KOSOVO: UNMIK POLICE MOVES ADDITIONAL OFFICERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000058 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: 01/14/2018 TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK KV SUBJECT: KOSOVO: UNMIK POLICE MOVES ADDITIONAL OFFICERS NORTH Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Acting on information that ethnic Serb Kosovo Police Service (KPS) officers are being pressured to accept the Government of Serbia's direction and possibly desert the KPS in the event of a Kosovo declaration of independence (DI),UNMIK Police moved an additional 42 international police officers (IPOs) to northern Kosovo on January 31. This brings the total number of IPOs in the area to 54. UNMIK Police Commissioner Richard Monk hopes this will reassure Serb KPS officers of UNMIK Police commitment to support them and send a strong signal to the Serbian government that UNMIK Police will not accept political interference in the Kosovo Police Service (KPS). Prior to the move, Commissioner Monk sent a strongly worded letter to Serbian Police Director Milorad Veljovic, and UNMIK Police Mitrovica Regional Commander David MacLean met with local Kosovo Serb political and religious leaders to notify them of UNMIK Police's intentions. Plans are also underway to augment the current IPO presence with officers from the Mitrovica Enhancement Force and Pristina prisoner escort unit if UNMIK Police receives word that a declaration of independence is imminent. So far, the local reaction has been muted. Many in the north reportedly see this move as a signal that a declaration is coming soon, and northern Kosovo Serb hard-liners Milan Ivanovic and Marko Jaksic were reportedly caught by surprise. While the move is welcome and has given Serb KPS officers a much-needed confidence and morale boost, we can expect increased pressure from Serbia if Kosovo declares its independence and, depending on the form it takes, that pressure may be too much for some of the Serb KPS officers to withstand, even if they were so inclined. END SUMMARY. UNMIK Police moves 42 officers north of the Ibar River ¶2. (C) UNMIK Police moved 42 additional IPOs to stations in Serb majority areas of northern Kosovo on January 31. This came in response to information that ethnic Serb Kosovo Police Service (KPS) officers are being pressured to accept direction from the Government of Serbia and possibly desert the KPS in the event of a declaration of independence. UNMIK Police Commissioner Richard Monk hopes the additional IPOs will boost the confidence of Kosovo Serb KPS officers who want to remain loyal to the service and send a strong signal to the GoS that UNMIK Police will support the KPS in the north. ¶3. (C) UNMIK Police Mitrovica Regional Commander David MacLean told USOP that he deployed 16 additional IPOs to north Mitrovica, 10 to Zubin Potok, and eight each to Zvecan and Leposavic. Prior to January 31, there were six IPOs in north Mitrovica, and two each in Zubin Potok, Zvecan and Leposavic. With the new reinforcements, this brings the total number of IPOs north of the Ibar river to 54. The new IPOs will work in two shifts around the clock and will do foot patrols alongside KPS officers. MacLean said 87 percent of the new IPOs are Serbian speakers, mostly from Eastern Europe. (Note: According to Serb KPS Col. Milorad Corac, there are about 270, mainly Kosovo Serb, KPS officers in northern Kosovo. End Note.) ¶4. (C) Additionally, UNMIK Police Deputy Commissioner Larry Wilson told USOP that UNMIK plans to send its Mitrovica Regional Enhancement Force (E Force) and Pristina prisoner escort unit north if they receive word that a declaration is imminent. The Mitrovica Region E Force currently numbers about 130 and the Pristina prisoner escort unit about 100. The independence day contingency plan calls for 56 of the prisoner escort unit IPOs to police the bridges along the Ibar River and 44 to serve as reserves. MacLean told poloff that he could execute the plan within two hours of receiving the order, but that he would prefer to receive two to three days' notice of a declaration so he could pre-position the officers. PRISTINA 00000058 002.2 OF 003 Serbian and local leaders forewarned ¶5. (C) Wilson and MacLean told USOP that UNMIK Police notified Belgrade authorities and local Kosovo Serb political and religious leaders of their plans a couple of days before sending the additional IPOs into northern Kosovo. UNMIK Police Commissioner Richard Monk sent a strong letter to Serbian Police Director Milorad Veljovic on January 28, informing him that IPOs would patrol alongside KPS officers in the north and expressing concern about information reaching him that Kosovo "Serb members of the KPS are being pressured to accept direction on behalf of the government of Serbia should independence be declared." Monk reminded Veljovic that the role of the police is to "uphold the rule of law" and that "they should be able to do so ... free of political control or influence." Monk also wrote that he does not want police officers "to be placed in a position which is irrevocable and from which they cannot return to duty," to include "extreme violence or defection." Following Monk's letter to Veljovic, MacLean briefed Coordination Center for Kosovo (CCK) Regional Coordinator for Kosovo Momir Kasalovic and Mitrovica district priest Prota Milija on the plan. He said both were generally supportive, and that Kasalovic pledged to respect the officers on the ground. Serb KPS pleased, while locals see move as a sign that independence is imminent ¶6. (C) MacLean and UNMIK Police Mitrovica Intelligence Officer Randall Darty said Kosovo Serb KPS officers were happy with the move and immediately seemed more confident. They said the move reassured Serb KPS officers that UNMIK Police will back them up in the tough days ahead. In separate meetings with poloff, Col. Milorad Corac, the highest-ranking Serb KPS officer, and half-Bosniak, half-Serb Lt. Col. Ergin Medic confirmed that the move has boosted Serb KPS officers' confidence and morale. Corac said that the local community's reaction to the additional IPOs was neutral, but that he believed they saw it as a signal an independence declaration was coming soon. Medic said that most locals were ambivalent, but noted that those who are more concerned about traffic problems and petty crimes than politics saw the increased number of officers patrolling the streets of north Mitrovica as something positive. Medic also said that the move caught northern Kosovo Serb hard-liners Serb National Council (SNC) head Milan Ivanovic and Association of Serb Municipalities and Settlements (ASMS) co-founder Marko Jaksic by surprise. He claimed they are scrambling to figure out how to react because their strategy had been to weaken the KPS and undermine security in the north such that the presence of Serb police or Serb "civil protection corps" would be regarded as necessary to maintain order. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: UNMIK Police's deployment of additional officers north of the Ibar River is a welcome development. Kosovo Serb KPS officers who want to remain loyal to the service had expressed fears to USOP that UNMIK Police might desert them in their hour of need, and this gives them a much-needed morale boost. More, the additional IPOs send an early message to Belgrade and to the northern hardliners that UNMIK will not stand idly by while the KPS is undermined as a force. Nevertheless, we can expect tremendous pressure to be exerted on ethnic Serbs in the KPS if Kosovo declares its independence, and there are still indications that the ultimate goal for Belgrade remains the establishment of a police force in the north (and possibly in the enclaves, as well) that answers solely to the Serbian MUP. The IPO reinforcements will not be enough to keep these KPS Serbs on the job if they fear that their families' livelihoods or lives are in danger. We will continue to encourage robust reactions by UNMIK to any infringement on the KPS structure or lines of authority, but strong political backing in capitals will be necessary to convince UNMIK to act quickly and decisively if Belgrade or the northern Serb leadership overstep the mark. END COMMENT. PRISTINA 00000058 003 OF 003 KAIDANOW