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DE RUEHPS #0240/01 0751610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161610Z MAR 06
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5920
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0616
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHFMIUU/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT
RHMFIUU/CDR TF FALCON
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEPGEA/CDR650THMIGP SHAPE BE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUFOANA/USNIC PRISTINA SR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000240 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE 
NSC FOR BRAUN 
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KCRM PGOV PINR KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO'S NON-SERB MINORITIES LOOKING FOR MORE CLOUT 
 
REF: PRISTINA 1219 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Kosovo's non-Serb minorities are trying to 
increase their role in the new Kosovo government and solidify 
their participation on Kosovo's delegation to status 
negotiations.  Non-Serb minorities currently control the 
health ministry, fill a rotating seat in the Assembly 
Presidency, and were - albeit at the last minute - afforded a 
place on the Pristina negotiating team at the first round of 
status negotiations.  They want to increase their influence 
with additional high-level government positions, including 
deputy interior minister and advisors to the Prime Minister 
and to the education minister.  END SUMMARY. 
 
NON-SERB MINORITIES WANT GREATER ROLE IN GOVERNMENT 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The recent establishment of the new Kosovo justice 
and interior ministries has created key new positions, and 
the confirmation of Agim Ceku as Prime Minister on March 10 
has created the potential for a possible shakeup of the 
cabinet.  (NOTE.  Ceku said he will review all ministerial 
positions within 30 days of taking office.  END NOTE.) 
Kosovo Assembly Presidency member and President of the Kosovo 
Democratic Turkish Party (KDTP) Mahir Yagcilar told PolOff 
and PolFSN on March 7 that members of the "Six Plus" 
Prizren-based Turkish/Bosniak coalition voted as a block for 
Agim Ceku to become the new Prime Minister on March 10, and 
hope to play a greater role in the new government.  (NOTE. 
The "Six Plus" coalition, with six assembly seats, is part of 
the LDK/AAK governing coalition.  The four non-Serb minority 
MPs who are not in "Six Plus" (Gorani, Ashkali, Roma and 
Bosniak representatives) abstained from that vote.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Yagcilar said that "Six Plus" is lobbying for 
Turkish "Six Plus" member Altay Suroy, public district 
attorney in Prizren, to become the new deputy minister of 
justice.  He said that "Six Plus" would also like to see 
designated positions created for non-Serb minorities to serve 
as advisors to the Prime Minister and the education minister. 
 (NOTE.  Dejan Jankovic, a high ranking Kosovo Serb from the 
Kosovo Police Service (KPS) (who was injured in a shooting 
incident in September 2005) was approved by the assembly as 
the deputy interior minister on March 10.  END NOTE.) 
Yagcilar also said that "Six Plus" supports Health Minister 
Sadik Idrizi, a Bosniak, to continue in office in PM Ceku's 
new government.  (NOTE.  The position of deputy returns 
minister is held by Egyptian community leader Ibush Bajrami, 
but he says that he has been completely sidelined by ethnic 
Serb minister Slavisa Petkovic.  END NOTE.) 
 
NON-SERB MINORITIES WANT ONGOING PARTICIPATION ON STATUS TEAM 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Members of the "Six Plus" coalition met with UN 
Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari on March 2 and reasserted 
their desire to participate constructively in the status 
process.  Yagcilar said that he was encouraged that Idrizi 
was named to the Kosovo delegation to the February 20-21 
talks in Vienna on decentralization.  However, he was 
disappointed by the last minute manner in which Idrizi was 
selected by the team, without consulting the non-Serb 
minority leaders as to who would be the best candidate. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Yagcilar said that "Six Plus" supports Idrizi to 
continue as its representative on the Kosovo negotiating team 
for the March 17 meeting in Vienna, and for all future 
meetings on decentralization.  He said that they would like 
to have the opportunity to choose different representatives 
for subsequent meetings, depending on the topic.  In addition 
to decentralization, non-Serb minorities are particularly 
interested in talks on property rights and cultural heritage. 
 Bosniak Dzezair Murati, previous "Six Plus" representative 
 
PRISTINA 00000240  002 OF 002 
 
 
on the assembly presidency and head of "Six Plus," told 
PolFSN that "it is now obvious" that Albanian leaders see the 
advantage of including non-Serb minorities on the team, both 
to inform substance and to improve the optics of minority 
inclusion. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Yagcilar told PolFSN that he is satisfied with the 
progress of the Turk-majority Mamusha decentralization pilot 
project and said he supports the creation of additional new 
municipalities as part of the status process.  For example, 
he supports Bosniak proposals for new municipalities in the 
ethnically-mixed Zupa valley near Prizren (15,000 
inhabitants) and in Vitomirica near Peja/Pec (7,000 
inhabitants). 
 
DEVELOPING A JOINT PLATFORM FOR NON-SERB MINORITIES 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Yagcilar said that Veton Surroi's Consultative 
Council for Minority Communities (which met in late February) 
has the potential to become a useful entity, but needs to be 
more concrete (Reftel).  He said that it should work to 
institutionalize minority participation in status talks in 
Vienna.  Yagcilar is taking an active role in his new 
position as a member of the assembly presidency by working 
with all ten non-Serb minority MPs to develop a joint 
platform for status negotiations.  He said that this work 
will continue at a planned meeting of the Council in Kukes, 
Albania on March 26, which the COM has confirmed he will 
attend.  (NOTE.  If successful, it will be the first time 
that Kosovo's notoriously fractious non-Serb minorities will 
be able to unite around a common platform.  END NOTE). 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT.  Kosovo's non-Serb minorities are trying 
to take advantage of the recent changes in Kosovo's 
government and strong ties with the new leadership to expand 
their role in both the government and on Pristina's status 
negotiating team.  If they succeed in developing a joint 
negotiation platform supported by all of Kosovo's non-Serb 
minorities, it would be a significant step forward in 
bringing together non-Serb minorities and, they believe, 
greatly strengthen their claim for a seat in the status 
talks.  More substantive participation by non-Serb minorities 
will also serve as a positive example to Kosovo Serbs of the 
benefits of engagement and participation.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶9.   (U)  Post clears this message in its entirety for 
release to Special Envoy Ahtisaari. 
GOLDBERG