MACEDONIA: ETHNIC ALBANIANS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SKOPJE 000039 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2013 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: ETHNIC ALBANIANS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE ELECTIONS AND BEYOND REF: SKOPJE 748 Classified By: CDA TOM NAVRATIL FOR REASONS 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. Summary: (C) Recent soundings of ethnic Albanian (e-Albanian) contacts have revealed a pessimistic outlook towards the current state of interethnic relations in Macedonia. They have expressed a high level of dissatisfaction with the e-Macedonian governing party, VMRO-DPMNE, and its cooperation with its e-Albanian coalition partners since returning to power in 2006. Intraparty and interparty bickering and sabotage in and between the e-Albanian parties have exacerbated the situation. This environment has created skepticism that municipal and presidential elections scheduled for March 22 will go smoothly. (End Summary) ¶2. (C) Background: Since the brief interethnic conflict of 2001 the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) and the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) have been the two most powerful e-Albanian parties in Macedonia and intense adversaries. DUI has been a governing coalition partner twice, with SDSM from 2002 to 2006 and with VMRO from 2008 to present. DPA was VMRO,s coalition partner from 2006-2008 despite having fewer MPs than DUI. During much of this period DUI boycotted parliament and harshly criticized the government, but then collaborated with VMRO in calling early parliamentary elections in 2008. These elections were marred with violence and irregularities in e-Albanian areas that were hotly contested by DPA and DUI. DPA appeared to be responsible for the great majority of these anti-democratic practices. There were also serious problems with the election process that had nothing to do with e-Albanians. The outcome served primarily to consolidate VMRO,s power in parliament but also created a vehicle for VMRO to bring DUI (which won the e-Albanian vote decisively) into the coalition. As with previous coalition changes, DUI,s accession to power meant a sweeping churn of government jobs from DPA to DUI hands, which has further aggravated tensions between the parties. The fallout from the elections weakened DPA even more when some of its strongest members left the party out of frustration last September to form New Democracy (ND). -------------- -------------- A Steady Downward Slide in Inter-Ethnic Relations -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Despite some achievements since the conflict of 2001, nearly all of our e-Albanian interlocutors indicate that interethnic relations in Macedonia have been steadily deteriorating since VMRO,s accession to government in 2006. Nearly everyone, regardless of party affiliation, cites VMRO,s unwillingness to give more than lip service to e-Albanian issues, which is illustrated by the general inability of DPA (2006-2008) or DUI (2008-present) to accomplish much as a VMRO coalition partner. Due to VMRO,s strong popular support among e-Macedonians, many believe the party feels no pressure to concede anything to the e-Albanian community. Leader of DPA,s local Tetovo branch, Neritan Ferati, said the e-Albanians are nothing more than &decor8 in the VMRO coalition government. More significant given his party affiliation, Ferati believes the same was true when DPA was VMRO,s partner. VMRO,s strategy has primarily been to delegate interethnic political issues to its e-Albanian coalition partners and then wash its hands of any responsibility. VMRO politicians indicate that by delegating these issues to the e-Albanians they have done their part in placating this community, thus concluding that interethnic tension should no longer be considered a priority. ¶3. (C) According to the multi-ethnic NGO Loja, government spending on public infrastructure and development projects is another area that clearly illustrates the interethnic divide in Macedonia. They cited numerous examples of e-Macedonian neighborhoods that have received substantial federal investments while adjoining e-Albanian areas have been neglected. (Post has received similar complaints about federal government spending on municipal projects from SDSM,s e-Macedonian opposition municipal leaders, which suggests the problem may be as much a partisan issue as it is an ethnic issue.) ¶4. (C) According to most of our interlocutors, the best thing the international community can do to ensure ethnic harmony is to continue to promote improvements to rule of law. They specifically pointed out that government has used the politicized police force and judiciary to exert pressure on SKOPJE 00000039 002 OF 003 the e-Albanian population and then justify it legally. They cited a number of recent high-profile raids and arrests by Macedonia,s elite police unit Alpha as examples. The NGO Loja also told us that the government has used frequent investigations of its financial records to maintain a watchful eye over its activities. ¶5. (C) In many cases the e-Albanian parties, blinded by their ambition, are further marginalizing themselves by squaring off against each other, in some cases with VMRO,s complicity. For example, New Democracy MP Sulejman Rushiti told us that the recent raid of Koha newspaper editor Arben Ratkoceri,s home and the subsequent arrest of his brother-in-law, Diamant Mehmeti, in alleged connection with the murder of an Alpha team member in November, in fact had nothing to do with the murder investigation. He claimed they were actually part of a wider conspiracy, involving an alliance between DPA leader Menduh Thaci and the VMRO controlled intelligence services aimed at exerting pressure on Koha. Arben Ratkoceri cautiously corroborated this conspiracy theory in a subsequent meeting with us. He claimed Thaci,s objective was not only to exert pressure on Koha- which has become increasingly independent