KOSOVO: PM CEKU UP-BEAT ON FULFILLMENT OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PRISTINA 000567 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE, AND EUR/SSA, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED SENSITIVE CAPTION) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PREF UNMIK YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: PM CEKU UP-BEAT ON FULFILLMENT OF PRIORITIES FOR STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION REF: PRISTINA 491 PRISTINA 00000567 001.4 OF 004 Sensitive, But Unclassified; Please Protect Accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Agim Ceku gave Contact Group representatives a largely positive interim report June 27 on progress on the 13 priorities for standards implementation delivered to Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Governance (PISG) on June 8 (reftel). While the report showed incremental progress on most points, we should expect a roller-coaster ride as Ceku and the PISG come down to the wire on several of the early deadlines provided by the Contact Group. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Prime Minister Agim Ceku briefed Contact Group (CG) representatives June 27 on progress in fulfilling the 13 priorities for standards implementation. While admitting progress has slowed, Ceku reassured those present that the 13 points will be fulfilled. For their part, CG representatives pressed Ceku for specific details and reminded him that meeting several of the early deadlines will require concerted effort by the Kosovo government. -------------- Minority-Focused Laws Progressing -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Ceku said that next week, the Kosovo Assembly would give the first reading to the draft law on religious freedom and the government would adopt the law on cultural heritage and send it to the Assembly. Ceku admitted there has been no progress on a law on languages, but said his office will get involved so that it too will be finalized by the Assembly in August. (NOTE: Neither of the laws on religious freedom or cultural heritage were on the agenda for the June 29 session of the Kosovo Assembly and there is no plenary session scheduled for the week of July 3. The latest version of the law on religious freedom currently sits with the Assembly where three different functional committees must review it. The draft law on languages has been with the Assembly since June 2005. Kosovo Assembly president Kole Berisha and influential Assembly presidency member Mahir Yagcilar have tentatively agreed to designate Turkish as an official language in four municipalities. END NOTE.). -------------- KPC Hard at Work in Svinjare -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Ceku told CG representatives that the Kosovo government has transferred 417,000 euros to the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) to complete repairs to homes in Svinjare damaged during the March 2004 riots. According to Ceku, the KPC has already provided tools to the residents of Svinjare so they can clean and repair the Serb cemetery there as a confidence-building measure. He added that up to now, local residents in Svinjare have welcomed the participation of the KPC in reconstruction efforts there. UNMIK and the Ministry of Economics and Finance are discussing how to transfer the remaining 550,000 euros to the KPC to finish repairs and build secondary buildings. -------------- -------------- Kosovo Property Agency Devising Rental Scheme Pilot Project -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Ceku stated that a special unit at the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) will begin a pilot project rental scheme on August 1 involving some of the over 5,000 residential properties formerly under the administration of its predecessor, the Housing Property Directorate (HPD). He added that the Ministry of Environmental and Spatial Planning is preparing a proposal to facilitate the work of the pilot project and will present it at the next meeting of the Property Rights Standard working group. Ceku and members of his staff explained to the group that they were not aware of any outstanding cases in which the KPA asked the Kosovo PRISTINA 00000567 002.4 OF 004 Police Service (KPS) to enforce or implement any of the 2,804 pending HPD claims. The head of the Russian liaison office pointed out that in its priority point, the CG was interested in the enforcement of all HPD decisions by the end of 2006, not simply proof of the willingness of the KPS to support when asked. In a June 28 update, Ceku advisor Avni Arifi claimed that only 2,044 cases have not been implemented and 1,800 of these decisions have been appealed. ¶6. (SBU) Both the HPD and KPA have suffered from chronic funding problems. KPA Executive Director Knut Rosandhaug told visiting Regional Refugee Coordinator and PolFSN on June 28 that the KPA only has enough money to continue operations until the end of July and needs 5 million euros to run their yearly operations. UNMIK Rule of Law Advisor Nick Booth told PolOff June 29 that the European Agency for Reconstruction has committed 3 million euros to support the KPA. Since its creation in March 2006, the KPA has collected 681 claims, including 491 for commercial properties, 140 for agricultural properties and 50 for residential properties. The KPA has not yet begun collecting claims from internally-displaced persons in Serbia. -------------- -------------- Ceku Promises Minority Input to New Transportation Strategy -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Ceku explained that the Kosovo government plans to begin new minority bus lines in July and that the Kosovo government and UNMIK are currently discussing the transfer of operational capacities (buses, inventory and the existing repair shop) by June 30. He agreed with the British and Russian liaison office heads that, as the main beneficiary of the transportation strategy, Kosovo Serbs should