VZCZCXRO4682
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0018/01 0041137
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041137Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2009
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1423
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BELGRADE 000018 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KBTS KPAO SR MW KV
SUBJECT: NEXT STEPS IN SOUTHERN SERBIA IN 2008 
 
REFS: A) 07 BELGRADE 1482, B) 07 BELGRADE 1641, C) 07 BELGRADE 1675 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  The Serbian government's Coordinating Body for Southern Serbia 
(CB) will unveil in early 2008 its engagement and investment 
strategy for the next two years for the ethnic Albanian-majority 
Presevo Valley.  While serious obstacles remain in the way of a 
normalized relation between Belgrade and this troubled region, both 
Belgrade and local leaders are making efforts to engage with each 
other to develop and integrate Southern Serbia.  Over the last few 
months, the GOS has shown more positive attention, including 
ministerial visits, towards the south, and has made some progress on 
some of its key development commitments to the region.  In another 
positive development, ethnic Albanian leaders in the south have 
decided not to boycott upcoming Serbian presidential elections.  End 
Summary. 
 
Some Good Visits 
---------------- 
 
¶2.  Serbian leaders recently made productive visits to Southern 
Serbia.  Serbian President Boris Tadic visited Southern Serbia as 
part of his reelection campaign on January 2.  Tadic, who toured 
military bases along the boundary with Kosovo, said in public 
remarks that the area was calm.  Accompanied by Sutanovac and Army 
Chief Zdravko Ponos, Tadic said he would work for stability for the 
region and that Serbia would not "stumble into another war [or] new 
violence." 
 
¶3.  On the heels of a positive visit by the Serbian Defense Minister 
(reftel C), Labor Minister and head of the CB Rasim Ljajic visited 
Presevo and Bujanovac on December 17, 2007.  Ljajic met with Nagip 
Arifi and Ragmi Mustafa, the ethnic Albanian mayors of Bujanovac and 
Presevo, and representatives of the local Serb and Roma communities. 
 Ljajic's past visits have been rancorous at times, with Ljajic 
complaining of "ungrateful" local leaders critical of the CB and 
locals attacking Belgrade for being unresponsive to citizens' needs 
(reftels A and B).  Key differences remain, particularly over the 
administration of the CB, but Ljajic's trip to Southern Serbia was 
the most positive in several years.  One of the reasons, according 
to contacts and post assessment, is the recent groundwork set by 
Nenad Djurdjevic, Ljajic's assistant and executive director of the 
CB.  Djurdjevic, who joined the CB in August 2007, travels to the 
region frequently and serves as a direct link between the local 
leaders and Belgrade.  Djurdjevic was previously with the Project on 
Ethnic Relations (PER), a Princeton, New Jersey-based NGO which 
hosts interethnic dialogues throughout the Balkans including 
Southern Serbia. 
 
Albanians will not Boycott Elections 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  Presevo Valley Albanians will not boycott the upcoming 
presidential elections.  Both Riza Halimi, the only ethnic Albanian 
Member of Parliament, and Skender Destani, leader of a smaller 
political party which ran in coalition with Halimi in the 2007 
parliamentary elections, confirmed to poloff on December 19, 2007 
that they would not boycott the January 20 elections.  (Boycotts of 
national elections by Serbia's Albanian minority were common until 
January 2007, when they voted in parliamentary elections, electing 
Halimi.)  Destani told BETA news agency December 25 that the 
Albanian parties would "invite the people to take part in the 
balloting, but since none of the presidential candidates has made 
any great efforts to solve the problems of this region, we have 
nothing to offer to motivate our voters." 
 
Continuing Complaints 
--------------------- 
 
¶5.  The CB's makeup remains a point of contention between Belgrade 
and local Albanian leaders.  Local leaders technically withdrew from 
the CB when it was reorganized in September 2007, but this was more 
a symptom than the cause of the differences between Belgrade and the 
region.  Halimi and Arifi told poloff December 19, 2007 they 
objected to the manner in which the Body was restructured, without 
consultations with local leaders.  Halimi told poloff they wanted 
"to continue cooperation with the Coordination Body on the local 
level but not as vice-presidents."  Presevo Mayor Ragmi Mustafa told 
the press after Ljajic's visit that he found it difficult to 
cooperate with the CB after "few results and so many promises." 
Ljajic responded that "boycotting institutions" was incongruent with 
"demand[ing] things of the state." 
 
