KOSOVO: HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION IN NORTH MITROVICA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000162 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE AND INL NSC FOR HELGERSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KV SUBJECT: KOSOVO: HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION IN NORTH MITROVICA A POTENTIAL FLASHPOINT Classified By: Ambassador Tina S. Kaidanow for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The return of warm weather in Kosovo brings with it annual interest among Kosovo Albanian displaced persons in rebuilding houses north of the Ibar River. Suvi Do/Suhadoll, a village just west of the Kosovo Serb populated north Mitrovica area, has been the site of interethnic clashes in the past over house reconstruction, and there is the potential for further unrest this spring. The last outbreak of violence occurred in Autumn 2008 when Kosovo Albanians tried to repair houses in the face of Kosovo Serb opposition, and tensions eased as winter weather forced a halt to repairs. Reconstruction efforts are due to resume on or about April 27 amid expected protests and possible outbreaks of violence. EULEX, KFOR, ICO, and UNMIK have attended community meetings in an attempt to ease tensions and lower the risks of violence, with an ad hoc "Troika" of UK, Italian and Russian diplomats also making a foray into the north to try to mediate. Kosovo Police and EULEX are preparing responses, with EULEX offering a more pessimistic forecast for conflict than the Kosovo Police (KP). EULEX has readied three platoons from the French Formed Police Unit (FPU) to reinforce existing police forces and is coordinating with KFOR for rapid - and forceful - response if necessary. Careful management may succeed in avoiding violence but many challenges remain over the summer months. END SUMMARY A Kosovo-Style Housing Crisis -------------- ¶2. (C) On February 8, 2009, the Mitrovica municipality authorized a number of Kosovo Albanian displaced persons to repair their houses in Kroi i Vitakut/Brdjani, an area near Suvi Do/Suhadoll, just west of the Kosovo Serb populated north Mitrovica area. The houses, damaged in the 1998-1999 conflict, are located between Albanian and Serb populations. In Autumn 2008, a number of physical clashes occurred at a nearby site where Kosovo Albanians tried to repair damaged houses in the face of Serb opposition. Winter ended both the reconstruction and the resistance. With the return of warmer weather, Albanians are preparing to resume their efforts as Serbs simultaneously ready themselves to resist. Each side sees this as a struggle for their communities, with the Serbs ;particularly anxious to avoid an Albanian return to the northern areas. Violence? Or Just Protests? -------------- ¶3. (C) EULEX, ICO, KFOR, and UNMIK have attempted to manage tensions through a series of community meetings prior to the rebuilding. On March 10, UNMIK met with local authorities from both the Kosovo Albanian and Serb communities. On April 7, KFOR met with Kosovo Serb leaders, who expressed their concerns about the repairs and advocated a return to the "yellow line." (NOTE: The "yellow line" is a negotiated inter-ethnic boundary line drawn west of north Mitrovica stemming from a 2002 agreement between KFOR and UNMIK that informally divides returning displaced persons into ethnic communities. The Kosovo Albanians had the western portion; the Kosovo Serbs the eastern. Five houses at the center of this spring's reconstruction crisis fall within the Albanian section, but future repairs of other houses would cross the "yellow line" and venture into so-called Serb territory. END NOTE) On April 9, EULEX, ICO, KFOR, UNMIK, and the Kosovo Police (KP) met with approximately 120 local Kosovo Albanian and Serb residents. At each of the meetings the organizations discussed the repair efforts and urged the communities to avoid violence. During the April 9 session, Albanian participants said that they would delay house reconstruction until after the conclusion of Orthodox Easter, but activities will likely commence on the disputed houses in Kroi i Vitakut starting next week. Albanian leaders also emphasized that future housing construction would be delayed until the current repair efforts were completed. ¶4. (C) Forecasts vary over what will happen when PRISTINA 00000162 002 OF 002 reconstruction begins. Kosovo Police Deputy Director Dejan Jankovic, the senior Kosovo Serb officer at the KP, told us on April 17 that Serbs in northern Mitrovica would attack reconstruction efforts, targeting the houses rather than the Albanians. A high-ranking Serb KP officer from Mitrovica, LTC Ergin Medic, informed us earlier that Kosovo Serbs in the region were prepared for violence and thought these preparations would deter Kosovo Albanians from their rebuilding efforts. EULEX and ICO, too, expect violence, with Yves de Kermabon at a Forum meeting on April 15 waving aside COMKFOR General Gay's suggestion that everything in Mitrovica is quiet and telling the international diplomats in the room that he was deeply concerned by the prospect for violence. An internal ICO memo that we have seen also states bluntly that there will almost certainly be violent outbreaks associated with reconstruction. Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst -------------- ¶5. (C) The KP, EULEX, and KFOR, regardless of their opinions on the likelihood of violence, are preparing for the worst. The KP, acting as the first responder, has assigned two patrol units to monitor the Kroi i Vitakut/Brdjani area. If crowds gather, the KP will attempt to create a separation zone staffed by 25-30 officers to keep the two sides apart. If more help is needed, three platoons from EULEX's Formed Police Units (FPU's) will be readily available, with an additional platoon each from the Romanian and Italian FPU's to provide quick response forces, for a total of 90 International Police Officers. EULEX will also have an armored personnel carrier with tear gas and a sniper team ready for extreme response. KFOR will respond as required in the event that KP and EULEX forces are insufficient to quell any unrest. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Through careful adherence to the law and acquisition of the proper building permits, the Kosovo Albanians have prevented the KP and EULEX from using a legal pretext to block the repair effort. For Kosovo Serbs, this activity is seen as damaging their effort to consolidate their physical control over Kosovo's north. EULEX, ICO, and UNMIK have all worked to offer mediation in an effort to develop an agreement between the area's Serbs and Albanians that will forestall violence. In addition, UK Ambassador Sparkes, along with his Italian and Russian counterparts, has also recently embarked on a mediation campaign that acknowledges the legitimacy of the Albanian home rebuilding effort, but counterbalances that with outreach to the Serbs to encourage their return to areas in south Mitrovica from where they were displaced in 1999 and 2004. Northern Serb leaders show little interest in encouraging such Serb returns, however, and the likeliest outcome is stalemate -- and repeated cycles of violence -- until such time as a more durable political solution in the north is found. END COMMENT KAIDANOW