Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PRISTINA96
2007-02-05 16:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:  

KOSOVO: POSITIVE KOSOVAR ALBANIAN REACTION TO

Tags:  PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000096 

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: 02/04/2017
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: POSITIVE KOSOVAR ALBANIAN REACTION TO
AHTISAARI VISIT/PACKAGE


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


C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000096

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: 02/04/2017
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: POSITIVE KOSOVAR ALBANIAN REACTION TO
AHTISAARI VISIT/PACKAGE


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



1. (C) SUMMARY: Reaction by Kosovo Albanian leaders and the
media to the final status package, as presented in Pristina
by UN Special Envoy Ahtisaari on February 2, has been
positive. The Unity Team welcomed the package and issued a
statement saying they were committed to continuing the
process on the basis of the provisions contained in the
document. PM Ceku, however, tempered his remarks by noting
that the document "did not meet all our expectations and
demands" and later, on a primetime talk show with the other
UT leaders, expressed disagreement with the package's
treatment of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC),arguing that
it should be the core of a future Kosovo defense force. He
was joined in this criticism by opposition leader Hashim
Thaci, signalling that the Unity Team will likely ask for
modification of the KPC language in the Ahtisaari document.
Media coverage and initial commentary from even committed
foes of the Ahtisaari process were also upbeat, with only the
hardest of the hardliners still expressing dissatisfaction.


2. (C) Reaction among Kosovo Serbs has been largely
negative, but muted. Moderate Kosovo Serb politician Oliver
Ivanovic -- the only Serb leader to meet with Ahtisaari --
was critical of the package, saying it did not clarify what
kind of status was at stake and reportedly adding that the
package might result in the Serb-majority municipalities of
northern Kosovo declaring their own independence and thus
increase the threat of renewed conflict. The general
security environment remains calm: a February 3
demonstration against the package in the divided city of
Mitrovica called by Albin Kurti's Self-Determination Movement
attracted only 100-150, and there were no incidents,
according to the Kosovo Police Service (KPS). However,

reports indicate that Kurti will try hard to mobilize a
significant number of people for February 10 demonstrations
and may provoke violence, a possibility that KFOR, UNMIK
police, and KPS are prepared to contend with. END SUMMARY.

Unity Team Welcomes Package...


3. (SBU) After meeting with UN Special Enboy Ahtisaari on
February 2 in Pristina, the Unity Team of negotiators,
composed of the five main governing and opposition leaders,
issued a statement of clear support for Ahtisaari and his
package. The UT noted that the document contained "all the
elements" for a functioning, independent state with the
necessary guarantees for communities that live in Kosovo --
"the Serb community before all." President Sejdiu promised
to engage fully in the follow-on consultations scheduled by
President Ahtisaari for Feb. 13 in Vienna and agreed to have
a UNOSEK team led by Albert Rohan come to Pristina on Feb. 9
to further explain parts of the package. The other UT
members, including PM Agim Ceku, Assembly Speaker Kole
Berisha, and opposition leaders Hashim Thaci and Veton Surroi
also welcomed the document, noting that in their estimation
it provided the opportunity for Kosovo to become an
independent state.


4. (SBU) At a subsequent primetime call-in talk show on
February 2, Unity Team members again expressed their support
for Ahtisaari and the package. They noted that while
Ahtisaari did not mention the word "independence," his
package contained all the attributes that the word implied,
and they were confident that the outcome would be
independence for Kosovo. They also accepted Ahtisaari's
suggested timeline and next steps. During the television
program, all five participants eloquently defended the
decentralization provisions of the agreement, saying that it
was a means of governing Kosovo in accordance with the
Euro-Atlantic standards to which they aspire. The group
refuted the proposition that decentralization constituted the
loss of territory and defended the provisions allowing for
links between Serbia and Serbs living in Kosovo. They also
acknowledged the need for new national symbols (flag, anthem

PRISTINA 00000096 002 OF 003


and seal) to help create a Kosovo that welcomed all.
Responding to a phoned-in question as to why the document did
not say the word "independence," Ceku said that it should be
clear to all Kosovars that the status outlined by Ahtisaari
does indeed add up to all the elements of statehood,
including Kosovo's territorial integrity.

