VZCZCXRO4566
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPS #0020/01 0101645
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101645Z JAN 07
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6911
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0984
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
RUEHFR/UNESCO PARIS FR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000020 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE 
NSC FOR BRAUN 
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI 
EUR/ACE FOR DMAYHEW 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL KCRM PGOV PINR PREL YI UNMIK EAID PHUM
SOCI 
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: 2006 A SUCCESSFUL YEAR FOR SERBIAN 
ORTHODOX CHURCH RECONSTRUCTION 
 
REF: A. 06 PRISTINA 24 
 
     ¶B. 06 PRISTINA 853 
     ¶C. 06 PRISTINA 663 
     ¶D. 06 PRISTINA 352 
     ¶E. 06 PRISTINA 985 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  In 2006, the Reconstruction 
Implementation Commission (RIC) completed extensive 
renovations on seven Serbian Orthodox religious sites damaged 
or destroyed during the March 2004 riots.  Work on an eighth 
site will continue into early 2007 due to the complexity of 
the works.  The Kosovo government provided most of the 
funding for the RIC's work.  Serbian Orthodox Church leaders 
have expressed their satisfaction with the work, much of 
which was carried out by Kosovo Albanians.  The RIC plans to 
reconstruct 18 more sites in 2007, sixteen of which will be 
funded by the Kosovo government and two by the European 
Agency for Reconstruction.  UNESCO will also undertake 
reconstruction projects with donor funding.  Kosovo's RIC 
continues to be one of the most successful examples of 
inter-ethnic cooperation.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Reconstruction Implementation Commission for 
Orthodox Religious Sites in Kosovo (RIC) was established in 
March 2005 to oversee the reconstruction of Orthodox Churches 
damaged or destroyed in the March 2004 riots.  The RIC is 
chaired by the Council of Europe (COE) and includes 
representatives from the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), the 
Kosovo Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS), Serbia's 
Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments (IPM), and 
Kosovo's Institute for the Protection of Monuments.  Bishop 
Teodosije Sibalic of Lipljan, based at Decani Monastery, 
participates as the SOC representative.  In 2005, the RIC 
successfully completed "emergency interventions" on 31 sites, 
to prevent further deterioration due to exposure to the 
weather (Ref A).  Additional information about the RIC, 
including detailed descriptions and photos of each site, is 
available at www.rickosovo.org. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The RIC's 2006 work program consisted of extensive 
renovations on eight sites identified as priority sites by 
the Serbian IPM.  On December 20, the RIC announced the 
successful completion of work at seven of the sites: the 
Monastery of Saint Joanikije at Devic (Skenderaj/Srbica); Old 
Church of Saint George (Runovic) in Prizren; the Church of 
Holy Virgin Ljeviska in Prizren; Saint Elias Church in 
Vushtrri/Vucitern; Saint Nicholas Church in Pristina; Church 
of the Presentation of the Holy Virgin Mary in Belo Polje 
(Peja/Pec); and the church of the Assumption of the Holy 
Virgin Mary (Gjakova/Djakovica).  The RIC extended the 
deadline for completion of work on an eighth site, the 
Episcopal Church of St. George in Prizren, into 2007, due to 
the complexity of the works.  New domes on the roof of St. 
George have already significantly altered Prizren's skyline. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) At St. Nicholas Church, works included internal 
plastering on the church and parish house, repairing the 
dome, and mounting internal scaffolding on the belfry. 
Projects at the other sites included roof repairs, internal 
plastering and drainage, stone cleaning, the repairing of 
cracks, construction of a retaining wall, electrical 
installation and other internal and external repairs. 
According to the RIC, re-roofing at the Ljeviska church was 
done on an expedited basis because someone stole the lead 
roof on the previously-damaged church in October 2005. 
(NOTE: Incidents involving theft and vandalism at cultural 
heritage sites are ongoing throughout Kosovo (Ref B, Ref C), 
and hard-line Bishop Artemije, head of the Raska and Prizren 
diocese, cited this insecurity as his motive for refusing to 
participate in the reconstruction efforts.  END NOTE). 
 
