MACEDONIA: AMBASSADOR PRESSES DUI'S AHMETI TO MOVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000321

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2017
TAGS: PGOV MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: AMBASSADOR PRESSES DUI'S AHMETI TO MOVE
TO POLITICAL DIALOGUE ENDGAME

REF: A. SKOPJE 296

B. SKOPJE 283 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: P/E CHIEF SHUBLER, REASONS 1.4 (B) & (D).

SUMMARY.


1. (C) During an April 20 meeting at the Embassy, the
Ambassador pressed DUI (eAlbanian opposition) leader Ahmeti
to demonstrate greater flexibility in hammering out a
compromise with the government on key DUI concerns that would
end that party's parliamentary boycott. She warned Ahmeti
that, if he held out for government compromises on all
priority DUI issues under discussion, he risked losing gains
made to date. Ahmeti pushed back, placing the blame for the
slow pace of the political dialogue process squarely on PM
Gruevski. We will continue to hammer home a consistent
message to Ahmeti in the coming week -- that he risks losing
the gains he has made if he holds out for the full package of
DUI demands. Note: In a meeting with EUR Rosemary DiCarlo
April 23 (details septel),Ahmeti was slightly more forward
leaning on his requirements for returning to Parliament. We
are pursing this approach with the government and DUI. End
summary.

PRESSING AHMETI FOR FLEXIBILITY IN TALKS, RETURN TO PARLIAMENT


2. (SBU) The Ambassador met with eAlbanian opposition DUI
President Ahmeti April 20 to urge greater flexibility in
reaching compromise on key issues in the ongoing political
dialogue process (reftels),and to then move discussions on
remaining issues into the Parliament. She noted that an
April 19 GOM-DUI working group discussion on a draft language
law had gone well, and added that those discussions
eventually should move to the Parliament. The other three
key DUI issues )- finalizing a list of laws requiring a
Badinter (double majority) vote, recomposition of the
parliamentary Inter-ethnic Committee (IEC),and a draft law
to provide social benefits to veterans of the NLA (the armed
insurgent group during the 2001 conflict) -- could be
finished quickly if there was sufficient political will on
both sides. Failure to resolve those issues soon could
return the process to a less constructive phase. It was
important to sustain the positive momentum that had
characterized recent talks.


3. (SBU) The Ambassador asked Ahmeti how he thought the two
sides could move toward resolution of the remaining issues
and an end to DUI's boycott of the Parliament. She noted
that the U.S. and EU would be willing to "informally witness"
an agreement between the GOM and DUI on the government's
offer of a social support package for NLA veterans and their
families (ref A). She added that we did not believe
resolution of the NLA issue was required for Framework
Agreement (FWA) implementation. Rather, at issue was the
question of how to humanely treat victims of the conflict.


4. (SBU) Ahmeti contended that the NLA issue was contained in
an annex to the FWA that highlighted the need to resocialize
the veterans. That would help reconciliation in Macedonia.
"Why, then, would Gruevski reject such a solution?" he asked.
The victims of the 2001 conflict wanted an NLA veterans law,
Ahmeti asserted.

SEIZE THE MOMENT OR RISK LOSING GAINS ALREADY MADE


5. (C) The Ambassador said insistence on an NLA law would
result in a deadlock, which could mean no solution for the
veterans and their families. She pointed out that the goal
of resocializing the former fighters and supporting their
families could be achieved through the social benefits
package Gruevski had offered. Reconciliation would not be
helped by division between DUI and the government on this
issue, nor would it be helped by DUI,s continuing boycott.
A political compromise on the issue would help reduce
tensions and foster reconciliation. The Ambassador pointed
out that room for concessions was narrowing; if DUI persisted
in pressing for more concessions it could well end up with
fewer or no compromise solutions, not more.

AHMETI: PM GRUEVSKI SLOWS DIALOGUE TEMPO


SKOPJE 00000321 002 OF 002



6. (C) Ahmeti agreed that the tempo of the political dialogue
had to speed up. He put the onus on Gruevski, however,
saying that the Prime Minister needed to &show more courage
and move to solutions.8 He claimed he had made a
significant concession by taking off the table the issue of
Badinter voting to form government coalitions (ref B); the
Badinter list issue was Gruevski's problem, not his, so the
Prime Minister had to be more flexible in resolving it.
Ahmeti added that if Gruevski could convince him that the NLA
veterans law was not necessary, he would retreat from his
insistence on the need for one.


7. (C) The Ambassador pointed out that the government was
moving ahead with implementation of the 2001 Framework
Agreement, albeit not in the form and manner preferred by
DUI. DUI,s return to Parliament would help keep the
pressure on the government to accelerate and deepen FWA
implementation. If DUI showed greater flexibility and helped
close the remaining issues, the U.S. and EU would publicly
welcome that development.


8. (C) Ahmeti said DUI did not want to return to Parliament
only to find itself compelled to leave again if the
government failed to follow through on commitments made
during the dialogue process. He insisted that he would want
a U.S. guarantee for any deal reached. The Ambassador
replied that he needed to show he could reach agreement with
Gruevski, with both the U.S. and EU as observers; in doing
so, confidence and trust between both sides would grow.

COMMENT


9. (C) Ahmeti's intransigence reflects his "take no
prisoners" approach to negotiating. Having become accustomed
to securing the majority of DUI's demands during negotiating
battles with his former government coalition partners SDSM
(Social Democrats) from 2002-2006, Ahmeti will be slow to
compromise until he is clearly convinced the dialogue process
has reached an impasse and further gains are not possible.
To help him arrive at that conclusion, we will continue to
hammer home a consistent message that DUI risks losing
current gains if it continues to insist on a maximalist
outcome in the ongoing talks.
MILOVANOVIC