KOSOVO: SOUTHERN MODERATES FIND VOICE AS BELGRADE

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRISTINA 000225 SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE NSC FOR BRAUN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2018 TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KV UNMIK SUBJECT: KOSOVO: SOUTHERN MODERATES FIND VOICE AS BELGRADE POLITICAL DIVISIONS SHARPEN shared among moderates). Father Sava Janjic of the Visoki Decani monastery told us April 7 that many moderate Kosovo Serb politicians, including SNC Gracanica chair Rada Trajkovic, had been reaching out to Sava in recent weeks for guidance on how best to proceed. Sava added that there was a "growing sense of urgency" around the upcoming elections among moderates, and an increasing belief that the hard-line northern Kosovo Serbs do not care about the southern enclaves. Sava's opinion, shared by Bishop Teodosije Sibalic, Decani's abbott, is that Trajkovic and the SNC should endorse the DS-led democratic ticket in the upcoming elections. (Note: Trajkovic indicated to the ICO on April 11 that the SNC would support the DS-led ticket in the parliamentary elections. End Note.). Dinkic's Straight Talk ¶10. (C) While visiting Kosovo on April 16, Serbian Economy Minister Dinkic told groups of local Serbs in Partes, Silovo (Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality),Ranilug (Kamenica),and Vitina that continued cooperation with the international community was essential for their survivial, "and that anyone who tells you otherwise is lying." According to former Kosovo MP Vesna Jovanovic, who accompanied Dinkic to every meeting during his one-day visit, he also indicated to Serbs that additional funds necessary to pay salaries to Kosovo Serbs who had deserted Kosovo institutions at the request of Slobodan Samardzic had not been set aside in the budget, in an apparent attempt to discredit Samardzic. He also spoke with Stojkovic, Krcmarevic, Djokic, and Dragan Nikolic (G17), Regional CCK Coordinator for Kosovsko Pomoravlje (eastern Kosovo, covering the three municipalities mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph),fielding complaints from them about Samardzic's practice within the ministry of ignoring coordinators from other parties and continuing to pay former CCK officials from the DSS. Comment: All Roads Lead to Belgrade ¶11. (C) The political disputes over Kosovo policy between the DS/G17 and DSS in Belgrade have allowed for more public political expression by southern moderates. This is a welcome development because it may help create space for a political alternative to the hardline politics normally prevalent among Kosovo Serbs. Dinkic's April 16 visit showed how senior officials from the democratic block can have what we consider a refreshing effect upon Kosovo Serbs' perceptions of the Serbian government's policy. ¶12. (C) Comment, cont. However, moderate Kosovo Serbs across the south - whether in the CCK, the Serbian Orthodox Church, other structures (such as SNC Gracanica),or even in Kosovo institutions - are telling us that the outcome of the May 11 parliamentary elections are critical if this is to go any further. They hope a DS-led coalition government is formed afterwards, which in the words of Dragan Velic is "the only conceivable way" that Serbs in the enclaves could, for example, consider talking to the new ICO/EULEX mission about cooperation on decentralization and implementation of other Ahtisaari goals. We will continue to quietly encourage our moderate Serb interlocutors - in particular those in Gracanica, where the Rada Trajkovic-led SNC and the DS party appear to share interests - to voice their displeasure with Serbia's Kosovo policy, and to seek ways to cooperate with us and others in the international community. They appear willing enough, but are clearly influenced by developments in Belgrade in a way that our assistance and direct interaction cannot hope to equal. Of particular concern, should Serbian municipal elections go forward in Kosovo (as they are likely to do),some of the more cooperative Serbs in Strpce and elsewhere -- mainly from the DS and G17 parties -- could find themselves out of a job and therefore even less inclined to take an active role counter to Belgrade. End Comment. KAIDANOW