KOSOVO: VILLAGE LEADERS WILLING TO DISCUSS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000188

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN
FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR
ACKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2017
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: VILLAGE LEADERS WILLING TO DISCUSS
COMPENSATION REGARDING 2001 BORDER AGREEMENT WITH MACEDONIA


Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: A March 7 visit by the USKFOR Polad to
Debelde, a town affected by the 2001 border agreement between
Macedonia and the then-FRY, suggests that village leaders
there talk a tough game on not giving up their land, but are
actually quite willing to discuss compensation. Indeed,
these leaders' righteous indignation appear to be a means to
inflate the value of the land in question. We and USKFOR
believe that at the end of the day, if compensated, the
villagers will part with their land, but they would prefer if
the money comes through their own institutions, rather than
via Macedonian authorities. In their eyes, if they can say
they sold their land to the Kosovar government, they would
avoid accusations of "selling out" to Macedonia and
legitimizing the border agreement, which many here see as
having been negotiated without regard to Kosovo's interests.
We and USKFOR will continue to monitor the situation to
ensure that the situation remains peaceful and encourage the
Kosovo government to be proactive in dealing with villagers'
concerns. END SUMMARY.

We'll never give up our land...


2. (SBU) USKFOR Polad provided USOP with information on his
March 7 visit to the Debelde, a border village with Macedonia
affected by the 2001 border agreement between Macedonia and
the then-FRY. Local leaders, including the village vice
president and a member of the village council, offered him
background, saying of the 2,500 hectares that now belong to
Macedonia, 429 hectares (1,060 acres) are the private
property of roughly 60-70 families from Debelde who can no
longer make use of this land. Asked what the land was used
for, these leaders said it was mainly pasture for livestock,
but claimed that it could be used to build a hotel and ski
resort and that a German company had offered to do so in
2004, but backed down when it learned the land was part of a
contested agreement.


3. (SBU) USKFOR Polad heard a number of statements about
the border situation, alternating between anger directed at
UNMIK at not being able to use the land for the last seven
years, confusion as to whether PM Ceku supported the
agreement or not, righteous refusal to ever part with their
land, and, most tellingly, hardheaded calculation of how much
compensation they would require. Regarding this last point,
the leaders calculated the value at 3,000 euro/ari, putting
the total value of the Debelde claim at nearly 129 million
euro. (Note: An ari is 100 square meters. 100 ari is equal
to one hectare. End Note.)

...Well, maybe if the Kosovar government buys it


4. (SBU) The village leaders concluded their comments to
USKFOR Polad by saying they would abide by the 2001 agreement
"if Ahtisaari says we have to," and only if compensated by
the Kosovar government. One of the leaders added, "We do not
want to be remembered as the village that sold Kosovo to the
Macedonians." A local schoolteacher who later joined the
conversation contributed his own radical opinion, which
included the need for a "secret army" that would move the
border even past Skopje. The schoolteacher even claimed that
this "secret army" was already in existence. These comments
brought hoots and derisive laughter from the village leaders,
who chastised him for saying such silly things.


5. (SBU) On the way back to Camp Bondsteel, USKFOR Polad
gave a ride to one of the participants, who owned three
hectares of land in the area in question and who said that
the land had not been worked in 20 years. He noted that many
villagers from Debelde had emigrated in recent times and that
he had not heard of any offers or prices set, but that if he
were approached by agents of the Macedonian government to
sell, he would refuse out of spite and indignation: "if it
is going to be sold to anyone, it should be sold to the
government of Kosovo."

PRISTINA 00000188 002 OF 002




6. (C) COMMENT: It appears that village leaders in Debelde
are attempting to use their righteous indignation over the
2001 border agreement to inflate the price of their land and
then eventually sell. Having the Kosovar government purchase
it, in their thinking, would both allow them to get a better
price than what the Macedonians may be offering and help them
avoid any accusations of selling out to foreigners. We and
USKFOR will continue to closely monitor the situation to
ensure it remains peaceful, and will urge the Kosovo
government to be proactive in addressing villagers' concerns.
END COMMENT.


7. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina clears this cable in its
entirety for release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW