Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09PRISTINA412
2009-09-25 06:43:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:
KOSOVO: RUSSIAN AND SLOVAK REPS PRESS OSCE ON
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C O N F I D E N T I A L PRISTINA 000412
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE
NSC FOR HOVENIER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/24/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: RUSSIAN AND SLOVAK REPS PRESS OSCE ON
LEGITIMACY OF ELECTIONS ASSISTANCE
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRISTINA 000412
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE
NSC FOR HOVENIER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/24/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: RUSSIAN AND SLOVAK REPS PRESS OSCE ON
LEGITIMACY OF ELECTIONS ASSISTANCE
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).
1. (U) Heads of Mission from the Russian and Slovak Liaison
Offices in Kosovo offered pointed questions to the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission
in Kosovo (OMIK) regarding activities related to upcoming
municipal elections during a September 24 meeting reviewing
OMIK's recent activities. Russian Head of Mission Andrey
Shugorov interrupted a presentation on OMIK assistance to
Kosovo's Central Elections Commission (CEC) to clarify that
OMIK is restricting its activities to advising and training
as opposed to any executive functions that might assist the
CEC in implementing elections preparations. OMIK affirmed
that this is the case, only to face a series of aggressive
questions from Slovak Head of Mission Miloslav Nad, who
pointedly tried to get OMIK to admit that its engagement was
"crucial" to the CEC's preparations and wanted to know
whether or not the GOK had requested OMIK assistance on
elections. OMIK dodged the question as to whether or not the
CEC is dependent on its assistance for organizing the
November 15 elections but confirmed that President Sejdiu had
requested OMIK's mentorship at the CEC. In our intervention
at the end of the meeting, we thanked OMIK for its
presentation and reframed the discussion on elections by
arguing that OMIK's assistance to the CEC is crucial to
OMIK's mandate in Kosovo to develop capacity in Kosovo's
democratic institutions, adding that this is exactly the type
of activity that we want OMIK to pursue. France, Germany,
and Italy failed to attend the meeting, and the junior
representative from the United Kingdom remained silent,
leaving us as the only Quint voice to express support for
OMIK's elections programming.
2. (C) Following the meeting OMIK thanked us for our comments
and told us that this was the first time that the Slovak
representative had attended one of these review sessions, and
the Russian head of mission rarely attends. OMIK, also,
tells us that it is sensing increased activity and pressure
from both Russia and Serbia regarding program activities.
During a recent visit from OSCE's Vienna-based Advisory
Committee on Management and Finance (ACMF),Russian and
Serbian representatives also challenged OMIK's engagement
with the CEC on elections and wanted confirmation that OMIK
has no involvement in Kosovo's decentralization plans, saying
that this would be unacceptable due to decentralization's
connection to the Ahtisaari plan. We also hear that OMIK is
receiving continuing pressure from Serbia's delegation in
Vienna to implement a plan to construct, implement, and run a
series of residential social welfare centers for Serbs in
Kosovo, a plan that OMIK tells us is far beyond its mandate
and budget.
3. (C) COMMENT: We have long been concerned that OMIK's
assistance to the CEC might fall prey to attacks from
non-recognizers of Kosovo's independence on OSCE's permanent
council like Russia, Serbia, and Slovakia. OMIK is operating
on strict orders from Vienna that it cannot run elections as
it did in previous years and formally restricts its
activities to advising and capacity building. At the same
time, we must recognize that OMIK's assistance is, indeed,
"crucial." OMIK has dozens of staff embedded at the CEC and
plans to increase its staffing to approximately 80 personnel.
These same personnel, however, will stop their
activities--on Vienna's orders--on the eve of elections. The
CEC is counting on OMIK's assistance up until November
15--the date of elections--and losing it ahead of that time
will have an adverse impact on Kosovo's ability to prepare
for its first post-independence elections. We see this as
the first salvo in a possible sustained attack on OMIK's
ability to continue its elections assistance in Kosovo, and
such an assault will require close cooperation with Quint
countries in defending ongoing preparations for these
critical elections. END COMMENT
DELL
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE
NSC FOR HOVENIER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/24/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: RUSSIAN AND SLOVAK REPS PRESS OSCE ON
LEGITIMACY OF ELECTIONS ASSISTANCE
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).
1. (U) Heads of Mission from the Russian and Slovak Liaison
Offices in Kosovo offered pointed questions to the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission
in Kosovo (OMIK) regarding activities related to upcoming
municipal elections during a September 24 meeting reviewing
OMIK's recent activities. Russian Head of Mission Andrey
Shugorov interrupted a presentation on OMIK assistance to
Kosovo's Central Elections Commission (CEC) to clarify that
OMIK is restricting its activities to advising and training
as opposed to any executive functions that might assist the
CEC in implementing elections preparations. OMIK affirmed
that this is the case, only to face a series of aggressive
questions from Slovak Head of Mission Miloslav Nad, who
pointedly tried to get OMIK to admit that its engagement was
"crucial" to the CEC's preparations and wanted to know
whether or not the GOK had requested OMIK assistance on
elections. OMIK dodged the question as to whether or not the
CEC is dependent on its assistance for organizing the
November 15 elections but confirmed that President Sejdiu had
requested OMIK's mentorship at the CEC. In our intervention
at the end of the meeting, we thanked OMIK for its
presentation and reframed the discussion on elections by
arguing that OMIK's assistance to the CEC is crucial to
OMIK's mandate in Kosovo to develop capacity in Kosovo's
democratic institutions, adding that this is exactly the type
of activity that we want OMIK to pursue. France, Germany,
and Italy failed to attend the meeting, and the junior
representative from the United Kingdom remained silent,
leaving us as the only Quint voice to express support for
OMIK's elections programming.
2. (C) Following the meeting OMIK thanked us for our comments
and told us that this was the first time that the Slovak
representative had attended one of these review sessions, and
the Russian head of mission rarely attends. OMIK, also,
tells us that it is sensing increased activity and pressure
from both Russia and Serbia regarding program activities.
During a recent visit from OSCE's Vienna-based Advisory
Committee on Management and Finance (ACMF),Russian and
Serbian representatives also challenged OMIK's engagement
with the CEC on elections and wanted confirmation that OMIK
has no involvement in Kosovo's decentralization plans, saying
that this would be unacceptable due to decentralization's
connection to the Ahtisaari plan. We also hear that OMIK is
receiving continuing pressure from Serbia's delegation in
Vienna to implement a plan to construct, implement, and run a
series of residential social welfare centers for Serbs in
Kosovo, a plan that OMIK tells us is far beyond its mandate
and budget.
3. (C) COMMENT: We have long been concerned that OMIK's
assistance to the CEC might fall prey to attacks from
non-recognizers of Kosovo's independence on OSCE's permanent
council like Russia, Serbia, and Slovakia. OMIK is operating
on strict orders from Vienna that it cannot run elections as
it did in previous years and formally restricts its
activities to advising and capacity building. At the same
time, we must recognize that OMIK's assistance is, indeed,
"crucial." OMIK has dozens of staff embedded at the CEC and
plans to increase its staffing to approximately 80 personnel.
These same personnel, however, will stop their
activities--on Vienna's orders--on the eve of elections. The
CEC is counting on OMIK's assistance up until November
15--the date of elections--and losing it ahead of that time
will have an adverse impact on Kosovo's ability to prepare
for its first post-independence elections. We see this as
the first salvo in a possible sustained attack on OMIK's
ability to continue its elections assistance in Kosovo, and
such an assault will require close cooperation with Quint
countries in defending ongoing preparations for these
critical elections. END COMMENT
DELL