo institutions, take their
children out of schools, organize violent protests and
possibly leave Kosovo en masse. They insisted that his
community needs him in the Assembly to represent their
interests during the upcoming crucial stage in the status
process. (NOTE. Because his prison term will be less than
six months, Rrahmani will not lose his position as an MP. END
NOTE.)


4. (SBU) The party leaders also claimed that Rrahmani was
denied his right to appeal, and argued that Kosovo Albanian
leaders who have committed far greater crimes and stolen much
larger amounts of money walk free, while their leader is
targeted for prosecution because he is a minority. They
added that the police still have not solved the case in which
four Ashkali were murdered, execution-style, in Skenderaj on
November 8, 2000 (Ref B).


5. (SBU) COMMENT. USOP believes that the threat of violent
protests from the Ashkali community is minimal, given that
the community is small, widely dispersed, and the fraud
victims are members of the community. If the Ashkali did act
on these threats, it is likely that no one outside their
community would notice. The fact that an MP has been
prosecuted and convicted of fraud is a positive development.
However, there is a strong perception among Kosovo's
minorities that crimes against their communities often go
unsolved, and that criminals in the majority community are

PRISTINA 00001117 002 OF 002


not prosecuted. END COMMENT.


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