VZCZCXYZ0014
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBW #0215/01 0461604
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151604Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0256
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA 3641

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000215 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KO SR
SUBJECT:  SERBIAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS AHTISAARI PLAN 
 
REF:  Belgrade 210 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1. (SBU) As expected, Belgrade's new parliament 
overwhelmingly rejected the Ahtisaari plan as ?illegal? 
during its first session on 2/14.  The reappointed Kosovo 
negotiating team is now equipped with a largely 
rejectionist platform -- mostly reflective of the last 
government's position on Kosovo -- to take to Vienna next 
week for the next round of discussions.  End Summary. 
 
PARTY LEADERS PEPPERED THROUGHOUT DEPUTY LINEUP 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶2. (SBU) The new parliament opened its session with the 
appointment of acting Speaker Borka Vucic -- a Socialist 
Party of Serbia (SPS) deputy who served as personal banker 
for the late Slobodan Milosevic -- who will serve as 
Speaker until a government is formed and a permanent 
Speaker appointed.  The parliament verified the mandates of 
all newly-elected deputies, including such government 
ministry hopefuls as Democratic Party's (DS) Bozidar 
Djelic, Dragan Sutanovac, and Dusan Petrovic; Democratic 
Party of Serbia's (DSS) Vladeta Jankovic; and G17 Plus 
chairman Mladjan Dinkic.  Parliamentary deputies cannot 
both hold a parliamentary post and chair a government 
ministry, but their positions in parliament guarantee they 
will serve in Serbian leadership somewhere.  (Note:  For a 
parliamentary deputy to take on a government position, he 
or she must resign from parliament, and the party must 
designate a new deputy from its originally submitted list. 
The ranks of all major parties are large enough that a 
change in deputies could be easily accomplished.  End 
note.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chairman Ceda 
Jovanovic and the chairs of all parties in the party's pre- 
election coalition will all serve in parliament, which 
appears to reinforce the coalition's resolve to stay in 
opposition given its disparaging view toward serving 
alongside PM Kostunica's DSS.  SPS chairman Ivica Dacic 
also leads his party's deputy list -- accompanied by a 
group who generally supports his views within the party -- 
indicating that he also does not foresee holding a place in 
the new Serbian government. 
 
KOSOVO NEGOTIATING TEAM REAPPOINTED 
----------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) The newly established parliament's sole tasks were 
to confirm a negotiating team for the next round of Kosovo 
talks in Vienna on 21 February and to arm that team with a 
platform.  The platform -- which DS and DSS representatives 
drafted together -- calls for parliament to confirm the 
pre-existing negotiating team, rather than appointing a new 
one (reftel).  As such, parliament reappointed the existing 
team, including those members who will no longer be in 
government, such as lame-duck Foreign Minister Vuk 
Draskovic. 
 
PLATFORM PASSED WITH LITTLE RESISTANCE 
-------------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) President Tadic and PM Kostunica addressed the 
parliament first regarding the platform, followed by each 
party chair.  Tadic emphasized that UN Special Envoy 
Ahtisaari's proposal on Kosovo is unconstitutional and that 
therefore he as President cannot accept it, but that the 
Serbs must continue to negotiate until a more politically 
sound resolution is reached.  Kostunica reiterated his view 
that the Ahtisaari document proposes dismembering Serbia 
and that the battle for Kosovo is an issue of "right versus 
might," the Serbs being in the right.  He added that 
"might" (alluding to the 1999 bombing) got the Kosovars the 
status they currently have under UN Resolution 1244. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The party chair speeches underscored a near- 
unanimous rejection of the Ahtisaari document, spiced with 
vitriol toward those parties in dissent.  Dacic singled out 
Riza Halimi, who represents the Presevo Valley Albanians, 
asserting that the Albanians had no reason to push for 
Kosovo independence because Albanians in Serbia enjoy the 
same rights as they do in Kosovo, and that the Albanians 
would surely push for territorial claims on southern Serbia 
if Kosovo gained independence.  DSS spokesman Milos 
Aligrudic -- whose position was largely echoed by SRS 
acting chairman Tomislav Nikolic -- expressed his antipathy 
more broadly, claiming that parties like LDP and the 
minorities could eke their way into parliament on a 
platform of giving away Kosovo but that statesmen would 
never emerge from the ranks of these parties.  In response, 
Ceda Jovanovic stressed that Belgrade remains locked in the 
policies of the 1990s and cannot move ahead; he urged 
parliament to focus on the needs of the Kosovo Serbs, 
rather than holding onto Serbian territory. 
 
