MACEDONIA: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ON ICTY RETURN OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000120 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ICTY MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ON ICTY RETURN OF CASES & NATO PRIORITIES REF: A. SKOPJE 39 ¶B. SKOPJE 102 Classified By: P/E Chief SHubler, reasons 1.4(b) & (d). SUMMARY ¶1. (C) Deputy PM Konevska agreed with the Ambassador during a February 7 meeting that the Macedonian judicial and political system is not yet ready to accept the return of four unindicted ICTY cases involving eAlbanians linked to the two main eAlbanian political parties here. Reminded that time is running out for Macedonia to complete numerous priority tasks before it can be considered a strong contender for NATO membership, Konevska said the GOM is committed to implementing the Ohrid Framework Agreement and is working to address the curjQjQQvdifficult to go after "big fish" involved in past corruption scandals because of mutual protection "deals" the previous two governments had concluded. Our message to the GOM continues to be that, at the end of the day, what will count for NATO membership will be deeds, not words, and results rather than excuses. End Summary. ICTY RETURN OF CASES: DELAY AND SEQUENCE ¶2. (C) In a February 7 meeting, the Ambassador told Deputy PM for Euro-Integration Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska that the USG believes it would be prudent to delay the return to Macedonian jurisdiction of four unindicted ICTY cases from The Hague (ref A). In addition, we thought the return should be phased, with cases coming back one-by-one. She suggested to Konevska that the GOM consider appointing an ad hoc government focal point to oversee the various elements of the politically-contentious return of cases, all of which involve allegations against ethnic Albanians linked to either the main eAlbanian opposition party (DUI) or the eAlbanian junior governing coalition partner (DPA). ¶3. (C) Konevska agreed on the need to delay the return of cases and to ensure the cases return sequentially. She said, however, that ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte recently had told her the cases should be returned by July and in one batch, taking into account del Ponte's impending departure from The Hague. Konevska said a further delay would be justified by the fact that the judiciary still required extensive training to deal with such cases. In addition, neither the draft law on cooperation with the ICTY nor the draft law on the public prosecutor had been passed by the Macedonian Parliament, and the recently-approved law on courts was only in the early implementation phase. Politically, eAlbanian reactions to the return of cases could be potentially damaging to Macedonia's NATO and EU candidacies, Konevska believed. ¶4. (C) Konevska said she was aware of the need to manage public expectations regarding the four cases, especially given the fact that an ICTY case against former Macedonian Minister of Interior Boskovski and an accomplice was scheduled to begin before the summer. She had underscored to both Boskovski and his accomplice, during a recent visit to The Hague, that the GOM would not try to link their cases and the return of the four cases against eAlbanians. Konevska confided that she was serving as a de facto government focal point on these issues, although the GOM believed it was better not to formalize that appointment. Q#Q?z# NATO MEMBERSHIP -- WE SUPPORT YOU, BUT YOU'VE GOT TO EARN IT ¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador told Konevska that the USG still supported Macedonia's NATO candidacy and wanted the country to succeed in achieving that goal. But there had been an unmistakable slowdown in some key reform areas since the new government took power in August of 2006. The current political gridlock (ref B) and lackluster progress in implementing the Ohrid Framework Agreement suggested Macedonia might not be ready for membership by the end of ¶2007. Time was short, and it would be important to positively change the country's political image by September or October of this year. The country needed to demonstrate more progress on combating corruption -- with a specific focus on cases involving "big fish" -- and on effectively fighting trafficking in persons (TIP). SKOPJE 00000120 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) Konevska said she and a fellow Deputy PM had met recently with parliamentary whips to stress to them the importance of 2007 as a year for completing NATO and EU membership-related reforms. The government would press for active FWA implementation, and agreed on the need to work for political consensus on reform priorities, she said. Konevska had told government MPs not to respond to provocation from the opposition, but to concentrate instead on practical approaches to political dialogue. ¶7. (C) Praising USAID's recent work with the GOM on a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy, Konevska said she believed it would produce measurable results and bolster the country's progress toward EU membership. The government did not want to be seen as engaging in revenge prosecutions of corruption cases, but the leaders of the previous two governments had cut private deals among themselves to prevent "big fish" cases from being effectively prosecuted. Konevska added that the government had been discussing at the highest levels the need to intensify efforts to combat TIP. EU AGENDA -- COMPLETING NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR ADOPTION OF EU ACQUIS ¶8. (U) Noting that Macedonia's National Program for the Adoption of the EU acquis (NPA) was in its final stages before being adopted by the government, Konevska said all government ministries and relevant working groups had been consulted in putting the NPA together. She added that the European Commission already had commented positively on the document, which she hoped to present to the Macedonian Parliament in March. ¶9. (U) Konevska said she wanted to promote greater involvement of civil society -- including academics, NGOs, and business leaders -- in the adoption of laws related to the EU accession process. The Prime Minister would invite the opposition SDSM to chair a National Council for European Affairs in the Parliament, which would give opposition parties greater buy-in to the EU integration process. COMMENT -- DEEDS, NOT WORDS; RESULTS, NOT EXCUSES ¶10. (C) Konevska's assertion that the previous two governments cut deals with each other to protect against future prosecution in major corruption scandals may be correct. That does not, however, mean that the current government should avoid going after "big fish" corruption cases, especially those for which a good deal of evidence already has been collected. We have made it clear to the government that, as far as NATO membership is concerned, what counts are deeds, not words, and results rather than excuses. We will continue to hammer home that message until the government takes notice and begins acting on it. MILOVANOVIC