MACEDONIA: GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION REVIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SKOPJE 000203 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE USNATO FOR AMBASSADOR NULAND E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION REVIVE POLITICAL DIALOGUE PROCESS REF: SKOPJE 102 Classified By: P/E CHIEF SHUBLER, REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D). SUMMARY ¶1. (C) PM Gruevski and eAlbanian opposition leader Ali Ahmeti and their negotiating teams met March 7 to revive long-dormant political talks on moving ahead on key NATO and EU membership-related reforms, including implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. The two sides reached agreement on several of the six agenda items DUI had proposed for the talks. PM Gruevski, in turn, asked DUI for support for several NATO and EU membership-related legislative and program priorities. The discussions generally were positive and constructive, but the challenge for both sides will be ensuring follow-through on the items agreed, and follow-up discussions on those that were not, including a DUI proposal for constituting future governments with a double majority vote. End Summary. REVIVING THE POLITICAL DIALOGUE PROCESS ¶2. (SBU) Following a several-month hiatus (reftel),the government and eAlbanian opposition DUI leaders met March 7 in an attempt to revive the political dialogue process. The government team was headed by PM Gruevski, who was accompanied by MOD Elenovski and Skopje law professor Vlado Popovski. DUI President Ali Ahmeti was flanked by party vice-presidents Teuta Arifi and Agron Buxhaku. (NOTE: Elenovski and Arifi, working with Charge, had worked out the details of the agenda in a tripartite meeting at the Embassy on March 5.) At DUI's request, P/E Chief and an EUSR POLAD represented the IC as working-level observers. WILLINGNESS TO HORSE TRADE, AGREEMENT ON LIST OF BADINTER LAWS ¶3. (C) Over the course of the 6-hour meeting, which included a supper break during which Gruevski and Ahmeti ate together, the two sides engaged in largely practical, constructive discussions of six key points DUI had submitted for the agenda. The Prime Minister said he was intent on pursuing a process of give and take; DUI's Ahmeti made it clear that, if DUI's basic demands were met, his party would support the government on all NATO, EU, and other national security issues, "especially when a double majority vote is required." ¶4. (C) The parties first agreed to form a working group (WG) comprised of party representatives and Justice Ministry officials to compile a list of laws requiring a Badinter (qualified majority) vote, as DUI had requested. They also agreed that the WG would begin reviewing legislation on March 12, and would compile the Badinter list by March 25. DUI's Arifi asked for U.S. and EU working-level representation on the WG, and Gruevski agreed. INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE STILL UNRESOLVED, BUT AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE ¶5. (C) PM Gruevski agreed to cede majority control of the parliamentary Committee on Inter-ethnic Relations to DUI and its opposition allies (a key concession, given the Committee's important role in determining which laws require a Badinter vote),but only if DUI would guarantee not to abuse its position by blocking all government legislation. Ahmeti said DUI would give strong guarantees not to politicize or misuse the Committee. By the end of the meeting, however, neither side had proposed how to move forward practically to implement such an agreement. POLICING ISSUES -- SMALL STEPS ¶6. (SBU) Ahmeti asked Gruevski for an update on the investigation into the 2006 murder of Isa Lika, a prominent DUI member and relative of the current mayor of Tetovo. He also asked for updates on police investigations into several other incidents involving DUI members or supporters, SKOPJE 00000203 002 OF 003 including a violent incident that had occurred in November 2006 during an eAlbanian music festival, and the beating of students at Tetovo State University (TSU) who were protesting at a speech by the President of Parliament. In addition, he wanted Gruevski to revisit the abrupt transfers by the new government of police chiefs and other officers and their replacement with unqualified non-professionals. Many of the removed officials had been sent to remote areas far from their homes. ¶7. (SBU) On the Isa Lika case, Gruevski said the MOI was doing everything within its power to resolve the crime, but currently had no real leads. Ahmeti said he did not doubt Gruevski's sincerity, but questioned the information the MOI was supplying to the Prime Minister. Gruevski then proposed forming a new mixed investigative team, including eAlbanians and eMacedonians, to look at the case from a fresh perspective. Ahmeti agreed, and Arifi later added a request for an international police expert to accompany the team. ¶8. (SBU) Regarding the TSU students, Gruevski pointed out that the MOI had pressed charges against security force members who had acted inappropriately in the beating incident, as well as against some of the students for disturbing the peace. Gruevski proposed a working group, to include an OSCE education expert, to look into the broader issue of