VZCZCXRO4898
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSQ #0888/01 2631431
ZNY EEEEE ZZH
O 201431Z SEP 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5177
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA
RUEHSQ/USDAO SKOPJE MK
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2062

UNCLAS E F T O SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000888 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR A/S FRIED FROM AMBASSADOR MILOVANOVIC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR UNGA MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: A/S FRIED'S MEETING WITH ADRIATIC 
CHARTER FOREIGN MINISTERS 
 
Classified By: P/E CHIEF SHUBLER, REASONS 1.4(B) & (D). 
 
A CHANCE TO POINT MACEDONIA IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION 
 
¶1. (SBU) Although you will be meeting with the A-3 foreign 
ministers as a group on the margins of the UNGA in New York 
on September 22, we believe you can reinforce some key themes 
we have been underlining with the newly-elected GOM should 
you have an opportunity for a brief pull-aside with 
newly-appointed Macedonian FM Antonio Milososki.  To 
strengthen its NATO candidacy, Macedonia needs to: 
 
--show concrete results in efforts to strengthen democratic 
systems and bolster rule of law, especially on the corruption 
and TIP fronts; 
 
--redouble efforts to open dialogue with the principal ethnic 
Albanian opposition party to demonstrate commitment to 
building an inclusive Macedonia; and, 
 
--keep defense reforms on track, to avoid overstretch in its 
commitments to overseas peace operations. 
 
¶2. (U) These themes also were reflected in Ambassador 
Nuland's March 2006 "NATO Roadshow" visit to Macedonia, which 
highlighted the country's significant progress in meeting 
MAP-related requirements and outlined outstanding issues the 
GOM needed to address to strengthen its NATO membership 
candidacy. 
 
DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS -- IMPROVING, BUT STILL NEED WORK 
 
¶3. (SBU) Macedonia's July 5 parliamentary elections were 
judged by the OSCE and by other international observers to 
have generally met international standards, with 
irregularities at some polling stations.  A peaceful 
transition of power took place, culminating in the August 26 
parliamentary approval of the new coalition government. 
Charges have been brought against some of the alleged 
perpetrators of the voting irregularities, but there have not 
yet been any prosecutions.  The GOM must demonstrate that it 
is serious about prosecuting those cases and, where 
warranted, obtaining convictions and appropriate sentences 
against the perpetrators to deter future voter fraud and 
malfeasance. 
 
IMPROVING DIALOGUE WITH THE OPPOSITION 
 
¶4. (SBU) Despite the fact that the ethnic Albanian DUI party, 
a member of the former governing coalition, won the majority 
of the eAlbanian vote, they were not included in the 
governing coalition that was confirmed in office on August 
¶26.  The party that won the most seats, ethnic Macedonian 
center-right VMRO-DPMNE, engaged in coalition negotiations 
with DUI but eventually declined to include them in the 
government. 
 
¶5. (SBU) DUI reacted strongly to its exclusion from 
government, threatening to return its parliamentary mandates, 
take to the streets, and suspend cooperation between 
DUI-dominated municipalities and the central government.  DUI 
leaders also threatened to actively, but democratically, work 
to bring down the government and prime minister, both of 
which they consider illegitimate.  To avoid signaling to the 
international community that the government is faced with a 
continuing low-level political crisis of confidence, the GOM 
should redouble efforts to open earnest dialogue with DUI to 
discuss how that party can play a constructive role as an 
active but loyal opposition. 
 
RULE OF LAW -- GOOD LEGISLATIVE ADVANCES, SLOW PRACTICAL 
PROGRESS 
 
¶6. (SBU) The previous government had a good track record on 
legislative action related to rule of law, having passed a 
comprehensive package of judicial reforms in 2005-2006.  The 
new government is focused on passing a new police law to 
enhance police professionalism, as well as a wiretapping law 
that will help combat organized crime.  The previous 
government demonstrated some progress on trafficking in 
 
SKOPJE 00000888  002 OF 002 
 
 
persons (TIP), with adoption in 2006 of a national strategy 
for combating TIP and the successful prosecution and 
conviction of defendants in a major TIP case in August 2006. 
Two major corruption cases are ongoing, but have not shown 
much movement over the past several months.  The government 
needs to show concrete progress over the next several months 
to a year in combating TIP and corruption.  It should strive 
to prosecute to conviction, as warranted, several 
high-profile corruption cases, and continue to investigate 
and prosecute major TIP crimes. 
 
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT -- SOME BRIGHT SPOTS 
 
¶7. (SBU) Macedonia has made significant headway on economic 
reform issues, having completed this year the first phase of 
the privatization of the country's monopoly electric supply 
company and having opened earlier this year a "one-stop shop" 
window for business registration.  Partly as a result, the 
World Bank recently boosted Macedonia's ranking as a country 
in which to do business to 92nd out of 175 countries in 2006. 
 The government has made accelerating economic growth its top 
priority, along with fighting corruption, and hopes to use 
fiscal and agricultural policy, plus tax cuts, to spur growth 
from 4.5 GDP growth annually to 6-8 percent by the end of its 
mandate. 
 
DEFENSE REFORMS -- CONTINUED STRONG PERFORMANCE 
 
¶8. (SBU) Macedonia is strong on defense reforms, receiving 
high marks for its progress in restructuring its military in 
line with NATO standards.  In May 2006 the Parliament passed 
a Defense Law that officially ended conscription; the armed 
forces are expected to shift to an all-volunteer army by 
October of this year. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Macedonia currently has troops deployed in 
Afghanistan and Iraq, including a recent deployment of an 
85-man strong company with the SEEBRIG to Kabul under UK 
leadership.  They also have deployed troops and helicopters 
to support the EUFOR mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The 
seventh rotation of Macedonian troops to Iraq took place in 
June; the next rotation is expected in December.  The only 
major concern in this area of the NATO MAP process is that 
the GOM should not commit too quickly to additional troop 
deployments overseas at the cost of its continuing defense 
reform priorities. 
 
BIO NOTE ON FM ANTONIO MILOSOSKI 
 
¶10. (U) Have served previously as VMRO-DPMNE's chief 
spokesman and as a key Gruevski adviser, Milososki was the 
VMRO-DPMNE-led government spokesman from May 2000 to 
September 2001, a period covering the country's internal 
armed conflict.  Prior to that, he served in the government 
of former Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski.  After leaving 
government, Milososki went to Germany, where he earned an 
M.A. in European Integration studies.  He began work in 2002 
on a PhD in political science (his dissertation topic is 
Macedonian-Greek relations) at the University of Duisburg in 
Germany. 
 
¶11. (SBU/NF) Milososki was known during his earlier student 
days as a nationalist with hardline, ethnically divisive 
views opposing Albanian-language instruction at the national 
university in Skopje.  He has moderated those views since 
then, according to local observers, although he was abrasive 
during the 2006 election campaign.  In addition to founding 
the "Youth Euro-Atlantic Forum," he has worked as a regular 
columnist for a prominent local daily newspaper, and 
participated in an international leadership and economic 
development seminar sponsored by Harvard University.  He also 
attended a Security Executive Seminar at the Marshall Center 
for European Studies in Germany in 2000.  Born in Tetovo in 
1976, Milososki is married to an electrical engineer.  He 
speaks fluent English and German. 
MILOVANOVIC