VZCZCXRO5774
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHPS #0636 2331317
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 211317Z AUG 07
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7630
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1255
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHFMISS/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT
RHMFISS/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

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRISTINA 000636 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR 
DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2017 
TAGS: PGOV EAID UNMIK YI KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: FAMILIES OF MISSING PERSONS ASK TROIKA TO 
PRESSURE BELGRADE 
 
 
Classified By: CDA ALEX LASKARIS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On August 20 families of Kosovo Albanians 
missing since the 1998-99 conflict asked local Troika 
representatives, made up of Charge, Russian Charge 
Kurbatskiy, and ICOPT head Jonsson, to pressure Belgrade to 
unlock its files and reveal the fate of their relatives.  The 
Troika assured the family association representatives that 
theirs is a pressing humanitarian issue it plans to 
vigorously pursue.  This is a highly emotional and 
intractable issue, and progress will require engagement with 
both Kosovar and Serbian authorities.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Families of missing Kosovo Albanians are organized 
regionally and represented by the umbrella Coordination 
Council of Families of Missing Persons from Kosovo (CCFMP). 
During the Troika's August 11 visit to Pristina, CCFMP staged 
a protest displaying photos of missing loved ones and 
requested a meeting with the Troika.  The resulting August 20 
meeting included CCFMP head Haki Kasumi and members from 
Mitrovica, Klina, Pristina, and Suhareke.  Local Troika 
participants included Charge, who hosted the event, ICOPT 
officials Jonas Jonsson and Frank Neisse (EU), and Russian 
Charge Vladislav Kurbatskiy. 
 
¶3. (SBU) CCFMP made one principle request: that the Troika 
pressure Belgrade to open its archives and reveal the fate of 
the missing.  According to Kasumi, CCFMP has obtained 
documents that suggest Serbian forces kept detailed records 
of where missing Kosovo Albanians were buried.  Dissatisfied 
with the results produced by both local and international 
authorities thus far, with the fates of 2,047 people still 
unresolved, Kasumi urged the Troika to do its utmost to spur 
progress on the issue.  He stressed that peaceful coexistence 
between Serbia and Kosovo will not be possible until 
perpetrators are brought to justice.  (NOTE: Serbia's files, 
briefly opened by former Serbian PM Zoran Djindjic, snapped 
shut immediately following his assassination in 2003.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Speaking on behalf of the Troika and reading from 
points negotiated during the Troika visit, Charge said that 
the issue of the missing had been a topic of discussion and 
would continue to be a priority.  EU representative Jonsson 
told the CCFMP that EU troika rep Ischinger was impressed by 
their protest and wanted to pursue this urgent humanitarian 
issue.  Russian representative Kurbatskiy echoed Jonsson's 
comments. 
 
¶5. (C)  COMMENT:  Greater transparency and cooperation on the 
issue of the missing is something that both parties could put 
on the table without prejudice to their positions on final 
status.  The politicization of this issue in the present 
climate stymies progress; if the climate were to improve, 
that same politicization could help resolve the 2,000 cases. 
LASKARIS