Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PRISTINA348
2007-05-03 15:16:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:  

KOSOVO: BALKAN WATCHERS' CONFERENCE BRINGS USG

Tags:  PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI 
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P 031516Z MAY 07
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7317
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1140
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 02 PRISTINA 000348 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: BALKAN WATCHERS' CONFERENCE BRINGS USG
ACTION OFFICERS TO BELGRADE AND PRISTINA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000348

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: BALKAN WATCHERS' CONFERENCE BRINGS USG
ACTION OFFICERS TO BELGRADE AND PRISTINA


1. (U) This is a joint Embassy Belgrade-US Office Pristina
message.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 16-18, Balkans watchers from
Embassies Berlin, Paris, Rome, Skopje, USEU, and USNATO
participated in familiarization visits to both Belgrade and
Pristina. Co-hosted by Embassy Belgrade and US Office
Pristina, the three-day event was organized to help our
colleagues better understand the situation on the ground as
well as the policy framework under which we operate. It was
also an important opportunity to enhance the already close
cooperation between Embassy Belgrade and USOP. END SUMMARY.

View from the North: Supervised Autonomy Only


3. (SBU) The common view espoused in Serbia is that any UNSC
resolution granting independence for Kosovo is both unlikely
and bad for stability in Serbia and the region. Belgrade's
Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija (CCK) Director
Sanda Raskovic-Ivic and members of the Serbian Negotiating
Team for Kosovo, Dr. Kojen and Professor Samardzic, laid out
their case against Kosovo independence in a familiar pattern.
Major themes included the illegality under international law
of an independent Kosovo, the economic crisis an independent
Kosovo would inherit, and the instability such an outcome
would invite.


4. (SBU) Samardzic focused on the difference between the
cases of Montenegro and Kosovo ) in particular, the legal
status within Yugoslavia of Montenegro as a constituent
republic co-equal with Serbia, and Kosovo as a province of
Serbia. All parties used the phrase "more than autonomy,
less than independence" and refused to entertain alternative
scenarios. Both Kojen and Samardzic held that supervised
autonomy for Kosovo would be the better solution for Kosovo
and regional stability, and complained that this option had
been hard to discuss given the current sentiment in the
international community. Both said they found other UNSC
countries' purported skepticism towards the Ahtisaari plan

surprising and encouraging.


5. (SBU) Raskovic-Ivic stressed concern over violence by
Kosovar Albanians, which she feels will increase should
independence be granted. She characterized the Ahtisaari
plan as an improper reward for Albanian misbehavior and
claimed it violates the UN charter,s guarantee of
territorial integrity by relegating a smaller number of
municipalities to the Serbian people than what they had
before. Raskovic-Ivic singled out a recent OSCE report that
indicated problems with "rule of law" within the government
and commented that the report used the term "kingdom of fear"
to describe the current Albanian and Serb sentiment towards
each other in Kosovo. She acknowledged the good work being
done by KFOR and said she supports the UNSC visit and
predicted that months of delay would follow it.

View from Kosovo


6. (SBU) After Belgrade, the Balkans watchers headed for
Pristina with Minister of Environmental and Spatial Planning
Ardian Gjini, Kosovo Negotiating Team Coordinator Blerim
Shala, and opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo presidency
and Assembly member Enver Hoxhaj. All three leaders
confirmed their support of the Ahtisaari plan, agreed that
decentralization would be the most difficult part to
implement, and expressed concern that while Kosovo is calm
now, continued delay would increase the risk of violence.


7. (SBU) Shala appreciated recent comments by U/S Burns
regarding USG recognition of an independent Kosovo, said he
felt the status process was on track, and downplayed the
potential threat from the small, extremist group, the
Self-Determination Movement. Shala called the Ahtisaari plan
a "second chance" for Kosovo that the international community
should act upon quickly.


8. (SBU) PDK representative Hoxhaj was much less patient

PRISTINA 00000348 002 OF 002


regarding the Kosovo timeline and said USG pressure continues
to be very necessary in that it is the only true stabilizing
force in the region. Hoxhaj blamed Belgrade for the lack of a
productive working relationship between Serbs and Albanians,
noting that Kosovo Albanians have been trying to establish
communication for some time now but have received nothing in
return from the GOS. Hoxhaj maintained that it is also
Belgrade's job to encourage Kosovo Serbs to stay in an
independent Kosovo. In Hoxhaj's view, Serb officials still
have room for compromise, and he and urged them to be more
willing to engage in communication given the unsatisfactory
talks held so far. He said Kosovo is far from stable, and
worried that the Serbian diplomatic offensive is working.


9. (SBU) Balkan Watchers also had the opportunity to meet
with USKFOR Commander Brigadier General Earhart at KFOR HQ in
Pristina. Earhart said multiethnic cooperation is already
evident in several Kosovo municipalities and told us about
KFOR staging mock emergency actions in Serb communities to
demonstrate their readiness and ability to protect local
communities, including churches. Earhart echoed other
interlocutors' concerns that a delay in the status process
will only make the job of keeping the peace more difficult.
In particular, he said that since the border region is
realistically under neither Belgrade nor Pristina,s
effective control, delay could very well ignite isolated
violence there. Still, Earhart said crime (such as smuggling
and corruption) is a bigger issue in his area of
responsibility than inter-ethnic tension.

Mitrovica: Not So Fearful


10. (SBU) During their visit to the town of Mitrovica, the
group met with local Serb representatives Oliver Ivanovic,
Goran Bogdanovic, and Gojko Savic. They focused on the
damaging effects independence would have on Mitrovica and the
Serb-managed faculties of the University of Pristina,
Mitrovica branch. With a 60 percent unemployment rate in the
area, the survival of the university as a major employer is
economically crucial for Kosovo Serbs, they said. They
worried that independence would eventually lead to the
disintegration of the university.


11. (SBU) The conference ended with a brief meeting with
UNMIK Mitrovica representative (and former State FSO) Jerry
Gallucci. In addition to echoing others' concerns over
status delay, Gallucci also expressed doubts about KFOR's
political will, and whether or not they would engage
militarily to protect the Serbian minority should
independence be granted. In his view, if status is delayed,
Kosovo Albanians will not wait for a UNSC resolution but will
try to re-claim former Albanian homes in northern Mitrovica
by force.


12. (SBU) COMMENT: We are grateful to our colleagues in the
region ) and their posts ) for their interest; we are also
grateful for the work of three entry-level officers
(Belgrade's Demian Smith and Katie Gribble, and Pristina's AJ
Rei-Perrine) for coming up with the idea and following
through so well. END COMMENT.
KAIDANOW