NEXT STEPS IN SOUTHERN SERBIA IN 2008

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BELGRADE 000018 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KBTS KPAO SR MW KV SUBJECT: NEXT STEPS IN SOUTHERN SERBIA IN 2008 REFS: A) 07 BELGRADE 1482, B) 07 BELGRADE 1641, C) 07 BELGRADE 1675 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. The Serbian government's Coordinating Body for Southern Serbia (CB) will unveil in early 2008 its engagement and investment strategy for the next two years for the ethnic Albanian-majority Presevo Valley. While serious obstacles remain in the way of a normalized relation between Belgrade and this troubled region, both Belgrade and local leaders are making efforts to engage with each other to develop and integrate Southern Serbia. Over the last few months, the GOS has shown more positive attention, including ministerial visits, towards the south, and has made some progress on some of its key development commitments to the region. In another positive development, ethnic Albanian leaders in the south have decided not to boycott upcoming Serbian presidential elections. End Summary. Some Good Visits -------------- ¶2. Serbian leaders recently made productive visits to Southern Serbia. Serbian President Boris Tadic visited Southern Serbia as part of his reelection campaign on January 2. Tadic, who toured military bases along the boundary with Kosovo, said in public remarks that the area was calm. Accompanied by Sutanovac and Army Chief Zdravko Ponos, Tadic said he would work for stability for the region and that Serbia would not "stumble into another war [or] new violence." ¶3. On the heels of a positive visit by the Serbian Defense Minister (reftel C),Labor Minister and head of the CB Rasim Ljajic visited Presevo and Bujanovac on December 17, 2007. Ljajic met with Nagip Arifi and Ragmi Mustafa, the ethnic Albanian mayors of Bujanovac and Presevo, and representatives of the local Serb and Roma communities. Ljajic's past visits have been rancorous at times, with Ljajic complaining of "ungrateful" local leaders critical of the CB and locals attacking Belgrade for being unresponsive to citizens' needs (reftels A and B). Key differences remain, particularly over the administration of the CB, but Ljajic's trip to Southern Serbia was the most positive in several years. One of the reasons, according to contacts and post assessment, is the recent groundwork set by Nenad Djurdjevic, Ljajic's assistant and executive director of the CB. Djurdjevic, who joined the CB in August 2007, travels to the region frequently and serves as a direct link between the local leaders and Belgrade. Djurdjevic was previously with the Project on Ethnic Relations (PER),a Princeton, New Jersey-based NGO which hosts interethnic dialogues throughout the Balkans including Southern Serbia. Albanians will not Boycott Elections -------------- ¶4. Presevo Valley Albanians will not boycott the upcoming presidential elections. Both Riza Halimi, the only ethnic Albanian Member of Parliament, and Skender Destani, leader of a smaller political party which ran in coalition with Halimi in the 2007 parliamentary elections, confirmed to poloff on December 19, 2007 that they would not boycott the January 20 elections. (Boycotts of national elections by Serbia's Albanian minority were common until January 2007, when they voted in parliamentary elections, electing Halimi.) Destani told BETA news agency December 25 that the Albanian parties would "invite the people to take part in the balloting, but since none of the presidential candidates has made any great efforts to solve the problems of this region, we have nothing to offer to motivate our voters." Continuing Complaints -------------- ¶5. The CB's makeup remains a point of contention between Belgrade and local Albanian leaders. Local leaders technically withdrew from the CB when it was reorganized in September 2007, but this was more a symptom than the cause of the differences between Belgrade and the region. Halimi and Arifi told poloff December 19, 2007 they objected to the manner in which the Body was restructured, without consultations with local leaders. Halimi told poloff they wanted "to continue cooperation with the Coordination Body on the local level but not as vice-presidents." Presevo Mayor Ragmi Mustafa told the press after Ljajic's visit that he found it difficult to cooperate with the CB after "few results and so many promises." Ljajic responded that "boycotting institutions" was incongruent with "demand[ing] things of the state." Key projects -------------- ¶6. Aside from disagreements over the CB's structure, there are several key projects that post will monitor and assist with in order BELGRADE 00000018 002 OF 003 to facilitate cooperation and mutual trust. In conversations with