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DE RUEHPS #0384/01 1251638
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 051638Z MAY 06
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6077
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0673
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 03 PRISTINA 000384 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE 
NSC FOR BRAUN 
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL KCRM PINR UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO SERB POLITICIANS VIE FOR POWER IN PRISTINA; 
MINISTER HOLDS ON TO HIS PARTY (FOR NOW) 
 
REF: 04 PRISTINA 1522 - C 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.   After several tumultuous months, the 
Serbian Democratic Party -- the only Kosovo Serb party 
actively participating in the Kosovo government -- held an 
extraordinary party assembly on April 29 and re-elected 
Slavisa Petkovic as party president over the protests of a 
strong minority of party members.  Break-away faction leader 
Dragisa Miric has accused Petkovic of malfeasance.  Former 
party manager and returns ministry permanent secretary 
Mihailo Scepanovic, who was denied entry to the assembly, is 
starting his own party.  However much infighting the party 
exhibits, its members are united in seeing their future in 
Kosovo and their political center as Pristina rather than 
Belgrade.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SDS EAGER TO CONTINUE ENGAGEMENT IN KOSOVO INSTITUTIONS 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  The OSCE registered the Serbian Democratic Party of 
Kosovo and Metohija (SDS) in April 2005 as the successor to 
the "Citizen's Initiative of Serbia" (GIS).  The GIS has two 
of the ten set-aside seats reserved for Kosovo Serbs in the 
Kosovo Assembly in 2004, and actively participates as part of 
the governing coalition (Reftel).  (NOTE.  The other eight 
seats went to the Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija 
(SLKM).  The SLKM, led by Oliver Ivanovic, has never assumed 
those seats, claiming that they lack necessary support from 
Belgrade.  END NOTE.)  Former Prime Minister (PM) Ramush 
Haradinaj appointed SDS party president Slavisa Petkovic 
Minister for Communities and Returns, also in fulfillment of 
a minority set-aside requirement. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Since January 2006, SDS Vice President (VP) Dragisa 
Miric has been trying to replace Petkovic as party president. 
 He says Petkovic has refused to meet with the SDS vice 
presidents or the main committee for seven months.  According 
to Miric, the main board dismissed Petkovic as party 
president on January 16, alleging violations of the party 
statute and the misuse of 17,000 euros of party funds.  After 
the OSCE told Miric that the dismissal of a party president 
must take place at a general assembly of the party, he 
organized a meeting of his supporters on February 4 in 
Vushtri/Vucitern, at which participants lodged a vote of "no 
confidence" against Petkovic and purportedly dismissed him as 
party president. The OSCE ruled the February 4 assembly 
illegitimate, since it was not called with the 30 days notice 
required by the party statute. The OSCE asked the SDS to 
convene an extraordinary assembly to resolve their disputes. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On March 5 the Miric faction wrote to SRSG Soren 
Jessen-Petersen requesting that Miric, as the "authorized 
representative" of the party, replace Petkovic as returns 
minister.  On March 8 Miric also met with PM Ceku and asked 
to replace Petkovic as minister.  However, Miric told us he 
believes the SRSG supported keeping Petkovic as Minister 
because he was the first Kosovo Serb to come forward and 
actively participate in the Kosovo government. 
 
PETKOVIC RE-ELECTED SDS PRESIDENT AT EXTRAORDINARY ASSEMBLY 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  In late March, Petkovic complied with the OSCE 
request and scheduled an extraordinary assembly to take place 
on April 29 at Pristina's Grand Hotel.  In an April 25 
meeting with PolOff and PolFSN, Miric accused Petkovic of 
severe infractions of both UNMIK regulations and the SDS 
party statute in an attempt to assert control of the SDS.  He 
claimed the delegate lists were manipulated and falsified to 
favor Petkovic and exclude Miric supporters.  Regardless, 
Miric issued a press release on April 27 urging his 
supporters to participate, saying the SDS truly represents 
the Serb community in Kosovo. 
 
PRISTINA 00000384  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Artan Alijaj of the National Democratic Institute 
(NDI) (who observed the April 29 assembly) told PolOff and 
PolFSN on May 3 that Miric and two supporters were among the 
102 delegates who attended the assembly.  Alijaj said the 
Miric block voted for the agenda, and then quietly left the 
building.  The assembly then voted on a single slate (with no 
opposition candidates) for party officials headed by Petkovic 
(who was re-elected party president).  He said 92 delegates 
voted in favor, two against, and the rest abstained. 
(COMMENT.  Although Miric clearly has some support and 
genuinely wants to participate in Kosovo's future, he 
apparently lacks the wherewithal to oust Petkovic.  END 
COMMENT.) 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Kim Vetting of OSCE,s Central Governance Unit told 
PolOff he had no procedural objection to what he witnessed at 
the assembly.  Vetting said about 150 Serbs from both Kosovo 
and Serbia proper attended, although not all were delegates. 
He said internal OSCE correspondence indicates the OSCE will 
find the convention "legal and in line with democratic 
principles" unless they receive complaints within ten days 
from delegates claiming that they were not invited or were 
denied access. 
 