last year's Ministry of Education inspections of TSU, which had sparked strong DUI opposition. Gruevski SIPDIS agreed to review a list, which DUI would provide, of the police chiefs and officers removed and would ask the MOI to ensure that those who had been transferred more than 50 kms from their hometowns would be returned or relocated closer to home. NLA VETERANS -- SOCIAL SECURITY OR EQUIVALENT STATUS WITH MACEDONIAN DEFENDERS? ¶9. (SBU) Ahmeti proposed amending the existing Law on Defenders -- which provides social benefits for eMacedonian security forces members and their families affected by the 2001 conflict -- to include social benefits for some 300 eAlbanians affected, including NLA veterans. He said the law should give the NLA veterans equal status with the Macedonian security forces who fought during the war. ¶10. (C) Gruevski demurred, arguing that there could be no equivalence between the two -- one side had fought to uphold the constitution and protect the country, the other side had attacked the government to change the constitution. He instead proposed a package of social services and financial assistance for NLA veterans and their families, as well as for war orphans. Ahmeti rejected the GOM offer, arguing that there would be no guarantee that future government would honor it unless it were written into law. Gruevski asked for more time to think about the issue and asked DUI to take a close look at the government's proposed package. LANGUAGE LAW -- A STEP FORWARD ¶11. (SBU) Introducing DUI's demand for a comprehensive language law, Ahmeti insisted that the FWA defined the Albanian language as an official language across the length and breadth of Macedonia. Popovski disagreed, pointing out that the FWA's language use provisions did not apply at the state level or in Macedonia's relations with other states. However he said the Macedonian Constitution could provide an "open door" that could lead to broader use of the Albanian language. Gruevski finally agreed to a working group that would review DUI's proposed draft law, ensure it was FWA compliant, and then present it by April 3 to the parties concerned for their analysis. BADINTER VOTING FOR COMPOSITION OF GOVERNMENT ¶12. (SBU) Gruevski said the government could not accept the DUI proposal for Badinter voting to comprise future governments. Ahmeti said such a mechanism might be obsolete SKOPJE 00000203 003 OF 003 in 10 years, when Macedonia's political parties had strong ideological identities, but the reality was that parties were ethnically-based, and the largest eAlbanian party deserved to be in the government. He made it clear that he was not, however, suggesting inclusion of DUI in the government at this time. Popovski argued that the "automaticity" implied in the Badinter approach would essentially neuter the role of the mandator and would therefore face constitutional challenges. Gruevski said he understood Ahmeti's argument, but argued that the proposal would lead to a divided state, which was unacceptable. GRUEVSKI'S WISH LIST -- NATO AND EU PRIORITIES ¶13. (SBU) Although not part of the pre-agreed agenda, PM Gruevski outlined a series of issues (some of which are NATO and EU membership-related priorities) for which he sought DUI's assistance. He asked for DUI support for completion of the constitution of the State Judicial Council; for the draft Law on the Public Prosecutor, which he stressed would enhance the government's ability to combat corruption; for a law on mandatory secondary education; for the creation of a Minister for Information Society; and for a Law on Diaspora Voting. He also asked Ahmeti to support ongoing discussions on revising the parliamentary rulebook, including a provision that would limit discussions on laws, which he said had been common practice among states that recently had joined the EU. ¶14. (SBU) Gruevski said the government would begin prioritizing legislation related to EU and NATO membership. He asked Ahmeti to ensure support for such laws, and also asked for at least verbal support for the government's effort to combat corruption and trafficking in persons. Ahmeti said DUI leaders would review Gruevski's proposals and get back to him. COMMENT ¶15. (C) Gruevski and Ahmeti were more relaxed than they have been in previous meetings; the atmosphere was civil and workmanlike. Apart from some sharp exchanges during the debate on the NLA veterans package, the two leaders plowed through the agenda with practical comments on each proposal, and with a willingness to consider the opposing point of view. The general sense of goodwill was offset, however, by the lack of agreement on several of the agenda items, and by lack of a defined timeline for following up on the work of the various working groups. Furthermore, DUI later said it would not end its boycott of Parliament until it saw progress in the working groups. The key test of political will on both sides will be whether they actually form the working groups, set the agendas for the groups to follow, and then ensure they produce the desired outcomes by the deadlines specified. There also must be follow up between both sides on the unresolved issues, including the Inter-ethnic Committee, NLA Veterans benefits, and the question of constituting a government using Badinter voting. WOHLERS