KOSOVO: NEW GOVERNMENT COMMITS TO MAKING AHTISAARI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000037

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR, EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN,
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT
FOR ACKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: NEW GOVERNMENT COMMITS TO MAKING AHTISAARI
LEGISLATION A TOP PRIORITY

Classified By: COM Tina Kaidanow for reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On January 17 COM joined ICOPT head Jonas
Jonsson at an all-ministerial meeting convened specifically
to urge PM Thaci's new cabinet to make finalization of
Ahtisaari Plan legislation and Kosovo's new Constitution a
top priority. The meeting, which included all 15 ministers
and their deputies, was chaired by deputy PM Hajredin Kuci
(PDK) and opened by President Sejdiu and Assembly Speaker
Krasniqi, who offered their strong support to the process
(note: PM Thaci was in New York for the Security Council
session dealing with Kosovo). COM and ICO emphasized the
need for dedication of ministerial staff, efficient use of
time, and cooperation among political parties, both
government and opposition, as well as with minorities in
order to ensure well-drafted laws that would be ready for
passage shortly after a declaration of independence.
Ministers pledged to dedicate all necessary resources to
ensure drafting and passage of Ahtisaari-related laws and of
the Constitution. The meeting was successful in getting
these leaders to agree that these two tasks are a top
priority of the government and showing that the U.S. and EU
are united in making certain Kosovo is serious about
implementing the Ahtisaari Plan. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The Office of the Prime Minister, at the express
request of USOP and ICOPT, convened a meeting of all 15
cabinet ministers on January 17 to introduce the top two
priorities for the new government: the finalization of
Kosovo's new constitution and of Ahtisaari Plan-related
legislation, particularly those laws dealing with the Kosovo
Serb community. President Sejdiu, Assembly Speaker Krasniqi
and the two deputy PMs gave opening statements in support of
the process, and promised full cooperation with USOP and
ICOPT. (Note: PM Thaci was in New York for a UNSC session on
Kosovo.)

Constitution and Legislation Top Priority


3. (C) COM reinforced the message she had already passed to
many ministers individually in her introductory calls - that
completion of the Constitution and the Ahtisaari legislation
were of paramount importance to Kosovo's future, and that
both the Government and the Assembly had responsibility for
ensuring their passage. She urged every ministry with
responsibility for legislation to make this its first
priority and immediately identify a point of contact who
would be dedicated to organizing work on the legislation.
Both COM and ICOPT head Jonas Jonsson underscored the
importance of getting the Constitution and legislation done
as a proof of Kosovo's readiness to govern all of its
citizens fairly and transparently, and to demonstrate a
special commitment to its minority communities, both Serb and
non-Serb. Both noted that this process depended on
cooperation among all political parties, in the Government
and in the opposition, and the inclusion of Serb and other
minority communities.


4. (C) To assist the newly-appointed ministers, Jonsson gave
a powerpoint presentation (e-mailed to EUR/SCE) that
explained in detail the Ahtisaari process -- including a
flowchart that spelled out how this legislation would be
dealt with and a breakdown of which ministries had
responsibility for which laws, and where each piece of draft
legislation stood in the process. He and COM made clear that
Ahtisaari laws would not be treated as normal legislation, to
be debated and reviewed for a lengthy period by
parliamentarians, but would be presented to the Assembly as a
package for an up-or-down vote soon after resolution of final
status. Both noted that debate and discussion over these
laws would take place within the Ahtisaari and Constitution
working groups, made up of Government, opposition and
minority community representatives, so by the time they came
to the Assembly floor, all that would be needed would be
final approval.


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Ministers Voice Support


5. (C) Ministers were given the opportunity to address the
session and, almost to a person, expressed full support for
the Ahtisaari Plan and the need to finalize drafting of the
Constitution and the Ahtisaari laws. One out-of-synch
intervention came from Nenad Rasic, the Minister of Labor and
Social Welfare and one of two Kosovo Serb ministers in the
government, who used his floor time to urge "compromise"
between Belgrade and Pristina on the status question. The
rest of the Ministers listened politely and when he had
finished, Deputy PM Kuci thanked him for his comments and
passed the floor to the next minister. In contrast, the
other Serb member of the Government, Boban Stankovic,
Minister for Returns and Communities, expressed his
confidence that the current Government would be more
successful than the previous one, and that since he belonged
to a Serb party which had declared it would participate in
all Kosovo institutions, he was prepared to do his part to
fulfill his duties. He acknowledged that his was a difficult
task, but he would work to bring home Serbs who had left and
to protect their interests and those of other minorities in
Kosovo.


6. (C) COMMENT: This meeting was successful in several ways.
With both President Sejdiu and Assembly President Krasniqi
in attendance, PM Thaci's new ministers expressed their full
support for making a top priority the finalization of the
Constitution and the legislation needed to implement the
Ahtisaari Plan. They understood that these laws would have
to be dealt with in a special manner that made certain the
opposition and minority communities were included. The joint
presentation by USOP and ICOPT also sent a clear message to
all that the U.S. and EU are united and intimately engaged in
developing and moving these two priority tasks forward, so
that the PISG can demonstrate its commitment to protecting
its most vulnerable communities and, by so doing, garner
recognition by European and other states. END COMMENT.
KAIDANOW