SDS IS NOT TIED TO BELGRADE 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The SDS convention was the first held by a Serb 
party in Pristina since 1999.  Petkovic said his party chose 
Kosovo,s capital to demonstrate that SDS is a party of 
integration and co-existence.  He said, "The fact that so 
many Serbs are gathered today in the center of Pristina 
without KFOR or armed escort speaks for itself." 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Miric said the SDS is the only party that truly 
represents Kosovo Serbs who want to stay in Kosovo.  He 
explained that the SDS recognizes Agim Ceku as PM, wants to 
participate in all Kosovo institutions, supports 
multi-ethnicity in Kosovo and is ready to work with everyone 
who lives here.  He asserted they want to "forget the past" 
and are "not interested in Belgrade politicians."  He says 
SDS members "think for themselves" and do not depend on 
Belgrade.  Miric said if the SLKM chooses not to participate, 
then the Kosovo government should welcome him and his 
supporters instead.  He said he wants Belgrade to stop 
manipulating Kosovo Serbs for political gain and to allow 
status to be determined by the people who live in Kosovo. 
 
POSSIBLE ALLY IN MIHAILO SCEPANOVIC'S OWN NEW PARTY 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Former SDS party manager and permanent secretary 
of the returns ministry Mihailo Scepanovic told PolOff and 
PolFSN the SDS is hopelessly fractured, and he is working to 
register and launch his own Serbian People,s Party (SNS). 
He expressed his willingness to cooperate in a coalition with 
Miric and other Kosovo Serb leaders like the SLKM's Oliver 
Ivanovic. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Scepanovic said Petkovic expelled him from his 
position at the returns ministry on February 8.  In response, 
Scepanovic filed legal proceedings against Petkovic, claiming 
only UNMIK has the right to dismiss a permanent secretary. 
He said Petkovic has broken all ties and relationships with 
both local and international partners, and lamented that an 
entire year had been lost for implementing returns.  Petkovic 
also expelled Scepanovic from his position as SDS party 
manager. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Alijaj said Scepanovic, along with several other 
Miric supporters, was denied access to the April 29 assembly 
by Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and private security guards. 
(COMMENT.  Compared to Miric, Scepanovic is an experienced 
and outspoken politician, who might well have taken on 
 
PRISTINA 00000384  003 OF 003 
 
 
Petkovic publicly.  Scepanovic has accused Petkovic of 
corruption, and claims to have evidence to support his 
claims.  In return, Petkovic has reportedly accused 
Scepanovic of corruption in his written response to PM Ceku 
responding to an audit of the ministry.  END COMMENT.) 
 
OUTLOOK FOR KOSOVO SERB POLITICAL PARTIES 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) NDI Senior Program Officer and former Bosnian Serb 
MP Zoran Blagojevic told PolOff and PolFSN on May 3 he 
believes both Petkovic and Miric violated the SDS party 
statute.  He said the statute mandates that assembly 
delegates be elected by local party branches; however, there 
are almost no SDS branches and Petkovic instead hand-picked 
many of the delegates who voted for him on the 29th. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Blagojevic said Scepanovic has real support among 
Kosovo Serbs (especially in the north) and has potential to 
achieve success with his new party.  Blagojevic believes a 
coalition could be created between Oliver Ivanovic's Social 
Democratic Party (SDP), Scepanovic's SNS and the new 
Autonomous Liberal Party (SLS), which held its founding 
assembly in January 2006 in Gracanica.  (NOTE.  SLS President 
Slobodan Petrovic said the SLS is committed to representing 
and defending the interests and values of the Serbian 
community in and outside of Kosovo, while respecting the 
civil, democratic and human rights of other Kosovo 
communities.  END NOTE.)  Blagojevic said NDI will work with 
Miric if he decides to launch a new party as an offshoot of 
Petkovic's SDS, but believes Miric lacks the funding and 
skills to do so. 
 
¶15. (SBU) COMMENT.  We are encouraged that leaders of a 
Kosovo Serb political party have worked up obviously 
passionate interest in Kosovo politics.  On the level of 
internal SDS politics, we applaud efforts to hold Minister 
Petkovic to account.  On a broader level, we strongly applaud 
the efforts of the SDS to fill the Kosovo Serb leadership 
void in a forum that is not reliant on Belgrade.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶16.  (U)  Post clears this message in its entirety for 
release to Special Envoy Ahtisaari. 
GOLDBERG