...But PM Ceku Expresses Disappointment with Treatment of KPC


5. (C) Sounding one sour note, PM Ceku made it a point to
add that the document "did not meet all our expectations and
demands." Ceku openly disagreed with with the document's
treatment of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC),which he
formerly commanded (note: the package foresees the KPC being
disbanded after one year, as a new, 2,500-strong, vetted
Kosovo Security Force (KSF) is stood up),calling for the
KPC's transformation into the new security force and noting
that "the KPC has prepared itself for seven years to become
the future army." This comment prompted Thaci to echo the
transformation demand. (Comment: Interestingly, the current
KPC commander, Gen. Sylejman Selimi, has been the most
realistic about his organization's future, boldly asserting
to hardline KLA associations recently that the restructuring
process will be difficult, that the KPC's mandate will end,
and that many current KPC members will not become part of the
new security force. End Comment.) Ceku concluded by saying
that the UT would return to Ahtisaari to secure "what Kosovo
deserves ... a package in accordance with the will of its
people."

Media Reaction Favorable, Press Conference


6. (SBU) The Albanian-language media also has been generally
favorable about Ahtisaari's visit and the contents of the
package. Print and broadcast media reported factually on the
positive reaction by Kosovo's leaders and the former carried
articles from the U.S. and other western press stressing that
the international community strongly supports Ahtisaari.
Editorials for the most part were not concerned that the
document failed to mention "independence"; rather, they
focused on the package elements, which they interpreted as
leading in the direction of independence. The
editor-in-chief of the daily Express, a tabloid publication
not known previously for its strong support of the status
process, went so far as to argue that refusing the document
would be the same as refusing the 1999 Rambouillet Accord and
that the "'no' should be left to Belgrade and to stubborn
people in Kosovo." There were a few negative comments,
including one by the head of the Council of Defense and Human
Rights, who maintained that Ahtisaari had given the Serbs the
"right to veto" and that the proposal preserved Serbia's
sovereignty over the old and new Serb majority municipalities
(a misconception we have also heard from some hardline MPs
and are working to counter). Other commentary was moderately
critical of the issues of decentralization, Kosovo's share of
Serbia's international debt, and the future of the KPC.



7. (SBU) Perhaps as a result of this favorable inclination,
the Pristina media levelled few tough questions at Ahtisaari
during a February 2 press conference. Local participants
seemed hesitant and/or confused, and the 'burning' question
of whether Ahtisaari's package meant independence for Kosovo
went unasked until well into the conference. The UN Special
Envoy handled the question by saying that he would not be
drawn into that discussion, that people could draw their own
conclusions, and that he himself would draw none until he
made his report to the UN Security Council.

Kosovo Serbs Predictably Negative, but Muted


8. (C) Reaction among Kosovo Serbs has been largely
negative, but muted. Moderate Kosovo Serb politician Oliver
Ivanovic was the only leader to meet Ahtisaari and, after the
meeting, said the package did not clarify what kind of status
was at stake, arguing that the document would only serve to

PRISTINA 00000096 003 OF 003


make things more difficult. Ivanovic, who met Amb. Wisner
February 5 (reported septel),was also quoted in the press as
observing that the northern Serb municipalities might well
declare their own independence and that the package could
lead to renewed conflict, though he later claimed his remarks
had been misinterpreted.

SDM's Demonstration Small, Uneventful; Situation Calm


9. (SBU) Not surprisingly, the Self-Determination Movement
(SDM) led by firebrand Albin Kurti firmly opposed the package
and called for a February 3 demonstration in the divided city
of Mitrovica. According to the Kosovo Police Service (KPS),
the event attracted only 100-150 supporters, lasted about an
hour and a half, and ended without incident. KPS also
reported that the situation throughout Kosovo in the wake of
the visit has remained calm, with no unusual activity.
(Comment: SDM will hold what will presumably be larger
demonstrations on February 10 in Pristina and Ferizaj. We
are in contact with UNMIK Civpol and KFOR to determine what
measures will be taken to prevent a repeat of last November
28, when SDM was able to damage property, including UNMIK
HQs, with apparent impunity. End Comment.)

Comment


10. (C) Apart from Ceku and Thaci's comments on the
treatment of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC),the reaction
was a good one, engendered through careful coaching and
extensive outreach work by USOP and others in the
international community. The Unity Team is largely on board
with the elements of the package, but we will have to keep a
careful eye on Ceku and Thaci's assertions regarding the KPC;
their comments have the potential to stir up KPC anxieties at
a time when calm leadership and reassurance is required. We
would recommend that UNOSEK continue to make clear to both
Ceku and Thaci that while their concerns about the
"disbandment" word might be assuaged through some different
phraseology, the substance of the provisions regarding the
KPC cannot and will not change, making it imperative that
both leaders moderate the tone of their criticism. END
COMMENT.


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