KOSOVO SERB POLITICIANS VIE FOR POWER IN PRISTINA;

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000384

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL KCRM PINR UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO SERB POLITICIANS VIE FOR POWER IN PRISTINA;
MINISTER HOLDS ON TO HIS PARTY (FOR NOW)

REF: 04 PRISTINA 1522 - C

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PROTECT ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. After several tumultuous months, the
Serbian Democratic Party -- the only Kosovo Serb party
actively participating in the Kosovo government -- held an
extraordinary party assembly on April 29 and re-elected
Slavisa Petkovic as party president over the protests of a
strong minority of party members. Break-away faction leader
Dragisa Miric has accused Petkovic of malfeasance. Former
party manager and returns ministry permanent secretary
Mihailo Scepanovic, who was denied entry to the assembly, is
starting his own party. However much infighting the party
exhibits, its members are united in seeing their future in
Kosovo and their political center as Pristina rather than
Belgrade. END SUMMARY.

SDS EAGER TO CONTINUE ENGAGEMENT IN KOSOVO INSTITUTIONS
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2. (SBU) The OSCE registered the Serbian Democratic Party of
Kosovo and Metohija (SDS) in April 2005 as the successor to
the "Citizen's Initiative of Serbia" (GIS). The GIS has two
of the ten set-aside seats reserved for Kosovo Serbs in the
Kosovo Assembly in 2004, and actively participates as part of
the governing coalition (Reftel). (NOTE. The other eight
seats went to the Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija
(SLKM). The SLKM, led by Oliver Ivanovic, has never assumed
those seats, claiming that they lack necessary support from
Belgrade. END NOTE.) Former Prime Minister (PM) Ramush
Haradinaj appointed SDS party president Slavisa Petkovic
Minister for Communities and Returns, also in fulfillment of
a minority set-aside requirement.


3. (SBU) Since January 2006, SDS Vice President (VP) Dragisa
Miric has been trying to replace Petkovic as party president.
He says Petkovic has refused to meet with the SDS vice
presidents or the main committee for seven months. According
to Miric, the main board dismissed Petkovic as party
president on January 16, alleging violations of the party
statute and the misuse of 17,000 euros of party funds. After
the OSCE told Miric that the dismissal of a party president
must take place at a general assembly of the party, he
organized a meeting of his supporters on February 4 in
Vushtri/Vucitern, at which participants lodged a vote of "no
confidence" against Petkovic and purportedly dismissed him as
party president. The OSCE ruled the February 4 assembly
illegitimate, since it was not called with the 30 days notice
required by the party statute. The OSCE asked the SDS to
convene an extraordinary assembly to resolve their disputes.


4. (SBU) On March 5 the Miric faction wrote to SRSG Soren
Jessen-Petersen requesting that Miric, as the "authorized
representative" of the party, replace Petkovic as returns
minister. On March 8 Miric also met with PM Ceku and asked
to replace Petkovic as minister. However, Miric told us he
believes the SRSG supported keeping Petkovic as Minister
because he was the first Kosovo Serb to come forward and
actively participate in the Kosovo government.

PETKOVIC RE-ELECTED SDS PRESIDENT AT EXTRAORDINARY ASSEMBLY
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5. (SBU) In late March, Petkovic complied with the OSCE
request and scheduled an extraordinary assembly to take place
on April 29 at Pristina's Grand Hotel. In an April 25
meeting with PolOff and PolFSN, Miric accused Petkovic of
severe infractions of both UNMIK regulations and the SDS
party statute in an attempt to assert control of the SDS. He
claimed the delegate lists were manipulated and falsified to
favor Petkovic and exclude Miric supporters. Regardless,
Miric issued a press release on April 27 urging his
supporters to participate, saying the SDS truly represents
the Serb community in Kosovo.

PRISTINA 00000384 002 OF 003




6. (SBU) Artan Alijaj of the National Democratic Institute
(NDI) (who observed the April 29 assembly) told PolOff and
PolFSN on May 3 that Miric and two supporters were among the
102 delegates who attended the assembly. Alijaj said the
Miric block voted for the agenda, and then quietly left the
building. The assembly then voted on a single slate (with no
opposition candidates) for party officials headed by Petkovic
(who was re-elected party president). He said 92 delegates
voted in favor, two against, and the rest abstained.
(COMMENT. Although Miric clearly has some support and
genuinely wants to participate in Kosovo's future, he
apparently lacks the wherewithal to oust Petkovic. END
COMMENT.)


