KOSOVO: KOSOVO POLICE SERVICE INFORMATION SHARING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000055

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV EAID KDEM UNMIK KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: KOSOVO POLICE SERVICE INFORMATION SHARING
PLANS

REF: PRISTINA 34

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


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: As part of the Strategic Communications
Group (SCG) -- the USOP-led effort to coordinate information
flow among key local and international actors in Kosovo in
the run-up to and aftermath of status resolution (ref) -- the
Kosovo Police Service (KPS) has shared with USOP its new,
decentralized public outreach plan utilizing local and
Kosovo-wide media, as well as the networks of international
organizations in Kosovo. By empowering the officer at the
site of the incident, in coordination with the local station
commander, the KPS can speed information sharing with the
media to preclude inaccurate or misleading reporting. In the
event of a larger-scale crisis, particularly one involving
minority communities, KPS has plans in place to coordinate
its activities with Kosovo political leaders and key
international actors, such as USOP. In advance of a status
declaration, KPS is also promoting its public face to the
communities it serves. Station commanders will sit for
interviews on locally-based talk shows, often alongside local
mayors, to offer a message of calm and restraint and to
reassure citizens that KPS is intent on providing security.
We have already seen evidence of this pro-active campaign and
it apprears to be helping spread the message of calm and
security. END SUMMARY.

Empowering First Responders: KPS' Information Plan at Local,
Regional and Central Levels


2. (SBU) The Kosovo Police Service (KPS) has shared with
USOP, through its energetic spokesman Veton Elshani, its new
plan for dealing with the media in the coming critical weeks
of Kosovo final status resolution. The plan, which
complements the work of the USOP-led Strategic Communications
Group, lays out how information should be shared depending on
the sensitivity of the incident. If an incident is localized
and not sensitive (i.e., not involving Kosovo Serbs, for
example),the officer at the scene may receive authorization
from the chief of operations (his or her first point of
contact) to speak directly with the media at the scene. In
cases of potentially sensitive incidents at the local level,
the station commander will become the central point of
contact for information sharing. He or she will determine if
the officer at the scene should give a statement to the
press, and he or she will inform the regional KPS
spokesperson. He or she may also coordinate a statement with
the local mayor.


3. (SBU) If an incident has or could potentially affect an
entire region of Kosovo, the KPS regional spokesperson will
coordinate statements to the press. Regional KPS
spokespersons are authorized to call the officer at the
scene. Regional spokespersons will also inform central KPS
headquarters. KPS spokesman Elshani will get involved and
speak with the press if: 1) a case has a suspected
inter-ethnic motive, 2) if there is damage to a cultural
heritage site, 3) if the case involves a homicide, regardless
of ethnicity, and 4) if there are explosions or damage to
property in mixed or Serb-majority municipalities such as,
but not limited to Mitrovica, Dragas, Gjilan, Strpce or
Gracanica. In addition, if any incident takes place in a
Serb-majority area, the Mitrovica regional spokesman, Besim
Hoti, will be informed. (Hoti has good contact with Serbian
press in North Mitrovica and is authorized to give statements
regarding incidents involving Kosovo Serbs anywhere in
Kosovo.)

KPS Information Crisis Planning, Coordination within the
Strategic Communications Group


4. (C) In the event of a crisis situation, KPS will engage
several information sharing mechanisms. They will put out
hourly reports to the press and to all the members of the
Strategic Communications Group (USOP, KFOR, KPC, UNMIK,
ICOPT, EUPT, British Office, Ministry of Interior, Ministry

PRISTINA 00000055 002 OF 002


of Local Government). All members of the SCG will be able to
contact the regional spokespersons directly if they need
information on an incident. The Crisis Management Office
(CMO),located in the Office of the Prime Minister, will be
the link between the political leadership and the KPS. KPS,
KFOR, KPC, UNMIK, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry
of Local Government will all have representatives on the CMO.
If KPS needs political guidance on a decision, the
Government will coordinate its decision from this office.
Government statements will also come from this office, as it
allows for close coordination with all sources of information
from the ground. The CMO will contact the information office
staff at the ICOPT, EUPT and key liaison offices directly,
via email and text messages so they can then spread the word
down through their networks, including local officials,
media, and NGOs. The ability to contact regional
spokespersons should aid liaison offices and the ICOPT in
getting information quickly. (Note: The information flow
between the KPS and liaison offices in the event of a crisis
relies heavily on the cell network. In the event of a cell
and/or landline network crash, KPS' and the CMO's hourly
media reports via local TV and radio will be the main source
of information for the information offices at the ICO, EUPT
and liaison offices. End Note.)

Getting their face out now: KPS outreach on security now


5. (SBU) KPS station commanders will also be participating
in interviews with local TV stations over the course of the
coming weeks. Their message will be one of calm, restraint
and security and the work that KPS is doing to foster this
environment. These commanders will often appear on TV
alongside municipal mayors to project coordination and
cooperation. KPS spokesman Elshani tells us he wants
citizens to see these two community officials together now,
so that if they see them together talking about an incident,
it will not come as a surprise. This joint outreach will be
particularly powerful in municipalities where the station
commander and the mayor are from different ethnic
communities, such as Novo Brdo and Kamenica. We have already
seen several such joint appearances (noted in USOP's daily
Bullets to EUR/SCE) and they appear to be having a positive
and stabilizing impact on the communities they serve.


6. (C) COMMENT: The new, decentralized plan for KPS
interaction with the media should speed information flow from
the site of an incident. This plan, in addition to the
Crisis Management Office, should expedite message
coordination among the KPS, KFOR, KPC, UNMIK and the Kosovo
government, as well as with key liaison offices, including
USOP. Efforts to ramp up its public face now, alongside
local political leaders, will help KPS open lines of
communication in their communities. Testing these systems is
the remaining hurdle. KPS has already put this new plan into
action for small, isolated, non-sensitive incidents. A
larger-scale test that involves other security structures and
requires communication between all the members of the
Strategic Communications Group should happen within the next
week.
KAIDANOW