Key projects 
------------ 
 
¶6.  Aside from disagreements over the CB's structure, there are 
several key projects that post will monitor and assist with in order 
 
BELGRADE 00000018  002 OF 003 
 
 
to facilitate cooperation and mutual trust.  In conversations with 
post officials, Presevo and Bujanovac leaders consistently raise the 
following six issues as the most pressing concerns, some of which 
require cooperation with Belgrade.  Djurdjevic updated poloff on 
December 17, 2007 on the latest state of play for each issue and, in 
some cases, how the CB planned to take next steps. 
 
 - TV/Radio Broadcasting licenses: Last year, Serbia's TV/Radio 
licensing authority originally assigned only one permit for all of 
Presevo and Bujanovac.  Albanians and Serbs from those 
municipalities complained about this decision.  After formal 
inquiries from post and the UK and OSCE Missions, the GOS 
reconsidered and granted two for Bujanovac and one for Presevo. 
This is significant as it means that both Serb and Albanian local 
stations will continue to operate.  Unfortunately local media 
outlets recently complained to DCM, their applications were being 
held up in Belgrade in bureaucratic nit-picking, calling into 
question the licensing authorities' intent to issue the licenses at 
all. 
 
 - Presence of security forces: A top concern of local Albanian 
leaders is the large presence of Army and Gendarmerie troops in the 
Presevo Valley.  Djurdjevic confirmed to poloff that while he 
understood this was an irritant, it was not reasonable to expect a 
drawdown or withdrawal this year.  However, the Defense Minister's 
(reftel C) outreach to local mayors to discuss the security 
situation was most welcome. 
 
 - Serbia-Macedonia border crossing:  Local Albanian leaders have 
been requesting for years that Serbia open a border crossing with 
Macedonia in Presevo, near Miratovac, to connect Albanian 
communities.  USAID, in partnership with the CB, built a road to the 
border in anticipation.  The GOS, however, made no progress on 
opening the border in 2007. Djurdjevic told poloff that the decision 
to open a border crossing "was stuck between Foreign Ministries" in 
Belgrade and Skopje. 
 
 - Albanian National Council:  Serbia's Albanian community remains 
the only minority without an accredited national council.  The 
Albanian parties have been unable to unite on agreed leaders or 
framework.  The GOS often cites this as a reason that Albanians 
cannot use national symbols, script, and language in official 
venues.  If formed, a national council would mean the Albanians can 
officially request these and other elements of "cultural autonomy," 
according to Djurdjevic. 
 
 - Maternity ward in Presevo:  Albanians in Presevo have complained 
for years that there is no maternity ward in the municipality. 
While there were some disputes among Albanian parties in Presevo 
over the ward's location, the real bottleneck was the lack of a 
permit from the Serbian Health Ministry.  Djurdjevic told poloff 
December 21, 2007 that the CB engaged the Health Ministry and 
resolved the problem.  Djurdjevic said that the CB's 2008 plan would 
include funding for a technical assessment, to be conducted in 
coordination with the Presevo municipality, as the next step in the 
process. 
 
 - Albanian teacher's college:  Local Albanian leaders have 
complained about the lack of Albanian-language higher education 
institutions in Serbia.  Mayors Arifi and Mustafa have both told 
poloffs on various occasions that they would like to see a teacher's 
college in the region.  The GOS (Education Ministry) has not given a 
permit or allocated funds.  Djurdjevic said that this was blocked in 
the Education Ministry, and that the Minister's office "has 
reservations" about building an exclusively Albanian language 
college in Serbia. (The Education Minister, Zoran Loncar, is from 
Kostunica's DSS party and has been outspoken against U.S. Kosovo 
policy.)  Djurdjevic, however, said the CB was looking at Albanian 
language schools in Montenegro for ideas, and was hopeful about a 
"repackaged" plan including Albanian-language instruction (which the 
locals want) with Serbian-language "trade and business skills" 
(which might mollify Loncar). 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  The United States has an opportunity to assist in promoting 
stability and development in Southern Serbia in 2008 because both 
Belgrade and local Albanian leaders consider the United States a 
positive force able to achieve their goals.  This influence was 
demonstrated in the Albanians' historic return to national politics 
in 2007, a myriad of assistance projects over the last seven years 
requiring GOS and local leaders' cooperation and the continuing, 
albeit tenuous, stability in the region.  The Albanians' withdrawal 
from the CB is for show (they continue to work closely with the GOS) 
but is evidence that all is not well in the relationship between 
Belgrade and Southern Serbia.  The GOS and locals can achieve 
progress on most of these outlined issues in the new year, given 
even limited mutual good will and continued U.S. attention.  End 
Comment. 
 
BELGRADE 00000018  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
BRUSH