post officials, Presevo and Bujanovac leaders consistently raise the following six issues as the most pressing concerns, some of which require cooperation with Belgrade. Djurdjevic updated poloff on December 17, 2007 on the latest state of play for each issue and, in some cases, how the CB planned to take next steps. - TV/Radio Broadcasting licenses: Last year, Serbia's TV/Radio licensing authority originally assigned only one permit for all of Presevo and Bujanovac. Albanians and Serbs from those municipalities complained about this decision. After formal inquiries from post and the UK and OSCE Missions, the GOS reconsidered and granted two for Bujanovac and one for Presevo. This is significant as it means that both Serb and Albanian local stations will continue to operate. Unfortunately local media outlets recently complained to DCM, their applications were being held up in Belgrade in bureaucratic nit-picking, calling into question the licensing authorities' intent to issue the licenses at all. - Presence of security forces: A top concern of local Albanian leaders is the large presence of Army and Gendarmerie troops in the Presevo Valley. Djurdjevic confirmed to poloff that while he understood this was an irritant, it was not reasonable to expect a drawdown or withdrawal this year. However, the Defense Minister's (reftel C) outreach to local mayors to discuss the security situation was most welcome. - Serbia-Macedonia border crossing: Local Albanian leaders have been requesting for years that Serbia open a border crossing with Macedonia in Presevo, near Miratovac, to connect Albanian communities. USAID, in partnership with the CB, built a road to the border in anticipation. The GOS, however, made no progress on opening the border in 2007. Djurdjevic told poloff that the decision to open a border crossing "was stuck between Foreign Ministries" in Belgrade and Skopje. - Albanian National Council: Serbia's Albanian community remains the only minority without an accredited national council. The Albanian parties have been unable to unite on agreed leaders or framework. The GOS often cites this as a reason that Albanians cannot use national symbols, script, and language in official venues. If formed, a national council would mean the Albanians can officially request these and other elements of "cultural autonomy," according to Djurdjevic. - Maternity ward in Presevo: Albanians in Presevo have complained for years that there is no maternity ward in the municipality. While there were some disputes among Albanian parties in Presevo over the ward's location, the real bottleneck was the lack of a permit from the Serbian Health Ministry. Djurdjevic told poloff December 21, 2007 that the CB engaged the Health Ministry and resolved the problem. Djurdjevic said that the CB's 2008 plan would include funding for a technical assessment, to be conducted in coordination with the Presevo municipality, as the next step in the process. - Albanian teacher's college: Local Albanian leaders have complained about the lack of Albanian-language higher education institutions in Serbia. Mayors Arifi and Mustafa have both told poloffs on various occasions that they would like to see a teacher's college in the region. The GOS (Education Ministry) has not given a permit or allocated funds. Djurdjevic said that this was blocked in the Education Ministry, and that the Minister's office "has reservations" about building an exclusively Albanian language college in Serbia. (The Education Minister, Zoran Loncar, is from Kostunica's DSS party and has been outspoken against U.S. Kosovo policy.) Djurdjevic, however, said the CB was looking at Albanian language schools in Montenegro for ideas, and was hopeful about a "repackaged" plan including Albanian-language instruction (which the locals want) with Serbian-language "trade and business skills" (which might mollify Loncar). Comment -------------- ¶7. The United States has an opportunity to assist in promoting stability and development in Southern Serbia in 2008 because both Belgrade and local Albanian leaders consider the United States a positive force able to achieve their goals. This influence was demonstrated in the Albanians' historic return to national politics in 2007, a myriad of assistance projects over the last seven years requiring GOS and local leaders' cooperation and the continuing, albeit tenuous, stability in the region. The Albanians' withdrawal from the CB is for show (they continue to work closely with the GOS) but is evidence that all is not well in the relationship between Belgrade and Southern Serbia. The GOS and locals can achieve progress on most of these outlined issues in the new year, given even limited mutual good will and continued U.S. attention. End Comment. BELGRADE 00000018 003 OF 003 BRUSH