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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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

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