of DPA in recent months- but also to pass blame for the raids and arrests to DUI, as government coalition partner, for allowing them to happen. Other e-Albanian leaders have also alluded to this particular investigation as a government tactic to exert control over specific e-Albanians somehow deemed to be threats. ¶6. Recently, both Thaci and DUI President Ali Ahmeti have made disturbing references to the gernerally taboo concept of a "Greater Albania". In a recent interview, Thaci acknowledged that the topic of a "Greater Albania" was political taboo but said it was an important idea and was being appropriatly reopened at a time when e-Albanians had completed their achievement for the new century, implying Kosovo independence and Albania's NATO accession. In a recent lunch Ahmeti described to the Ambassador an idea he had discussed with PM Gruevski to boost Macedonia's chances for NATO accession, proposing the political unification of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro. Ambassador responded that such a scheme would have no bearing on Macedonia's NATO accession and, noting the underlying implication of a Greater Albania, rejected the idea. Ahmeti denied aspirations for a Greater Albania, insisting that his plan would merely represent border and economic liberalization among the countries. According to Ahmeti's account, Gruevski was unreceptive to the idea. -------------- No Improvement Expected in Upcoming Elections -------------- ¶6. (C) Officially, e-Albanian leaders have expressed optimism that the upcoming elections in March would be better than the elections last June. However, in confidence, most of the same people confessed that they do not have any reason to believe these elections will be different. Most pointed out that very few of the people responsible for disrupting the previous elections have been punished for their actions, and in fact many were ultimately rewarded by the candidates for whom they helped secure victories. Note- Rufi Osmani, who announced that he is returning to politics to run for Mayor of Gostivar as an independent candidate after being imprisoned ten years ago while serving in the same position, said he was already aware of underground groups organizing to disrupt the elections. A number of our interlocutors also suggested that the electoral code,s failure to address specific campaigning issues was still a major problem and would result in the same tactics of pre-election intimidation and unchecked campaign financing that occurred during the previous elections. ¶7. (C) Most e-Albanians express mixed feelings over the use of a highly visible, heavily armed police presence at the polling stations. Some feel it is the only way to curb malfeasance and believe it ultimately proved successful in curbing irregularities during the last elections, while others feel the police are just as likely to tamper with the elections as anyone else. Osmani recommended the government place senior government officials in the polling places to discourage irregularities. Others suggested that a top down approach was necessary, believing party leaders must be held personally accountable by both the government and the international community for election disturbances, and should not be permitted to plead ignorance to the actions of their party members. SKOPJE 00000039 003 OF 003 -------------- DUI Faltering? -------------- ¶8. (C) DUI Mayor of Tearce, Rami Qerimi, candidly asserted that his party,s recent political success was less a result of DUI,s strong political performance than it was of DPA,s poor political performance as the previous e-Albanian coalition partner. He admitted that DUI was in some internal turmoil and would need to reorganize if it hoped to maintain its position as the lead e-Albanian party. His criticism bears out the private sentiments of many other DUI members, such as MP Emira Mehmeti, who have expressed frustration over DUI,s failure achieve any significant accomplishments as coalition partner. Compounded with the internal bickering between DUI,s central authority and its municipal level politicians, DUI,s recent accession to power already seems to be faltering. Rumors abound that DUI may even withdraw from the coalition after the March elections. If this occurs, there does not appear to be another e-Albanian party currently capable of stepping into a leadership role for the e-Albanian community. Only two other e-Albanian parties- DPA and ND- have any parliamentary representation. DPA lost some of its most promising members to ND and is still in turmoil from its poor election turnout earlier this year. ND shows promise but is still in its infancy. -------------- Comment: Shortsighted Political Ambition -------------- ¶10. (C) VMRO,s nationalist thrust and intense party-first politics have brought interethnic progress to a standstill in the eyes of many e-Albanians. Some assert that interethnic relations are even regressing in some areas and this downward slide will eventually lead to a confrontation, but they are careful to avoid specifying exactly when this confrontation might occur or what form it will take. The e-Albanian parties have only aggravated the situation with persistent bickering and a general willingness to sell out their long term goals for the short term gains that come from political ascendance. There is clearly a tendency among e-Albanians to focus on their maximalist unmet demands, especially in conversations with the international community, rather than on the steps forward VMRO has taken. Nevertheless, this environment makes the upcoming elections in March particularly worrisome. Our consistent message to e-Albanians is that these elections must be free of the abuses that took place in 2008 if they want to be in a position to advance their Euro-Atlantic aspirations. It is extremely clear in our conversations and observations here that continued lack of progress toward NATO and EU membership greatly intensifies the dissatisfactions and frustrations of e-Albanians in Macedonia. NAVRATIL