KOSOVO: SMALL NEW SERB PARTY DARES TO POSIT A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000803 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE NSC FOR BRAUN USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2015 TAGS: PREL KCRM PGOV PINR KDEM UNMIK YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: SMALL NEW SERB PARTY DARES TO POSIT A POST-STATUS VISION Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The newly-formed Autonomous Liberal Party (SLS) seeks to represent Kosovo Serbs who want to stay and integrate into Kosovo institutions and society, regardless of the outcome of the status process. Party President Slobodan Petrovic told us the SLS is more concerned with the impact of status on the everyday life of Serbs in Kosovo. While not over-estimating its prospects, we believe that the SLS' message is a valuable addition to what has thus far been a bipolar debate among Serbs: resist any changes or quit Kosovo. END SUMMARY. New Kosovo Serb Party Independent of Belgrade ¶2. (SBU) According to the party program, the Autonomous Liberal Party (SLS) was founded in Gracanica on January 27, 2006 in order to "defend the interests and values of the national community of Serbian people in Kosovo ... paying attention to the human, civilized, democratic and civil values of other people in Kosovo." It was officially registered with the OSCE on March 30 after garnering over 2,000 signatures from supporters. ¶3. (C) In recent meetings with us, Party President Slobodan Petrovic described the SLS as representing Serbs who want to stay and live in Kosovo, and criticized Belgrade-based political parties for not representing Kosovo Serb interests. He said the main problems in Kosovo are economic, and emphasized that he is less concerned with the outcome of status negotiations, which he believes will be determined by the international community, than the degree to which the status package will improve the lives of Serbs in Kosovo. ¶4. (C) Petrovic further noted that his party, which has its main support base in central Kosovo, stands for "realistic" returns of Kosovo Serbs to Serb-majority areas, which may not be their original homes, but will at least be more sustainable. The SLS chief also indicated that his party is not exclusively Serb-oriented. One of his three vice presidents is a Gorani, he pointed out, and the SLS is geared toward acceptance of a multi-ethnic Kosovo, with interests different from Belgrade. (Note: Leader of the moderate Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija (SLKM) Oliver Ivanovic ;-- who was the best man in Petrovic's wedding -- addressed the SLS founding assembly recently, and has told us that he supports a future coalition with the SLS. End note.) SLS wants to engage Albanian political class ¶5. (C) Petrovic said that the SLS fully supports Kosovo institutions and would like elections to be held as soon as possible so it can join the parliament and participate more fully. However, he complained, despite PM Ceku,s recent public statements urging Kosovo Serbs to engage, Ceku and other Kosovo Albanian leaders have not acted on SLS proposals and requests for meetings. Petrovic insisted that despite the reluctance of the Kosovo Albanian leaders to cooperate with them, common solutions to common problems are the only way forward. Prospects hampered by fear of ostracism, and lack of funding ¶6. (C) Petrovic maintained that many regular Kosovo Serbs share his party's outlook but are afraid of being forced to choose between being "patriots" or "traitors." He said that some Serbs have already labeled the SLS as traitors and even threatened party General Secretary Petar Miletic, a Contact Plus journalist who lives in Mitrovica. (Note: Some observers have expressed cynicism to us over the fact that Petrovic's own family lives outside of Kosovo, in Nis, Serbia. End note.) ¶7. (C) Apart from his work as an advisor on Kosovo issues to the municipal president of Nis, Petrovic maintained he and other SLS leaders are new to politics. He said they have PRISTINA 00000803 002 OF 002 many friends in the international community, but are having a hard time obtaining the necessary financial backing to get the word out to Kosovo Serbs and garner more support. Lack of media resources forces party activists to go "door-to-door," he noted, and makes it difficult to compete against hard-liners who have funding and resources from Belgrade. ¶8. (C) COMMENT: Taken together, the followers of the new SLS and Ivanovic's SLKM nevertheless still cannot claim to speak for the bulk of Kosovo's Serb population. Although their message will get greater traction for now among the Pristina diplomatic corps than within the rural heartland, Petrovic and Ivanovic offer at least the theoretical prospect of a third path, a formula for Serbs to remain in Kosovo. As with Ivanovic, the SLS' importance far outweighs the sum of its membership, and we will deal with it accordingly. We will also look for ways to be helpful in building the party's resource base. END COMMENT. ¶9. (U) Post clears this message in its entirety for release to Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. KAIDANOW