KOSOVO: PM CEKU UPBEAT ON COMPLETION OF CG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000674 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO UNMIK YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: PM CEKU UPBEAT ON COMPLETION OF CG PRIORITIES BY OCTOBER Classified By: COM TINA S. KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Agim Ceku told heads of mission from the Contact Group (CG),EU and EC liaison offices August 15 that the Kosovo government has completed five of the CG's 13 priorities for Standards implementation and is on track to finish the remaining eight by October. He assessed, however, that Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) may have a problem fulfilling the item calling for it to assist UNMIK in its efforts to complete all investigations and pending prosecutions outstanding from the March 2004 violence, noting that most of these cases are being handled by international prosecutors and judges. The initial report on the rental scheme for residential properties administered by the Kosovo Property Agency (as successor to the Housing and Property Directorate) was insufficient, but Minister of Environmental and Spatial Planning Ardian Gjini later assured us that although owners for 1,800 of the properties have not been found, a rental scheme for over 3,800 properties for which ownership has been determined could begin once the Kosovo Property Agency has received permission from these owners to accept rents for their properties. Ceku's optimism notwithstanding, we will need to prod him and the rest of the Kosovo government to complete the outstanding tasks within the time frame set by the CG. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Meeting with heads of mission from the Contact Group (CG),EU and EC liaison offices on August 15, Prime Minister Agim Ceku said that he fully supports the recent CG statement on developments in northern Kosovo and that he is pleased with the current progress on standards implementation and the results of UNMIK,s August 14 technical assessment. He said that the Kosovo government has completed five of the CG,s 13 priorities and is on track to finish the remaining eight by October. Ceku confirmed, however, that the PISG was not solely responsible for completion of the priority point dealing with completion of investigations and pending prosecutions for the March 2004 violence targeting minority communities, noting that most of these cases are being handled by international prosecutors and judges. (NOTE: That may be true in some instances, but a number of prosecutions are also being handled in local court, a process which the PISG can and must push forward. END NOTE). ¶3. (SBU) Ceku also promised he would increase the frequency of his visits to majority ethnic Serb areas, to speak with residents and try to assuage their fears regarding Kosovo's final status. He specifically mentioned upcoming visits to Velika Hoca, Novake, Novo Brdo and Strpce. He also said that he is working on a program of outreach to the Serb community with special advisors Milorad Pupovac and Branko Jurisic. (NOTE: The head of the Russian office thanked Ceku for his plan to increase outreach to the Serb community, noting that outreach had decreased during the last several months. END NOTE.). ¶4. (C) In her intervention after Ceku's presentation, COM asked for more work on the implementation of a rental scheme for the over 5,000 properties formerly under the administration of the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA),the successor to the Housing and Property Directorate) and noted that the government had already failed to begin a pilot project it had promised would start August 1. Ceku advisor Avni Arifi Ceku said that there were 1,800 properties under administration by the KPA for which owners have not been found and 3,842 for which ownership has been determined. ¶5. (SBU) According to Arifi, the current roadblock is over whether to begin a rental scheme just for the 3,842 properties (after the owners give their consent) or to also require rental payments from inhabitants of the 1,800 additional properties, which would go into a government account for payment to whomever is eventually determined to be the owner of the property. According to Arifi, the KPA wants to include all the properties, while the government would prefer to limit to only those properties for which PRISTINA 00000674 002 OF 002 actual payments could be made to the owners. Minister of Environmental and Spatial Planning and KPA board member Ardian Gjini told us August 15 that he wants the first phase of the rental scheme to begin as soon as owners give their permission for the KPA to collect rents on their behalf. KPA head Knut Rosandhaug told us August 17 that the KPA does not want the 1,800 properties excluded from eventual participation in the rental scheme if their "property right owners" are found and agree that the KPA can collect rents on their behalf. According to Rosandhaug, the real hold-up to starting the rental scheme is the failure of the Ministry of Economy and Finance to grant permission for the KPA to open up a local bank account. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Ceku is overly optimistic in his assessment of his ability to deliver all 13 points before October. Although he is right to point out that investigations and prosecutions of the March 2004 violence is a reserved competency, he is using this to absolve the PISG of any responsibility for prosecuting suspects. A phased rental scheme beginning with those properties for which owners have been found is a start, but eventually Kosovo must come to grips with the reality that people who live in properties they do not own should pay rent. We will keep the pressure on Ceku and his government to complete the outstanding tasks within the time frame set by the CG. END COMMENT. ¶7. (U) U.S. Office Pristina clears this cable for release in its entirety to U.N. Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari. KAIDANOW