PM KOSTUNICA'S OUTRAGE OVER BABIN MOST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000027 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KBTS SR YI SUBJECT: PM KOSTUNICA'S OUTRAGE OVER BABIN MOST INCIDENT ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: PM Kostunica expressed to Contact Group (CG) Ambassadors 1/9/07 his deep concern over the alleged mistreatment of K-Serbs in Babin Most by ethnic Albanian KPS officers earlier this month. Displaying strong emotion, the PM stood by his earlier public assertion that the Babin Most incidents represented the latest phase in a campaign by the KPS and international community to "ethnically cleanse" Serbs from Kosovo. Unless perpetrators of the alleged beatings were punished, he warned that this incident could spark a wave of anti-Serb violence similar to the events of March 2004. The UK and US cautioned the PM to refrain from inflammatory language that would only serve to make his dire prophecies more likely to happen. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) PM Kostunica called in CG chiefs of mission 1/9 to express consternation over the Babin Most events. The previous day, he (and President Tadic) had met with the family of a Babin Most Serb (Srecko Simic) who claimed to have been beaten by 50 K- Albanian KPS officers while handcuffed. Kostunica, citing Simic's description of events, also alleged to the CG reps that Simic had been beaten until "almost dead," that UN police observed the entire incident but did not intervene, and that only K-Serb houses (i.e., no K-Albanian houses) in the vicinity were targeted for searches. Kostunica noted that KPS, after detaining Simic in Pristina, released him, acknowledging that Simic was not a suspect in the shooting death of the KPS officer that prompted the KPS searches in Babin Most. The PM did acknowledge, and expressed gratitude, for the response of DSRSG Schook, who quickly sent a vehicle to Babin Most to provide security for the Simic family. ¶3. (SBU) Kostunica characterized the Babin Most incidents as only the latest event in a long-running campaign to cleanse Kosovo of Serbs. Following his meeting with the Simic family on 1/8 (during which the Simic's said they planned to leave Kosovo),the PM issued an impassioned public condemnation of the "bestial" behavior of the KPS officers. In that statement, the PM also charged the KPS, UNMIK, and international community of "participating in ...an attempt to expel Serbs from Kosovo or ethnic cleansing." The fact that the arrest and beating of Simic happened at Orthodox Christmastime was intended 
to frighten the Serb community of Kosovo, he asserted. ¶4. (SBU) The PM called repeatedly for the KPS perpetrators of the alleged mistreatment of Babin Most Serbs to be punished, arguing that such an outcome represented the only way to calm inter-ethnic tensions in Kosovo. If there were no arrests in this case (as there had not been in the long line of Albanian-on- Serb crimes going back to March 2004 and before, he said),he feared the outbreak of another wave of anti- Serb violence. After all, he argued, the March 2004 violence against Serbs had been sparked by unfounded rumors that Serbs had inflicted violence on Albanians. (Comment: His implication was that the KPS actions in Babin Most created the impression that Serbs killed the KPS policeman, a notion that could prompt Albanians to seek vengeance on Serbs throughout Kosovo. End Comment) ¶5. (SBU) Following a series of largely non-substantive interventions, the UK Ambassador, speaking on instructions, averred that the preliminary results from the ongoing UN investigation sharply differed from the version of events described by the PM. He described as "regrettable" the PM's references to "torture and ethnic cleansing" and appealed to the GOS leadership to avoid inflammatory language. The Charge also rejected the PM's insinuation that the international community wanted to see Serbs expelled from Kosovo, expressing particular concern over the PM's allegations of an international campaign of "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo. Inflammatory rhetoric from Belgrade would just make it more likely that the PM's fears of a repeat of March 2004 would be realized. Charge also pointed to the USG's strong support for efforts to improve security and decentralization in Kosovo. Drawing on information provided by USOP and the UN, Charge urged the PM not to jump to conclusions about the circumstances of the BELGRADE 00000027 002 OF 002 case and to allow the investigations to proceed. ¶6. (SBU) The PM responded emotionally and refused to back away from his use of the term "ethnic cleansing," noting that "two-thirds of Serbs have already been forced to leave Kosovo." He said he would be the first to condemn Serb-on-Albanian violence, but the fact is that "all ethnically-motivated crimes seem to happen against Serbs." He agreed that the investigations needed to proceed, but he held out little hope -- based upon past experience -- that there would be any result implicating K-Albanians in the mistreatment of Serbs. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: This is by no means the first time that the PM has expressed his outrage to IC reps over the treatment of K-Serbs. The fact that Serbia is in an election campaign, that the Ahtisaari visit is approaching, and that he had met personally with Simic family certainly contributed to the PM's decision to convoke the CG over this issue and to use fiery public rhetoric. That said, of the numerous incidents involving Serbs over the last few years, the Babin Most events -- at least as described by the UN -- seems to be an unlikely cause celebre. First of all, the police actions occurred against the backdrop of the killing of an ethnic Albanian police officer in the vicinity of a predominantly Serb community. Secondly, we have seen no strong evidence that any Serbs suffered substantial physical harm. We interpret the PM's actions as an effort to demonstrate -- to the domestic and international audience -- that Serbs would not be able to live safely in a state dominated by Albanians. MOORE