SOUTHERN SERBIA: ALBANIANS RAISE FLAG BUT EVENT PASSES WITH

UNCLAS BELGRADE 001604 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PBTS KPAO SR MW KV SUBJECT: SOUTHERN SERBIA: ALBANIANS RAISE FLAG BUT EVENT PASSES WITH LITTLE FANFARE Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Local Albanians in Southern Serbia publicly celebrated Albanian Flag Day, more calmly than in past years. In the Presevo Valley, Albanians temporarily flew the Albanian flag alongside the Serbian flag, but caused little reaction. USG calls to local leaders from Belgrade and Pristina in advance of the November 28 holiday urged restraint, and likely played a role in tempering the rhetoric and avoiding violence this year, but the symbolism of the flag-flying betrays the lack of support for Serbia and Serbian institutions in a potential hotspot. End Summary. Albanian Flag Day -------------- ¶2. (SBU)For the past two years Albanians in south Serbia have commemorated Albania's independence from the Ottoman Empire with Flag Day celebrations. Celebratory acts included playing the Albanian national anthem and flying the Albanian national flag, alongside or without the Serbian national flag, on municipal buildings in the southern Serbian municipalities of Presevo and Bujanovac, in contravention of Serbian law. (Article 16 of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Law on Protection of Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities allows minorities to choose and use their national insignia; however, these must not be identical with the insignia of any other state.) In 2005, an attempt by locals to bring an Albanian national flag into the Bujanovac municipal building provoked a police response. In 2006, local Albanians removed the Serbian national flag from the Presevo municipal building. Moderate Albanian leaders repudiated these incidents, which Serbian authorities also condemned. Flag Day celebration in Presevo and Bujanovac -------------- ¶3. (SBU)On November 28, Albanians in south Serbia marked Albanian Flag Day with events in Presevo and Bujanovac, including official receptions and unofficial demonstrations. The events were calmer than in 2006. The mayors of Presevo and Bujanovac, Ragmi Mustafa and Nagip Arifi, did not attend the events, instead traveling to Tirana for the celebrations, at the invitation of the Albanian president. Both the local OSCE representative in South Serbia and Behlul Nasufi of Riza Halimi's Party for Democratic Action told emboffs that only 100 to 200 people rallied in Presevo. The group, they said, included members of the disbanded Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (UCPMB). Informal speeches and placards called for independence and demilitarization of the region. The OSCE representative confirmed that the Albanian flag flew briefly alongside the Serbian flag in front of the Presevo municipal building but was removed without incident. Local news agencies reported that the Presevo municipal assembly started their session with the Albanian national anthem and then passed a declaration calling for the right to use the national insignia and to celebrate of Albanian national holidays. By all accounts, the day's events ended peacefully. Government of Serbia: Events Were Calm -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Nenad Djurdjevic, Director for the Government's Coordination Body of Serbia, told emboff that the events in South Serbia were "low key and peaceful." He said that, for the most part, "high school youths" attended the public demonstration in Presevo. He said that municipal officials had not organized the demonstration in Presevo, but was uncertain who had. Djurdjevic said that when local Albanians formed a national council, the council could legally address the issues the assembly's declaration identified. Comment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) This year's relatively calm flag day may have something to do with the sense in Serbia's Albanian community that independence for Albanians in Kosovo still depends on the goodwill of the international community. The Albanian communities in Southern Serbia apparently heard the message -- from us and, we expect, from Kosovo, and kept the peace. Maintaining inter-ethnic peace and discouraging separatism especially in areas with large minority populations or inter-ethnically mixed communities will challenge Serbia's governing and law enforcement authorities following a decision on Kosovo's status. We and others in the region will need to continue to urge calm and discourage provocative nationalist acts. End Summary BRUSH