MACEDONIA: ETHNIC ALBANIAN LEADER AHMETI ON

UNCLAS SKOPJE 000287 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: ETHNIC ALBANIAN LEADER AHMETI ON SERBIAN ELECTIONS ¶1. (SBU) During an April 23 meeting with eAlbanian DUI President Ali Ahmeti to discuss upcoming parliamentary elections in Macedonia (septel),the Ambassador reiterated earlier Embassy appeals to DUI to encourage Albanian party leaders in the Presevo Valley to take part in Serbia's May 11 elections. Ahmeti said that he had reached out to the leaders of all the ethnic Albanian political parties in southern Serbia, including in Preshevo and Bujanovac, and had urged them to take part in the May 11 polls. His message to those leaders, he said, had been that engaging positively in the electoral process and getting their members to vote for the progressive forces in Serbia, especially "Europe-oriented" candidates, would provide a positive example for the region. According to Ahmeti, all but one (he did not specify which) of the leaders of all of the ethnic Albanian parties in southern Serbia agreed with his position. (Note: At Embassy Belgrade's request, we had earlier urged DUI leaders to send the positive message to eAlbanian political leaders in southern Serbia regarding their participation in the May 11 voting. End note.) ¶2. (SBU) Ahmeti said it would be important to see how the outcome of Serbia's upcoming parliamentary elections would be reflected in political developments in Macedonia and Kosovo. Ahmeti described what he saw as a developing split in Macedonia between self-described "patriotic" political parties that wrapped themselves in the flag (comment: and, though he did not say so, the ethnic Macedonian identity), and "pro-Europe" parties focused on EU membership, a split he described as "similar to the existing split between the Serbian political parties." (Note: The Macedonian media already is buzzing about whether Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's ruling VMRO-DPMNE party is running on a nationalistic "patriot" platform, while Gruevski himself has maneuvered to paint himself as "both a patriot and a supporter of Macedonia's integration into Europe." End note.) MILOVANOVIC