VZCZCXRO3720
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0190 0521342
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211342Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2208
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1438
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000190 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KBTS KPAO SR MW KV
SUBJECT: SOUTHERN SERBIA CALM IN THE WAKE OF KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  Southern Serbia's Presevo Valley remained calm during and after 
Kosovo's declaration of independence on February 17.  GOS officials, 
security forces, and local leaders of constructively engaged with 
the area's ethnic Albanian-majority to prevent unrest.  While the 
possibility remains that protests in the ethnically mixed town of 
Bujanovac could ignite unrest, local contacts expect continued calm. 
 End Summary. 
 
Effective Preparations 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. Efforts to maintain stability in Southern Serbia paid off.  The 
GOS took steps to monitor security in the region and to ensure 
security services did not overreact during the current period of 
heightened tension following Kosovo's declaration of independence. 
Labor Minister and head of the GOS Coordinating Body for Southern 
Serbia (CB) Rasim Ljajic traveled to Bujanovac and Presevo over the 
weekend of February 16.  On February 21 Nenad Djurdjevic, Ljajic's 
deputy, told poloff that Mayors Nagip Arifi (Bujanovac) and Ragmi 
Mustafa (Presevo) had assured the CB that ethnic Albanians would not 
publicly celebrate Kosovo's declaration, to avoid provoking local 
Serbs.  Poloff spoke with Arifi and Mustafa on February 16 to convey 
the Ambassador's message to ensure stability during this transition 
and both assured that they would. 
 
¶3.  Presevo Valley Albanians also took constructive steps in the 
days before Kosovo's declaration.  Leaders from various Albanian 
parties in Serbia met on February 16 and released a statement 
supporting Kosovo independence while calling for Albanians to react 
to Kosovo independence with "maturity and self-restraint."  The 
statement expressed the leaders' support for the "values of the 
Ahtisaari Plan" and their application in the Presevo Valley.  It 
called upon the international community to remain involved in the 
region as a "guarantor of stability." 
 
"Everything is OK" 
------------------ 
 
¶4.  Bujanovac OSCE representative Martin Brooks told poloff, 
February 20, that "absolutely nothing" happened publicly in the 
ethnically mixed region in the days after Kosovo's declaration. 
Celebrations were limited to homes and bars and "never spilled into 
streets."  Brooks said the Albanians' statement and similar messages 
from the international community, Pristina, and Tirana helped keep 
the peace.  Brooks said that Serbian police performed well, with no 
increased presence and no incidents of overreaching force.  There 
was no visible, local Serb reaction, and the nearest anti-Kosovo 
protest was in the overwhelmingly Serb city of Vranje, 25 km to the 
north; and it was peaceful, by all accounts.  Djurdjevic told 
poloff, February 21, that from their view "everything is OK" in 
Southern Serbia.  Djurdjevic said the CB would continue its 
heightened engagement in the region and would announce new 
development initiatives soon, such as a local office of the Ministry 
of Local Economic Development in Bujanovac.  Djurdjevic said 
long-term worries remain, particularly if there are problems in 
northern Kosovo and worried local Albanian leaders link their status 
in Serbia with that region's status in Kosovo. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  Southern Serbia's stability remains fragile but the lack of 
newsworthy activity in days surrounding Kosovo's declaration marks 
the success of local, national, and international efforts in the 
region.  The calm bolstered the standing of Halimi, Arifi, and other 
local leaders among the ethnic Albanians, which will be helpful as 
they prepare for local elections in May.  So far, ethnic Albanian 
hardliners who advocate for the Presevo Valley's secession from 
Serbia have been marginalized due to the mature handling of the 
weekend's events by moderate authorities.  Post appreciates efforts 
by USOP, Embassy Tirana, and others to reinforce USG priorities for 
Southern Serbia with leaders in Kosovo and Albania.  End Comment. 
 
MUNTER