Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PRISTINA161
2007-03-02 16:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:  

KOSOVO: MEDIA CAMPAIGN/PUBLIC OUTREACH ON

Tags:  PGOV KJUS EAID KDEM UNMIK YI KPAO 
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DE RUEHPS #0161/01 0611618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021618Z MAR 07
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7098
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1064
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHFMIUU/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT
RHMFISS/CDR TF FALCON
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEPGEA/CDR650THMIGP SHAPE BE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUFOANA/USNIC PRISTINA SR
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000161 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, FOR EUR/PPD - ROXANNE CABRAL, NSC FOR
BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KJUS EAID KDEM UNMIK YI KPAO
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: MEDIA CAMPAIGN/PUBLIC OUTREACH ON
AHTISAARI PLAN KICKS INTO HIGHER GEAR

REF: A. PRISTINA 27


B. PRISTINA 118

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please handle accordingly.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000161

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, FOR EUR/PPD - ROXANNE CABRAL, NSC FOR
BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KJUS EAID KDEM UNMIK YI KPAO
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: MEDIA CAMPAIGN/PUBLIC OUTREACH ON
AHTISAARI PLAN KICKS INTO HIGHER GEAR

REF: A. PRISTINA 27


B. PRISTINA 118

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please handle accordingly.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Since President Ahtisaari's February 2
presentation of the final status settlement package for
Kosovo, efforts to explain the package to both Kosovar
Albanians and Serbs include a USAID-funded media campaign,
televised educational programs, radio call-in shows,
community roundtables with local leaders, and large public
town hall meetings. Unity Team members, UNMIK, OSCE, the
International Civilian Office (ICO) planning team, KFOR,
Contact Group members including USOP, and international and
local NGOs have all participated. On March 1, the second
phase of the media campaign began under the slogan, "Kosovo,
For Sure!," providing greater detail to both Kosovar
Albanians and Serbs, but with different approaches. For the
Albanians, the emphasis is on the attributes of future
sovereignty in the package (along with a flashy TV ad
featuring a famous international Kosovar football star),
while for the Serbs the focus is on the specific rights,
including the decentralization concept, that will allow them
to live in peace and security. Challenges remain,
particularly the skittishness of the Kosovar political
leadership to discuss decentralization -- which remains a
source of controversy in Kosovo -- in a forthright manner, as
well as general ignorance about the concept among Kosovo
Serbs, who rely in large part for their information on the
anti-Ahtisaari oriented media based in Serbia. The second
phase of the Kosovo outreach program will attempt to remedy
this ignorance by relying more on expanded radio coverage and
use of local TV stations. The media campaign and public
outreach has kicked into higher gear and has made a
difference already, but more work needs to be done. END
SUMMARY.

Media-based outreach sets the tone, reveals "the other
side's" concerns


2. (SBU) The first phase of the USAID-funded media campaign

was oriented towards encouraging the Kosovar public to see
the Ahtisaari package in a positive light (especially since
much negative publicity had been levelled at the document
before its presentation) -- without, however, addressing
specifics of the package. The first slogan, "Kosovo Welcomes
the Future," appeared in two Public Service Announcements
(PSAs) and two billboard designs (one each for Albanians and
Serbs) and aired through February (Ref A). The second phase,
developed after Ahtisaari's visit on February 2, now provides
a greater level of detail to assuage fears and counter
specific misconceptions about elements of the package. For
Kosovo Albanians, the campaign has focused on those aspects
of Ahtisaari's proposals that suggest the attributes and
responsibilities of future sovereignty (delivered by an
international Kosovar football star to make the message
compelling for young people). For Kosovo Serbs, the messages
have focused closely on the decentralization and security
elements of the package that will permit them to live safely
and securely in post-status Kosovo. At a March 1 meeting of
the Public Outreach Working Group, the local PR firm engaged
with this effort presented the final product, noting that it
had been focus group-tested in both the Albanian and Serb
communities. With the slogan, "Kosovo, Secure" or "Kosovo,
For Sure," the campaign began airing on March 1 wtih 3 TV
PSAs (2 Albanian, 1 Serb),3 billboard designs (2 Albanian, 1
Serb),and 3 radio ads (all Serb). A website
(www.sigurt.info and www.sigurno.info) has all the
information about the campaign, copies of the settlement
document (as provided and translated by the Unity Team) in
Albanian and Serbian, and other useful information that will
be up and running by March 2. (Note: The Albanian word
"sigurt" is versatile and useful in this context; it can mean
safe, secure, certain or sure. End note)


3. (U) The TV magazine series, like the media campaign, has

PRISTINA 00000161 002 OF 003


been coordinated by the USAID contractor, Academy for
Educational Development (AED),and consists of four 27-minute
programs dealing with security, community rights,
decentralization and cultural heritage, set to begin airing
in mid-March. The COM kicked off the series with an
interview on February 12. By partnering local TV stations
from Albanian and Serb communities, each program highlights
the specific concerns communities have about one of these
four topics, to enhance Albanian understanding of Serb fears
and vice versa. In a separate effort, televised dialogues
between Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs, moderated by the
well-regarded Belgrade-based NGO Fractal, also aim to educate
each side on the other's feelings about status. KFOR is also
sponsoring radio shows (in both Q&A call-in and panel
discussion formats) that reiterate KFOR's continuing presence
in Kosovo and its commitment to Kosovo's security. These
shows are aimed primarily at Kosovo Serbs.

