VZCZCXRO8957
PP RUEHAST
DE RUEHBW #1063 1860805
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050805Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8935
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1155
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RXFEAA/HQ AFSOUTH NAPLES IT

UNCLAS BELGRADE 001063 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SR MW YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: GOS ASKS FOR OUR SUPPORT WITH UNESCO 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Serbian Presidential advisor Ambassador Dusan 
Batakovic requested UNMIK and Contact Group support for the GOS 
effort to name three Serbian Orthodox religious sites in Kosovo as 
UNESCO protected buildings during the bodyQs July 8 Q 16 meeting in 
Vilnius.  Batakovic expressed his hope that this protection and 
other assurances for the Kosovo Serbs will deter their exodus if 
Kosovo becomes independent.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Advisor to President Tadic and member of the GOSQ Kosovo 
status negotiating team Ambassador Dusan Batakovic told poloff on 
June 27 that he hopes UNMIK and the Contact Group countries will 
support the GOSQs effort to name three Serbian Orthodox religious 
sites in Kosovo as UNESCO protected buildings during the bodyQs July 
8 Q 16 meeting in Vilnius. These sites are: 
 - the Pec Patriarchate; 
 - the Gracanica monastery; 
 - the Cathedral Church in Prizren. 
 
¶3. (U) Batakovic said the plan is Qof utmost importanceQ to Serbia 
and is a way of protecting the Qmost important 14th century 
buildings in southeastern EuropeQ and said he expected no objection 
from Albanians.  In fact, he said the Albanians would gain from 
having UNESCO sites Qregardless of outcomeQ of Kosovo status talks 
as the religious sites would be sources of tourism revenue. 
Batakovic clarified that the intent is to protect only the 
buildings, not the lands around them, and said this is identical to 
how the Decani monastery was included in July 2004.  He added that 
he did not expect the GOS to request protection by UNESCO for any 
other sites in Kosovo in the future. 
 
¶4. (U) While he did not expect opposition to this plan in Vilnius, 
the sheer number of other sites from around the world up for 
consideration requires the GOS to solicit support from member 
nations to ensure the Kosovo sites are included.  As a result, he 
mentioned he had asked Acting SRSG Schook for UNMIKQs support and 
that the GOS would be sending a letter to Contact Group foreign 
ministries requesting the same.  He said a joint letter from the 
Contact Group to UNESCO would be an excellent show of support for 
this initiative, and believed that the USG was the only Contact 
Group member on the UNESCO board. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Turning to Kosovo status, Batakovic said that the UNESCO 
request along with ongoing decentralization plans are part of a 
larger effort to ensure the future of Serbs in Kosovo.  Kosovo Serbs 
are QshakenQ due to recent violence against Serbs (he noted the 
Klina shooting in particular as a Qpolitical killingQ to make Serbs 
flee) and said they are not seeing any tangible results from the 
negotiations.  Prime Minister KostunicaQs June 28 trip to Kosovo in 
honor of Vidov Dan (the 1389 Battle of Kosovo), Batakovic said, was 
intended to show Kosovo Serbs that Belgrade is committed to them. 
Batakovic said that the deputy head of the Russian Duma participated 
Qpurely as an Orthodox representative. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Regarding the June 20 UNSC meeting, Batakovic said that 
outgoing SRSG PetersenQs report was QinaccurateQ and did not reflect 
ground realities for Serbs.  He confessed that CCK President 
Raskovic-IvicQs report Qcould have been more conciliatoryQ but 
reflected Qmore accurate statements. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ultimately, Batakovic said that Kosovo Serbs Qdesperately 
need progressQ to remain in Kosovo, especially on Qa 
decentralization plan which will survive any settlementQ in KosovoQs 
final status.  He said he only wants for Serbs in Kosovo to have the 
Qsame as Albanians in Serbia or Macedonia. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT:  As we have heard from the PresidentQs office for 
months, BatakovicQs statements reflect forward-looking intentions 
limited by a paralyzing fear of the consequences of Qlosing Kosovo. 
 Batakovic said Qyou saw what happened to Djindjic when he took on 
Milosevic, which was a small issue compared to Kosovo.Q  We would of 
course welcome USOP's views on this issue, but, from our vantage 
point, we see no reason not to support the GOSQ plan to add these 
historic sites to the UNESCO list -- especially if this can be 
constructed as a joint GOS-PISG effort similar to the recent Returns 
Protocol.  END COMMENT. 
 
POLT