¶7. (SBU) As expected, parliament made no changes to the 
draft resolution published this morning in Serbian press. 
As reported in reftel, the draft contains few changes to 
the previous government's platform but does contain some 
language specific to the proposal on Kosovo put forth by UN 
Special Envoy Ahtisaari.  Of 243 deputies present, 225 
voted in favor of the draft.  The LDP coalition?s 15 
representatives voted against, three Hungarian deputies 
abstained, and Halimi had to leave the session prior to the 
vote. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The final resolution reads as follows: 
 
A) Draft Resolution following UN Special Envoy Martti 
Ahtisaari?s "Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status 
Settlement" and continuation of negotiations on the future 
status of Kosovo-Metohija: 
 
B) Reaffirming the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, 
that in its Preamble states that "the Province of Kosovo- 
Metohija is an integral part of the territory of Serbia, 
that it has the status of a substantial autonomy within the 
sovereign state of Serbia and that from such status of the 
Province of Kosovo and Metohija follow constitutional 
obligations of all state bodies to uphold and protect the 
state interests of Serbia in Kosovo-Metohija in all 
internal and foreign political relations", 
 
C) Bearing in mind Article 8 of the Constitution of the 
Republic of Serbia stating that "the territory of the 
Republic of Serbia is inseparable and indivisible" and that 
"the border of the Republic of Serbia is inviolable", as 
well as Article 182 which states that "substantial autonomy 
of the Autonomous province of Kosovo-Metohija shall be 
regulated by a special law which shall be adopted in 
accordance with the proceedings envisaged for amending the 
Constitution", 
 
D) Considering the main principles and norms of 
international law, and particularly the Charter of the 
United Nations, the 1975 Helsinki Final Act of the 
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) as 
well as other documents of international organizations in 
which state sovereignty and territorial integrity are set 
as foundations of modern international order, 
 
E) Recalling that the UN Security Council?s Resolution No. 
1244 (1999), with guarantees to sovereignty and territorial 
integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), 
established the position of Kosovo-Metohija as substantial 
autonomy within the FRY, whose international successor is 
the Republic of Serbia, 
 
F) Assured that the issue of the future status of Kosovo- 
Metohija must be based on main principles and norms of 
international law, and vying for a peaceful, all- 
encompassing and durable solution through negotiations, 
 
G) Bearing in mind that UN Secretary General?s Special 
Envoy for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija Martti 
Ahtisaari delivered his "Comprehensive Proposal for the 
Kosovo Status Settlement" to the Serbian state authorities 
which disrespects sovereignty and territorial integrity of 
the Republic of Serbia in relation to Kosovo-Metohija, and 
at the same time proposes that Kosovo-Metohija be given a 
series of rights and prerogatives that belong only to 
sovereign states, 
 
H) Reconfirming the Resolution of the National Assembly of 
the Republic of Serbia adopted on November 25, 2005 on the 
mandate for political talks on the future status of Kosovo- 
Metohija, and particularly the paragraph stating that "the 
National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia would proclaim 
any imposed solution of the Kosovo-Metohija future status 
illegitimate, illegal and void," 
 
I) Having confirmed the platform of the state negotiating 
team for talks on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija from 
January 5, 2006, basic stances stated in the speeches of 
the President of Serbia Boris Tadic and Prime Minister of 
Serbia Vojislav Kostunica delivered at Vienna talks on July 
24, 2006, as well as the contents of the documents 
presented by the state negotiating team in the course of 
2006 at the talks in Vienna (regarding decentralization in 
the province and establishing new municipalities with 
Serbian majority, protection of the Serbian Orthodox 
Church, its churches and monasteries, its property and the 
Serbian cultural heritage in the province, economic and 
other issues), 
 
J) The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia hereby 
adopts the following: 
 
K) The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia 
concludes that the Proposal of UN Secretary-General's 
Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari breaches the fundamental 
principles of international law since it does not take into 
consideration the sovereignty and territorial integrity of 
the Republic of Serbia in relation to Kosovo-Metohija. In 
this Proposal, Kosovo-Metohija is beyond any doubt and 
against international law given the attributes of a 
sovereign state, thus illegally laying the foundations for 
the creation of an independent state on the territory of 
Serbia. 
 