 
PRISTINA 00000020  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Fedor Klimtchouk, UNMIK representatives to the 
MCYS, called the RIC, "an excellent model of effective 
cooperation," and highlighted the importance of high level 
engagement and dialogue between the two ministers in Belgrade 
and Pristina.  He mentioned that most of the RIC's 2006 work 
program was funded by the Kosovo's Provisional Institutions 
of Self Government (PISG).  During a November 21 press 
conference, RIC chairperson Emma Carmichael said that those 
funds totaled 2.3 million euros in 2006, and that the RIC 
will ask the PISG for an additional 2.9 million euros for the 
2007 work program.  This will include extensive 
reconstruction work on another 18 sites and the restoration 
of damaged frescoes.  Of those sites, sixteen are to be 
funded by the PISG, while the remaining two -- Prizren's 
Episcopal Residence and Orthodox Seminary -- will be funded 
by the European Agency for Reconstruction  (EAR).  The 
Episcopal Residence, burned by rioters in March 2004, is 
Artemije's official residence.  Artemije has lived at 
Gracanica Monastery since 1999 due to security concerns, and 
has often used his own status as an internally displaced 
person (IDP) as an argument to fuel his fiery rhetoric, 
including his refusal to accept a visit by PM Ceku on 
Orthodox Easter in April 2006 (Ref D). 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Father Sava Janjic told us on December 29 that he 
is "quite satisfied" with the reconstruction work carried out 
by the RIC in 2006, calling it a "rare piece of good news" to 
come out of Kosovo.  He said that the work, much of which was 
carried out by Kosovo Albanians under the supervision of Serb 
architects form the Serbian IPM, was "very professional" and 
added that the contracting companies were committed to 
maintaining high standards.  He said that Decani Monastery 
officials were so impressed with one of the companies (a 
Kosovo Albanian contractor based in Gjakova/Djakovica) that 
they have hired the company to do some construction  work at 
Decani Monastery.  Sava said that his one complaint was that 
the 2006 work program started late -- in July -- and said he 
hopes that the 2007 program will get underway sooner.  He 
said that because the RIC has been so successful under its 
current mandate, he would like to see that mandate expanded 
to include reconstruction of additional sites, beyond those 
damaged or destroyed in March 2004.  However, he pointed out 
that any such revision of the RIC's mandate would require a 
new memorandum of understanding (MOU). 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Klimtchouk mentioned that in addition to the work 
carried out by the RIC, UNESCO is moving forward with plans 
to undertake reconstruction work "on all types" of cultural 
heritage in Kosovo.  He said that in May 2005, donor 
countries pledged USD 10 million for these efforts (including 
one million from the USG).  He said that in September 2006 
UNESCO and UNMIK signed an umbrella MOU establishing the 
framework for implementation, and added that supplementary 
MOUs now urgently need to be signed for specific projects. 
(NOTE: In mid-January, a UNESCO delegation will visit Kosovo 
to meet with UNMIK and facilitate the supplementary MOU 
necessary to start USG-funded projects, including work on 
several Orthodox churches.  END NOTE).  According to Sava's 
KiM Info Service, Belgrade's Coordination Center for Kosovo 
and Metohija (CCK) (Ref E) is separately funding the 
reconstruction of the Church of St. Sosmas and Damian in 
Zociste Monastery (Rahovec/Orahovac Municipality); and the 
Serbian government funded reconstruction works on the Pec 
Patriarchate (in Peja/Pec) in 2006 worth 15 million dinars 
(over USD two million). 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT.  Kosovo's RIC continues to be an example 
of multi-ethnic cooperation that is achieving visible 
results.  Quietly but with resolve, Kosovo's Serbs and 
Albanians are working together to restore an important part 
of Kosovo's cultural heritage.  We will continue to follow 
and support this process, both to preserve Kosovo's 
irreplaceable historical/cultural patrimony, as well as to 
 
PRISTINA 00000020  003 OF 003 
 
 
encourage Serbs to remain -- and return.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶9.  (U)  Post clears this message in its entirety for release 
to Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. 
LASKARIS