SERBIA TO CONTINUE TESTING KOSOVO VISITS POLICY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000162 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KV SR SUBJECT: SERBIA TO CONTINUE TESTING KOSOVO VISITS POLICY REF: BELGRADE 130; PRISTINA 47; BELGRADE 72 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Following the recent expulsions from Kosovo of Serbian officials, the Government of Serbia will likely continue to test the Kosovo visits policy and the resolve of the international community to enforce it. The EU Personal Representative Office in Belgrade, which receives all Serbian visitation requests, maintains that the system, while not perfect, functions sufficiently, based on a March 2009 verbal understanding with both sides. The EU office has encouraged the GoS to slow down on visits and abide by this understanding, while continuing to help facilitate future legitimate visits. In recent conversations with MFA and Ministry for Kosovo officials we have urged a tempered response and have pointed out the dangers of unilateral action on either side. While maintaining our firm stance to use accepted procedures, we need to prepare for some additional sensitive travel requests, particularly the request by Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas to visit Decani Monastery and a village near Prizren, scheduled for February 6-7, and more importantly, the April 25 enthronement in Pec of the new Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Irinej (Ref A). End Summary. GoS Protests Expulsions -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Following the January 26 expulsion of Assistant Minister for Kosovo for Sustainable Returns Branislav Ristic (Ref B),GoS officials protested to us and to EU officials in Belgrade. MFA Special Advisor Damjan Krnjevic Miskovic told us on January 26 that Ristic's temporary detention and expulsion was "a violation of fundamental human rights," particularly the freedom of movement and assembly. Ministry for Kosovo Special Advisor Vlada Jovicic made similar points to us, adding that Ristic's expulsion sent a bad message about the lack of safety for Serb returnees to Kosovo and could further hinder return efforts. These protests followed an earlier demarche by Prime Minister Cvetkovic of Quint Ambassadors in Belgrade after the January 15 expulsion of Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic (Ref C). In response to all protests we encouraged Serbia to respect the established visit procedures, to assist in calming the situation, and to avoid taking future unilateral actions. Visits Policy "Mostly Works" -------------- ¶3. (SBU) EU Personal Representative Peter Sorensen told the Ambassador on January 31 that the current visits policy "mostly works and the GoS needed to use it." He called the policy a "political fact of life" that GoS officials needed to abide by if they wanted to travel around Kosovo. Sorensen stressed that the policy applied to all government officials on travel and to others (such as returnee groups and pilgrims) who wanted a security escort. He acknowledged in practice the policy worked efficiently for non-official group visits, but that the GoS did not consider it adequate for Serbian politicians. He expected the GoS would continue to protest the policy but said the EU office would continue to facilitate future requests. More Visits Expected -------------- BELGRADE 00000162 002 OF 002 ¶4. (SBU) The GoS has informed us and the EU Office that some additional visits are being planned. On February 1, Jovicic told us that while he expected there would be more requests, the GoS "would try to stick to the procedure, even though the procedure provides no credible result for us." While Jovicic acknowledged that the process was acceptable for religious pilgrims, he said pilgrims "are not the ones who can resolve outstanding issues with the international community such as customs and judiciary" in northern Kosovo. ¶5. (SBU) Sorensen told us Minister Bogdanovic likely wanted to show that the problem of expulsions and visit denials was not unique to him alone, and Bogdanovic was encouraging other Serbian ministries to plan visits to Kosovo. Sorensen expected that there would be little appetite in most other ministries to travel to Kosovo, noting that few other government officials had done so in the past. On January 29, Sorensen told us he had advised the GoS to rethink its strategy, to slow down on visits and "take a calm deep breath, in order to get things back on track." Mayor Djilas Request to Visit -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Belgrade's Mayor Dragan Djilas has requested to visit Decani Monastery and a village near Prizren on February 6 in order to provide a financial donation from the City of Belgrade. In a February 1 conversation with the DCM, Djilas asked for U.S. assistance with approving the visit and provided assurances that he would not visit any parallel institutions, including schools. Djilas said he would only visit churches, in order to show support for moderate clergy members, including Vicar Bishop Teodosije and Father Sava Jansic at Decani. The EU office informed us on February 1 that it had passed the request on to Pristina with a recommendation that the GoK look favorably upon the request. Proposed Patriarch Trip to Pec -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Looking further ahead, Jovicic confirmed for us on February 1 that the Serbian Orthodox Church intends to have an enthronement ceremony in Pec for newly installed Patriarch Irinej on April 25. Sorensen said the Patriarch's travel could involve travel by nearly 250 persons and requests for overflight clearances into Kosovo. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The effective implementation of the one-year-old, EU-devised Kosovo visits policy is important for avoiding unilateral actions by either the GoS or the GoK which could further enflame the delicate situation on the ground. These bureaucratic procedures were devised to assure regional stability while also staying true to our broader Kosovo policy goals. As Serbia seeks to test the policy, we will need to respond in a calculated manner, providing flexibility when necessary but also zero tolerance for any intentional unilateral provocations by either side. Key to this will be the careful management of future humanitarian and religious visits, particularly when those visits include the participation of Serbian political leaders. End Comment. WARLICK