Community roundtables and town hall meetings


4. (SBU) AED, through a subcontract with the local Advocacy,
Training and Resource Center (ATRC),is also conducting 33
community roundtables. After participating in a two-day
training session, NGOs from designated municipalities have
brought together community leaders to discuss their concerns
about the status settlement package and process. Some of the
roundtables include international experts on various issues
dealt with in the package. After each roundtable the NGO
produces a report outlining that particular community's
concerns. In addition, OSCE plans to hold a series of small
workshops for university students in Pristina to address
their specific questions, concerns and (mis)perceptions.


5. (SBU) The most extensive community outreach being done
is a series of public town hall meetings. AED, Fractal,
UNMIK and OSCE, which keeps a centralized, running calendar
of events which all can plug into, have organized public town
hall meetings designed to allow citizens to interact directly
with their leaders and with international representatives.
Regular participants in these town halls include Unity Team
Members (President Sejdiu, PM Ceku and opposition leader
Thaci),SRSG Ruecker, Municipal Assembly presidents, ICO
planning team head Sohlstrom, KFOR representatives, and
Contact Group representatives, including COM. AED has 7
regional town halls scheduled for April and will determine
the panelists based on concerns expressed in the community
roundtables. Fractal, as part of its "Enclavia Project," an
effort to foster civic involvement in Kosovo Serb enclaves,
has already facilitated one town hall meeting in Gracanica
for the local Serb community with the COM as the featured
speaker (ref B),and anticipates two more with her as keynote
speaker in Strpce and northern Mitrovica. UNMIK and the OSCE
have also organized events at the University of Pristina, in
Gjilan and in Viti, two municipalities directly affected by
decentralization. The OSCE has future town hall meetings
planned for Kamenice, Strpce, Decan, Ranilug, Velica Hoca and
with the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce. Thus far, these
community outreach efforts have revealed that many Kosovars
have a very limited understanding of the package. Most have
not read the package and some think the UNOSEK fact sheets
are actually the complete document. (Note: USOP is also
using its FSO Albanian speakers for USOP-sponsored events,
which include meetings with students from the University of
Pristina, Journalism Institute, and other schools. End
Note.)

Decentralization: UT member shy away, Kosovo Serbs have
little knowledge


6. (SBU) While the media campaign and coordinated public
outreach effort is promising, challenges remain. Unity Team
members tend to shy away from directly addressing what are
seen as controversial topics by Kosovar Albanians --
especially decentralization -- and to worry about their image
among their constituents. They stop short of discussing the
benefits for all, not just for Kosovo Serbs, of a

PRISTINA 00000161 003 OF 003


decentralized structure of government. Indeed, they and
their representatives on the Public Outreach Working Group,
who are an integral part of creating the messages for the
media campaign, believe that decentralization is just the
bitter pill Kosovo has to swallow in order to be independent,
and so have refused to address it directly in the ads that
are geared for Kosovo Albanians. That unwillingness to
discuss the issue head-on negatively affects public
understanding of the concept. To make matters worse,
National Democratic Institute focus groups and ATRC
roundtables reveal that many Albanians in any event do not
believe that decentralization will be implemented.


7. (SBU) Regarding Kosovo's Serbs, especially those in the
Serb-majority areas of the north, the problem is not so much
the message as it is a lack of basic information about what
decentralization means. Participants in focus groups in
these areas for the second phase of the media campaign
revealed how limited their understanding is of
decentralization. During the tests, trial ads that explained
decentralization and its impact on their daily lives turned
out to be the first exposure many of the participants had had
to the whole concept. Some were favorably surprised. Many
of the participants had not seen the first phase ads on
television because they only watch Serbia-based electronic
media -- the result of refusal or prohibitive pricing from
these media to take part in the campaign. To remedy this,
the second phase plans expanded radio coverage and the use of
local TV stations to attempt to reach a wider audience.
Although operating in a much more constrained and difficult
environment than in the Serb enclaves of the south, this
media campaign in the north will be supplemented as well by
town hall meetings. Current outreach planning includes one
ATRC community roundtable, one ATRC town hall, and one
Fractal town hall in north Mitrovica. In addition to public
town halls, USAID and PD are looking to find local NGOs which
would be willing to conduct "micro-level" outreach to Kosovo
Serbs throughout Kosovo, going door-to-door to answer
questions and concerns.


8. (SBU) COMMENT: Media campaign and public outreach
efforts to inform the Kosovar public about the final status
document and process are making a difference. President
Sejdiu, PM Ceku and main opposition leader Thaci, as well as
USOP, UNMIK OSCE and the other key internationals here, are
on board and have taken on mutually supportive roles to get
the word out. The most difficult tasks will continue to be
getting the Kosovar political leadership to be more
forthright in its support for the Ahtisaari package, as well
as educating and reassuring Kosovo's Serbs that the document
means a safe and secure life for them in Kosovo. USOP will
continue to use its position on the Public Outreach Working
Group to push these issues and look for opportunities to use
its voice to garner support for the document. END COMMMENT.


10. (SBU) USOP clears this cable in its entirety for
release to UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW