KOSOVO: COM URGES PM THACI AND PRESIDENT SEJDIU TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000024

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: COM URGES PM THACI AND PRESIDENT SEJDIU TO
ACT ON AHTISAARI LEGISLATION, MAKE KOSOVO SERBS A PRIORITY

REF: PRISTINA 11

Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: A day after the installation of the new
government in Kosovo (reftel),COM and ICOPT head Jonsson
paid a call on newly re-elected President Sejdiu, PM Thaci,
and Thaci's two deputy prime ministers. COM and Jonsson used
the opportunity to urge the government to make its top
priority the swift preparation of Ahtisaari package and
status-related legislation, especially those laws relating to
the Kosovo Serb community, and completion of Kosovo,s new
draft Constitution. To this end, COM asked Thaci to name a
high-level point of contact in his office who could deal
solely with Ahtisaari legislation, and also urged that Thaci
and Sejdiu approach the new parliamentary opposition parties
to include them in Ahtisaari working groups, as well as in
the working group on the Constitution. Regarding Kosovo
Serbs, COM asked Thaci to come up with concrete proposals,
backed by meaningful budgetary resources, to help this
community, and noted that USOP would soon come to him with
some specific ideas. She asked him to focus particularly on
Serb property issues. Thaci agreed to all this, and
acknowledged that his new government had little time to
accomplish these objectives. He said he would open an
"Office for Communities" under his direct authority which
would have staff members dealing solely with Serb property
issues. At the suggestion of COM, and in the further
interest of building political consensus around the passage
of Ahtisaari-related legislation, Thaci also agreed to
include the opposition AAK party on the Assembly Presidency
despite the numerical limits precluding their participation.
(He and President Sejdiu later requested that SRSG Ruecker
approve this change, which requires an amendment to Kosovo,s
current Constitutional Framework.) END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) COM and International Civilian Office Planning Team
(ICOPT) head Jonas Jonsson met January 11 with President
Sejdiu, PM Thaci, and Thaci,s two deputy prime ministers,
Hajredin Kuci and Rame Manaj. They congratulated Sejdiu on
his re-election and Thaci on his installation as prime
minister by the Kosovo Assembly on January 9 (ref),and
promised to assist the new government.

Ahtisaari legislation/draft Constitution must be top
priorities


3. (C) Jonsson opened by noting the immense importance for
Kosovo and its new government to be seen by European member
states as finalizing preparation of the Ahtisaari package and
status-related legislation and completing work on Kosovo's
draft Constitution. He added that those laws dealing with
cultural and religious heritage, as well as decentralization
(i.e., affecting mainly the Kosovo Serb community),were of
particular interest. Jonsson also urged PM Thaci to include
the new opposition parties coming out of the November 17,
2007 elections on the Ahtisaari working groups and the
working group on the Constitution, in the interest of
creating the broadest possible support for ultimate passage
of Ahtisaari legislation in the Kosovo Assembly.


4. (C) COM echoed this message and emphasized that failure to
have this legislation ready could negatively affect the
willingness of countries to quickly recognize Kosovo's
independence. To get things moving, COM asked that Thaci
name a high-level point of contact in his office who would
deal solely with Ahtisaari and status-related legislation.
She noted that this person would need to have sufficient
clout to spur ministers and others to action. COM offered
jointly with ICOPT to conduct an introductory session the
week of January 14 for new ministers and deputy ministers to
educate them on the specific laws, process, and timeframe for
Ahtisaari package legislation.

Include the Opposition


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5. (C) COM underscored again the need to include the new
opposition parties, the AKR and LDD, on the Ahtisaari working
groups, as well as to maintain good relations with the
opposition representatives from Ramush Haradinaj's AAK and
Veton Surroi's ORA party in support of Ahtisaari. In this
same vein, she asked Thaci to include AAK, which came in a
close fifth in the November 2007 elections, on the Assembly
Presidency, despite constitutional limits on the number of
seats available. Thaci agreed to do so without hesitation.
(Note: USOP later confirmed that he and Sejdiu subsequently
asked SRSG Ruecker to approve the change to Kosovo's current
Constitutional Framework (CF) for this to happen. The CF
only permits the top four vote-getting parties on the
Presidency, but Ruecker has already indicated that he would
change this to allow the AAK to be present, if the governing
parties made the request. End Note.)

Demonstrate your commitment to Kosovo,s Serbs


6. (C) COM indicated to Thaci that demonstrating his new
government's commitment to the Kosovo Serb community must be
a paramount objective, and that rhetorical support -- as he
had usefully offered in his acceptance speech before the
Assembly on January 9 -- must/must be supplemented with real
initiatives, with budgetary resources behind them, that can
make a difference. The handover of two important ministries,
including the Labor and Social Welfare Ministry, to Serbs was
a good start, but just a start. She noted that property
issues were at the top of the list of Kosovo Serb concerns,
and urged that Thaci place someone in his office who would
deal directly with these problems. COM further noted that
USOP would meet with Thaci in the near future to discuss
specific ideas for further assistance to Kosovo Serbs.
Jonsson added that what the new government did with regard to
Kosovo Serbs would be decisive in shaping EU thinking.

Thaci acknowledges he must act now


7. (C) Thaci acknowledged that his new government had little
time to accomplish all these serious objectives. He agreed
to name a high-level point of contact in his office on
Ahtisaari and status-related legislation, as well as hold a
cabinet session on the government's responsibilities under
the Ahtisaari process, and said he would establish an "Office
for Communities" under the PM's umbrella that would have
specific staff to deal with Kosovo Serb property issues.
Thaci also asserted that he recognized the importance of
coming up with concrete initiatives for the Serb community.
(Note: In a separate meeting between USAID director and
incoming Finance Minister Ahmet Shala on the same day, Shala
indicated that he and Thaci had already conversed on this
subject and that they were intent on making serious budgetary
resources available for Serb-related economic programs. COM
will meet with Shala this week to follow up on this
initiative.)

Comment:


8. (C) The meeting with President Sejdiu and PM Thaci was key
to demonstrating that USOP and ICOPT are jointly committed to
pushing the new government forward on Ahtisaari
implementation, and that both the U.S. and EU are united
behind the message that measures to help Kosovo Serbs must
have special priority. We are following up all this week
with individual USOP and USAID meetings on the same theme
with new government ministers, as well as holding the joint
ICOPT-USOP introductory session for ministers on Ahtisaari
legislation. COM made the points on Kosovo Serb issues once
more to PM Thaci the morning of January 14 (reported septel)
as part of a general message on the urgency of completing
vital tasks related to Ahtisaari in the weeks ahead.
KAIDANOW