7. (SBU) Kim Vetting of OSCE,s Central Governance Unit told
PolOff he had no procedural objection to what he witnessed at
the assembly. Vetting said about 150 Serbs from both Kosovo
and Serbia proper attended, although not all were delegates.
He said internal OSCE correspondence indicates the OSCE will
find the convention "legal and in line with democratic
principles" unless they receive complaints within ten days
from delegates claiming that they were not invited or were
denied access.

SDS IS NOT TIED TO BELGRADE
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8. (SBU) The SDS convention was the first held by a Serb
party in Pristina since 1999. Petkovic said his party chose
Kosovo,s capital to demonstrate that SDS is a party of
integration and co-existence. He said, "The fact that so
many Serbs are gathered today in the center of Pristina
without KFOR or armed escort speaks for itself."


9. (SBU) Miric said the SDS is the only party that truly
represents Kosovo Serbs who want to stay in Kosovo. He
explained that the SDS recognizes Agim Ceku as PM, wants to
participate in all Kosovo institutions, supports
multi-ethnicity in Kosovo and is ready to work with everyone
who lives here. He asserted they want to "forget the past"
and are "not interested in Belgrade politicians." He says
SDS members "think for themselves" and do not depend on
Belgrade. Miric said if the SLKM chooses not to participate,
then the Kosovo government should welcome him and his
supporters instead. He said he wants Belgrade to stop
manipulating Kosovo Serbs for political gain and to allow
status to be determined by the people who live in Kosovo.

POSSIBLE ALLY IN MIHAILO SCEPANOVIC'S OWN NEW PARTY
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10. (SBU) Former SDS party manager and permanent secretary
of the returns ministry Mihailo Scepanovic told PolOff and
PolFSN the SDS is hopelessly fractured, and he is working to
register and launch his own Serbian People,s Party (SNS).
He expressed his willingness to cooperate in a coalition with
Miric and other Kosovo Serb leaders like the SLKM's Oliver
Ivanovic.


11. (SBU) Scepanovic said Petkovic expelled him from his
position at the returns ministry on February 8. In response,
Scepanovic filed legal proceedings against Petkovic, claiming
only UNMIK has the right to dismiss a permanent secretary.
He said Petkovic has broken all ties and relationships with
both local and international partners, and lamented that an
entire year had been lost for implementing returns. Petkovic
also expelled Scepanovic from his position as SDS party
manager.


12. (SBU) Alijaj said Scepanovic, along with several other
Miric supporters, was denied access to the April 29 assembly
by Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and private security guards.
(COMMENT. Compared to Miric, Scepanovic is an experienced
and outspoken politician, who might well have taken on

PRISTINA 00000384 003 OF 003


Petkovic publicly. Scepanovic has accused Petkovic of
corruption, and claims to have evidence to support his
claims. In return, Petkovic has reportedly accused
Scepanovic of corruption in his written response to PM Ceku
responding to an audit of the ministry. END COMMENT.)

OUTLOOK FOR KOSOVO SERB POLITICAL PARTIES
--------------


13. (SBU) NDI Senior Program Officer and former Bosnian Serb
MP Zoran Blagojevic told PolOff and PolFSN on May 3 he
believes both Petkovic and Miric violated the SDS party
statute. He said the statute mandates that assembly
delegates be elected by local party branches; however, there
are almost no SDS branches and Petkovic instead hand-picked
many of the delegates who voted for him on the 29th.


14. (SBU) Blagojevic said Scepanovic has real support among
Kosovo Serbs (especially in the north) and has potential to
achieve success with his new party. Blagojevic believes a
coalition could be created between Oliver Ivanovic's Social
Democratic Party (SDP),Scepanovic's SNS and the new
Autonomous Liberal Party (SLS),which held its founding
assembly in January 2006 in Gracanica. (NOTE. SLS President
Slobodan Petrovic said the SLS is committed to representing
and defending the interests and values of the Serbian
community in and outside of Kosovo, while respecting the
civil, democratic and human rights of other Kosovo
communities. END NOTE.) Blagojevic said NDI will work with
Miric if he decides to launch a new party as an offshoot of
Petkovic's SDS, but believes Miric lacks the funding and
skills to do so.


15. (SBU) COMMENT. We are encouraged that leaders of a
Kosovo Serb political party have worked up obviously
passionate interest in Kosovo politics. On the level of
internal SDS politics, we applaud efforts to hold Minister
Petkovic to account. On a broader level, we strongly applaud
the efforts of the SDS to fill the Kosovo Serb leadership
void in a forum that is not reliant on Belgrade. END COMMENT.


16. (U) Post clears this message in its entirety for
release to Special Envoy Ahtisaari.
GOLDBERG