have a representative on the committee developing a public transportation strategy for minorities. He added that PDSRSG Steve Schook had suggested someone from the Belgrade-based Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija as the Serb representative, but that he felt this candidate was unacceptable and requested UNMIK come up with another. (NOTE: Discussions regarding the transfer of this competency are underway between UNMIK and the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The ministry has proposed 13 new routes for minority transport, but UNMIK wants to know how these routes were determined. END NOTE.). -------------- Last-Minute Allocation of Returns Funding -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Ceku announced that on June 6, the Kosovo government had allocated 1.5 million euros to fund the UNDP Sustainable Partnership for Assistance to Returns to Kosovo (SPARK) program, and a further 500,000 euros to the municipality of Istog to complete infrastructure work at a returns site funded by the city of Moscow. Ceku promised to provide CG representatives with the government's allocation of the remainder of the money allocated to support returns in 2006. ¶9. (SBU) According to UNMIK's Office of Communities, Returns and Minorities (OCRM),the 2006 Kosovo government returns budget was 8.4 million euros, of which 3 million euros was used to pay the debts the Ministry for Communities and Returns had overspent in 2005. The OCRM Director told PolOff June 30 that Returns Minister Slavisa Petkovic had reluctantly agreed the remainder of the money would be allocated as follows: 1.1 million euros to complete March 2004 reconstruction; 210,000 euros to finish construction of homes for 12 families from the Plementina refugee camp; 660,000 euros for the Roma return project in Abdullahu-Presevo (Gjilan municipality) and 760,000 euros for the return project in the Serb village of Kucici (Skenderaj/Srbica) municipality. The OCRM Director added that Petkovic will have to give up on his project to build 20,000 square meters of apartment space in Pristina, Peja and Prizren or submit them through proper review mechanisms during which, she added, UNMIK, UNHCR and UNDP would block it PRISTINA 00000567 003.8 OF 004 as "not sustainable." -------------- -------------- Little the PISG Can Do on Convictions for March 2004 Riots -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Concerning the completion of all investigations and prosecutions from the March 2004 riots, Ceku said that the Ministry of Justice is working closely with UNMIK. He added that the ministry is making public appeals to encourage the public to cooperate with authorities investigating these events and noted that work on seven high profile cases is continuing. ¶11. (SBU) Ceku said that although the IMF has put restraints on the hiring of new personnel, the government is looking for ways to hire interpreters and translators for most of the ministries. He said he expects a decision within two weeks allowing for the hiring of at least one translator in each ministry. ¶12. (SBU) According to Ceku, the commission established to manage the Kosovo government Minority Media Fund reviewed 31 applications and selected 11 recipients (4 ethnic Serb, 2 Bosniak, 1 Turkish, 2 multi-ethnic and 2 vulnerable groups). He said the Kosovo government had approved the grants and that funds would be transferred to the beneficiaries in the near future. -------------- -------------- PISG Has Done Well Setting up Local Police and Courts -------------- -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Ceku noted that the Kosovo government has already opened nine court liaison offices in Gracanica/Graqanice, Novoberdo/Novoberde, Grazhdec/Gorazdevac, Vrbovc/Vrbovce, Velika Hoca/Hoce e Madhe, Priluzje/Priluzhe, Silovo/Shillove, Mitrovica/Mitrovice and Novake; and that offices in the ethnic Serb villages of Osanje (Istog municipality) and Bablak (Ferizaj municipality) are in their final stages of planning. He noted that all lacked vehicles, an issue he hoped the Kosovo government would soon remedy. He announced that, to date, the Kosovo Police Service has opened ten police sub-stations and that three more are scheduled to open in June, but his advisor Avni Arifi later updated CG representatives that, in fact, the Kosovo Police Service has already set up 15 substations and two others are planned. -------------- But Less So on Rule of Law -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Ceku's report on progress on the three CG priority items concerning good governance/rule of law was less satisfying. Ceku reported that none of the initial candidates who applied for the job of director to the Anti-Corruption Agency were suitable and it was republished with a closing date of June 30. Ceku opined that the low salary kept good candidates from applying. CG representatives were skeptical that the government would meet the July 1 deadline for this action set out as one of the 13 priorities. Ceku noted that appointment of the members of the Independent Media Commission had been on the agenda of the Kosovo Assembly, but was taken off. He reported that the revised draft law on public procurement would have its first reading during this session of the Kosovo Assembly. On June 29 the Assembly decided that rather than introduce an entirely new draft law, the government should make amendments to the existing law from 2003. ¶15. (SBU) COMMENT: After early success in fulfilling the CG's 13 priorities for standards implementation, Ceku and the PISG have run into political and financial realities that have slowed, but not stopped, their progress. The meeting with CG representatives was a good opportunity to keep Ceku and his staff focused on impending deadlines and the task ahead. END COMMENT. PRISTINA 00000567 004.8 OF 004 ¶16. (U) U.S. Office Pristina clears this cable for release in its entirety to U.N. Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari. GOLDBERG