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