VZCZCXRO5889
OO RUEHAST
DE RUEHPS #0782/01 2611224
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181224Z SEP 06
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6510
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0845
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 000782 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE 
NSC FOR BRAUN 
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI 
EUR/ACE FOR DROGERS, MOKEEFE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KCRM PGOV PINR KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO MISSING PERSONS DIALOGUE: SLOW PROGRESS 
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 
 
REF: A. PRISTINA 265 
 
     ¶B. PRISTINA 608 
     ¶C. PRISTINA 480 
     ¶D. PRISTINA 282 
 
PRISTINA 00000782  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  Families of the missing gathered in 
Pristina and Gracanica on August 30 to commemorate the 
International Day of Missing Persons, protest lack of 
progress in resolving cases and bring public attention to the 
almost 2,300 persons still missing from the Kosovo 
conflict.  Although the International Committee of the Red 
Cross has temporarily halted further public sessions of the 
Pristina-Belgrade working group due to lack of progress, 
dialogue continues in closed sessions.  Serious disagreements 
remain between the organizations involved, and an overall 
lack of political will prevents work on discovering new 
gravesites. Internationals are also concerned that progress 
will slow even further if these competencies are transferred 
to the Kosovo government.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Families Mark the International Day of Missing Persons 
 
¶2.  (SBU) An estimated 400 Kosovo Albanians (in Pristina) and 
150 Kosovo Serbs (in Gracanica) gathered peacefully on August 
30 to mark the International Day of Missing Persons and to 
protest the lack of progress in determining the fate of the 
missing.  In Pristina, PM Ceku spoke at an official 
exhibition organized by the Provisional Institutions of Self 
Government (PISG) Commission for Abducted and Missing 
Persons, saying that Kosovo will never find peace as long as 
the fate of the missing remains unresolved. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC), there are still 2,284 persons missing from the 
Kosovo conflict; approximately 660 of those are 
non-Albanians, mostly Kosovo Serbs.  While PM Ceku's rhetoric 
is encouraging, Acting Director of UNMIK's Office of Missing 
Persons and Forensics (OMPF) Valerie Brasey has told us there 
is an ongoing rift between the family members associations 
and the PISG commission over what they consider a lack of 
political will to resolve outstanding cases. 
 
ICRC Temporarily Halts Public Working Group Sessions 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Pristina ICRC Head of Mission Gherardo Pontrandolfi 
told us on September 1 that ICRC has temporarily halted 
public sessions of the Pristina-Belgrade Working Group on 
Missing Persons, saying it is unfair to the families to hold 
what are essentially media events, when there is no real 
progress to report (Ref A).  Pontrandolfi said that although 
the PISG is pushing hard for an immediate public session to 
maintain the appearance of progress, he hopes there will be 
enough real progress to justify holding a session by the end 
of this year. 
 
Progress Is Slow Even in Closed Sessions 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Pontrandolfi said that as opposed to the rancor of 
public sessions, frank and open debate has taken place 
between the Pristina and Belgrade delegations at closed 
sessions of the 
full working group on July 5 and September 1, and in closed 
sessions of the sub-working group on forensics.  Protection 
Coordinator of the ICRC Belgrade office Mona Sadek told 
visiting USOP PolOff on August 24 that some progress has been 
made in the closed sessions, including joint planning for a 
visit to a possible mass grave site near the Administrative 
Boundary Line (ABL) in Serbia, and discussions about reducing 
the International Commission on Missing Person's (ICMP) 
current 99.99% DNA match threshold in order to identify more 
of the bodies that have already been exhumed (Ref B).  She 
added, however, that the Belgrade delegation insists its work 
 
PRISTINA 00000782  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
is "done" now that Serbia has returned all 829 bodies found 
to date in mass graves in Serbia, and that they say it is 
time for Pristina to reciprocate.  The next closed session of 
the full working group is scheduled for October 19. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Pontrandolfi welcomed PM Ceku's remarks, but 
insisted that Ceku could obtain information about gravesites 
from Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) contacts if he wanted to. 
Pontradolfi speculated that the Kosovo government is 
concerned about its image during ongoing status negotiations 
and fears revealing information that could incriminate Kosovo 
Albanians.  He also claimed that Contact Group (CG) 
countries, with the exception of the U.S., seemed 
uninterested in missing persons, and urged the U.S. and the 
CG to pressure Ceku to do more to make this issue a priority. 
 He added that Ceku needs to fulfill his promise to give 
written orders to all ministries to deal efficiently with 
requests from the working group. 
 
Internationals Not Ready to Hand Over Competencies 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Pontrandolfi expressed concern for the future, 
saying there is "no local capacity" to take over competencies 
related to missing persons, now administered by UNMIK. 
Internationals from OMPF and the International Committee on 
Missing Persons (ICMP) have expressed similar 
sentiments to us.  OMPF says they are training local staff on 
technical and forensic issues (Ref C), but that overall skill 
levels remain very low.  An August 25 ICMP proposal states 
that "there are no functioning structures in the government 
that can oversee the diplomatic, political, judicial and 
technical aspects of the process," and recommends the 
creation -- with ICMP support -- of a high-level operational 
commission that would take over all political and operational 
functions related to missing persons.  (ICMP presented these 
ideas in an August 17 
discussion paper to the new PISG Ministry of Justice.) 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT.  The missing persons issue remains a 
crucial impediment to multiethnic reconciliation in Kosovo 
(Ref D), yet has been largely neglected.  While this is a 
highly politicized issue that the unscrupulous will continue 
to use as a bludgeon, it remains a fundamentally human 
tragedy.  Our approach will be to encourage all parties, 
including the international actors involved, to consider 
methodologies for continuing work on missing persons in the 
post-UNMIK era, without which these issues will remain 
unaddressed for the long term.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶9.  (U) Post clears this message in its entirety for release 
to Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. 
 
¶10.  (U) Embassy Belgrade has cleared this cable. 
KAIDANOW