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,

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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

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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