KOSOVO: THE NORTH'S ALBANIAN MINORITY WORRIED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000237 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: 03/28/2017 TAGS: PGOV KPKO PHUM EAID YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: THE NORTH'S ALBANIAN MINORITY WORRIED ABOUT JOBS, SCHOOLS AND ROADS ... NOT THEIR SECURITY REF: PRISTINA 229 Classified By: COM Tina Kaidanow for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Albanian residents of two communities north of Kosovo's Ibar River were highly supportive of the Ahtisaari proposal and grateful for USG assistance. Residents told us they generally feel secure in their villages and in their travels to the southern part of Kosovo. They have not been affected by the development of parallel Serbian structures in the three northern municipalities, but expressed some concerns that this might change -- to the detriment of Serbs -- given Belgrade's rejection of the Ahtisaari plan. One community is trying to engage in the affairs of its Serb-majority municipality; the other is more reticent. All residents spoke highly of previous USAID projects and official visitors and were visibly relieved when we assured them that we understand that northern Kosovo is not a homogenous area. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On March 27, DPO, DATT and POL/ECON assistant visited Boletin in Zvecan Municipality and Cabra in Zubin Potok. In Boletin, we met with representatives of the three Albanian villages (the other two are Zhazha and Lipa) in the area and visited the home of 19th century Albanian nationalist Isa Boletini, which is adjacent to the Serbian Orthodox Sokolica Monastery. Our host in Cabra was the father of one of the three young Albanians whose accidental drowning in March 2004 set off Kosovo-wide anti-Serb violence. Boletin: Isolated, but Peaceful ¶3. (SBU) Boletin is a farming community nestled in the mountains east of Zvecan. The total population of the three villages in the area is some 1,200 Albanians. All three villages were badly damaged by Serb forces in 1999, destruction that included the demolition of some of Kosovo's last surviving examples of traditional Albanian kullas (stone dwellings). Although Boletin is part of Zvecan municipality, its residents have not taken up their two seats in the Municipal Assembly nor their reserved position as one of the Deputy Mayors. The reason is complex; the three villages have historically disputed their inclusion in Zvecan and did not participate in the most recent elections. ¶4. (SBU) Because Zvecan only recently submitted its municipal budget to the PISG (reftel),the staff at the local primary school have not been paid since the beginning of the year. As Albanians within a Serb-majority municipality, their public servants are not paid by the parallel Belgrade administration; salaries depend on Pristina. Residents said that they have minimal contact with Serbs, whose closest village is on the far side of a valley, and are generally satisfied with their security. They noted however, that the response time for KPS officers dispatched from southern Mitrovica was hours, and sometimes days. ¶5. (SBU) There were three issues Boletin residents flagged for our attention. USAID resurfaced the dirt road that leads to the villages, making it passable year-round for the first time in memory. They asked whether it would be possible for USAID to return and pave the road. While one primary school serves three villages, local children have to walk to southern Mitrovica if they want to attend high school, which takes 90 minutes each way. Consequently, many local children were not continuing their education; they said that if they were part of Mitrovica, they could seek to be on a school bus route. Residents were very grateful that the Ahtisaari package recognized the historical value of the Boletini house, and that it and the adjacent Sokolica Monastery had both been afforded protection. The residents of Boletin said that they protected the monastery in 2004 and would continue to do so. Cabra: An Albanian Community in the North Willing to Engage with Serb Municipal Officials PRISTINA 00000237 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) Cabra was razed to the ground by Serbian forces in 1999 and rebuilt with diaspora funding. In 2004, three young Albanians from the area drowned in the Ibar River. What was in fact an accident became the spark that set off the catastrophic anti-Serb violence throughout Kosovo. Our host was Cerkin Veseli, father of one of the dead children and former IVP grantee. Residents said they were committed to a multi-ethnic Kosovo, which included their status as a minority within a predominantly Serb municipality. When they asked our views on the possibility of violence, they were amused to see that we assumed they meant violence of the inter-ethnic variety. Rather, they meant violence between rejectionist Serbs and others who were prepared to continue on in the new Kosovo. Residents noted that they maintained contact with Serbs, although more on an official basis than private links. Their view was that most Serbs have known that independence is coming and want to remain as part of Kosovo. They acknowledged the traumas of the past and that there were radicals among all communities. One offered that if "together we build a democratic Kosovo, the radicals will lose their appeal within both communities." ¶7. (SBU) Cabra has two representatives in the 17-member Zubin Potok Assembly (one LDK and one PDK); an LDK representative also serves in the municipal vice presidency reserved for minorities. A local community office (LCO) of the municipality exists in Cabra, where residents can get services such as civil registrations and birth certificates. While these affairs are handled at the LCO, they are sealed in Zubin Potok. This has not been a problem, according to local residents. When Zubin Potok severed its ties to the PISG, it was done "with the exception of the relations that affect the Albanian communities in the municipality." Unlike in Zvecan, the Zubin Potok municipality submitted its budget request to the PISG on time, meaning that all local salaries have been paid. ¶8. (SBU) Asked whether they are touched by Belgrade's parallel structures in the north, they said that they were aware that they existed, but added that they are mostly left alone. As in Boletin, Cabra concerns were about jobs, health care, schools and other social services. Residents noted that poor governance and low standards of living would force all Kosovars to leave, Serb or Albanian. The villagers remembered well that former COM Ries had paid multiple visits to the village and expressed gratitude that our current visit sent a signal that we had them in mind during a period of change. ¶9. (C) Comment: We were struck by the villagers' apparent lack of security-related concerns given that they are an Albanian minority in the part of Kosovo that is most hostile to independence. We were also interested in the Cabra residents' readiness to engage in the civic affairs of a majority Serb municipality. Perhaps most striking is the fact that it took going to small isolated villages in the Serb north to find 20 ethnic Albanians who expressed absolute, unreserved praise for the Ahtisaari package. Residents believed that decentralization and minority rights provisions would protect them, just as they would protect Serbs. We generally frame the decentralization issue as the main vehicle for guaranteeing the rights -- and continued presence -- of the Serb community in Kosovo. These meetings were a useful reminder that there is an important subset of the issue dealing with Albanians, Kosovo-wide, who will be minorities within decentralized local administrations. We will follow their progress and assist where we can. ¶10. (U) USOP clears this cable in its entirety for release to UN Special Envoy Ahtisaari. KAIDANOW