KOSOVO: CODEL ROHRABACHER SUPPORTS AHTISAARI,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000303 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, DRL, H, 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: CODEL ROHRABACHER SUPPORTS AHTISAARI, MINORITY RIGHTS; CALLS ON ALL TO AVOID VIOLENCE Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In Kosovo April 14-15, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) conveyed a strong message of support for UN Special Envoy Ahtisaari's package, saying it was past time for Kosovo's status to be resolved. In meetings with Kosovo officials, UNMIK, OSCE and US KFOR, Rohrabacher also stressed the importance of respect for minority rights while calling on all Kosovars to avoid violence. He noted that U.S. forces cannot stay in Kosovo indefinitely. Rep. Rohrabacher delivered the same messages to the public via live radio and TV interviews. He also toured a USAID-supported recycling company making money from Bondsteel's garbage. END SUMMARY. Support for Ahtisaari plan, Time to resolve Kosovo's status ¶2. (SBU) During an April 14-15 visit to Kosovo, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA),accompanied by House International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight (IOHRO) Subcommittee Minority Staff Director Phaedra Dugan, conveyed a message of strong support for UN Special Envoy Ahtisarri's final status package and said it was time to resolve Kosovo's status. With all of his interlocutors and during live interviews with Radio and Television of Kosovo (RTK),he underscored that any violence would undermine support for the final status process. Kosovo's future rests on respect for Minority Rights ¶3. (SBU) In RTK radio and television interviews and in a meeting with Minister of for Environmental and Spatial Planning Ardian Gjini, Rep. Rohrabacher stressed that Kosovars must respect minority rights and praised the Ahtisaari plan for its decentralization provisions, which he said will allow all Kosovars, including minorities, to participate in their local government and make decisions about their schools and police chiefs, just as Americans do. Gjini thanked the Congressman for his personal support, as well as for the longstanding support of the American people. (Note: Government and Unity Team leaders were all in New York for a conference; Gjini was the senior official present in Kosovo.) U.S. forces cannot stay in Kosovo indefinitely ¶4. (C) Rep. Rohrabacher noted in his meetings with Deputy OSCE head Jens Modvig and USKFOR commander BG Douglas Earhart that the U.S. cannot remain in Kosovo indefinitely, and stressed that the Europeans must play a greater role in policing their own backyard. He observed that he was originally against the U.S. military intervention in Kosovo and favored arming the Kosovars so they could defend themselves, but said that the U.S. must see its commitment through. He thanked BG Earhart for the sacrifice he and his troops are making, and for the good work they are doing to foster a safe and secure environment in Kosovo. He also praised the troops for their community service projects. Doing well by doing good ... ¶5. (SBU) The CODEL also visited the USAID-supported recycling business that turns Camp Bondsteel's trash into income for the residents of Ferizaj. Rohrabacher saw compactors baling plastic bottles, plastic bags, scrap metal and cardboard for sale in the region, and heard from the business owner how the private sector could contribute to the clean-up effort of Kosovo's trash-strewn roadsides, river beds and public areas. Rep. Rohrabacher applauded the initiative, both of USAID and local business, to use the private sector's profit orientation to accomplish the social goods of recycling and environmental remediation. ¶6. (C) Comment: Our policy was well-served by Rep. Rohrabacher's repeated bundling of supervised independence, minority rights and non-violence. His statement that U.S. forces cannot remain in Kosovo indefinitely, but also that we PRISTINA 00000303 002 OF 002 need to finish what was begun, was also a useful reminder to Kosovo that it will eventually need to assume full responsibility for governance and security. ¶7. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina does not clear this cable for release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. KAIDANOW