L) The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia 
therefore rejects all articles in the UN Secretary- 
General's Special Envoy's Proposal which breach the 
sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of 
Serbia as an internationally recognized state. The National 
Assembly of the Republic of Serbia warns that this 
questions the possibility of coming to a compromise 
solution reached through agreement which would represent 
the basic goal of talks on Kosovo-Metohija's future status. 
 
M) The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia once 
more emphasizes that only through negotiations held under 
the auspices of the United Nations, without pressure and 
artificially imposed deadlines can a mutually acceptable 
and long-term solution be reached which will be in line 
with international law and democratic values built into the 
foundations of contemporary states and their mutual 
relations. 
 
N) Considering this essential commitment, the National 
Assembly of the Republic of Serbia hereby renews the 
mandate of the state negotiating team and places it under 
obligation so that at the upcoming talks in Vienna on the 
future status of Kosovo-Metohija it will represent The 
National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia's policy, 
adopted in parliament's previous Resolution and hereby 
confirmed anew, which includes the defense of Serbia's 
sovereignty and territorial integrity, protection of the 
rights and interests of the Serbian people and the Serbian 
Orthodox Church in the province, preservation of the entire 
Serbian religious and cultural heritage in Kosovo-Metohija, 
as well as the interests of non-ethnic Albanian 
communities. 
 
O) The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia 
particularly demands that in the course of the upcoming 
talks the Serbian state negotiating team presents Serbia's 
position regarding the whole of UN Secretary-General's 
Special Envoy's Proposal by formulating, in line with this 
Resolution, its concrete proposals and resolutions, as well 
as to submit a report to Serbia parliament immediately upon 
their return from the talks. The National Assembly of the 
Republic of Serbia will then decide on the further course 
of negotiations. 
 
P) Advocating a compromise, consensual solution to the 
future status of Kosovo-Metohija, the National Assembly of 
the Republic of Serbia emphasizes that imposed independence 
of the province will have unforeseeable negative 
consequences. Such an outcome will have farreaching 
consequences on the stability of the region, impede the 
European perspective of the entire Western Balkans and 
present an extremely dangerous precedent for resolving 
minority issues and territorial disputes throughout Europe 
and the world. The National Assembly of the Republic of 
Serbia therefore calls upon all states, international 
organizations and other international elements to oppose 
the imperilment of Serbia's sovereignty and territorial 
integrity and reject any imposed solution to the future 
status of Kosovo-Metohija." 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶9.  (SBU) While unable to sway the overwhelming consensus 
among so-called Democrats, Milosevic Socialists and 
Radicals, the voice of a real opposition in parliament, 
from the Liberal Democrat Coalition to the single seat of 
Southern Serbia Albanians, lends a new and  slightly 
hopeful note to the unreconstructed rhetoric of Serbia's 
majority political class.   Most of the latter will 
continue for some time to insist on fighting to hang on to 
elements of a past that destroyed Yugoslavia and has 
relegated Serbia to the end of the pack in the race for 
success and prosperity in a new Europe. 
 
¶10. (SBU) This initial session of parliament brought little 
surprise, as most politicians seized the opportunity to 
publicly lambaste those with views in opposition rather 
than engage in constructive dialogue.  Former Vojvodina 
Assembly Speaker Nenad Canak aptly noted in the press that 
Belgrade has moved from a single-party system to a multi- 
party system with a single position (on Kosovo, at least). 
Belgrade does have a Kosovo negotiating team and platform, 
though, and government leaders can no longer hide behind 
claims that no governing body has the mandate to engage in 
talks. 
 
¶11. (SBU) As reported in reftel, we do not anticipate any 
further action in the new parliament until after a 
government is formed and a Speaker appointed.  At that 
point, the election of a Speaker, Deputy Speaker, working 
bodies, and secretaries, as well as reviewing bills on 
ministries and the cabinet's election, will be on the 
parliament's agenda.  With parliament in place, the parties 
have 90 days to form a government, but the lags in 
coalition negotiations suggest there may be no progress on 
items unrelated to Kosovo for quite some time. 
 
POLT