VZCZCXRO7504
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0357/01 1001314
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 091314Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0154
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEPGDA/USEUCOM JIC VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0236

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BELGRADE 000357 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KV SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: DOMESTIC CONDEMNATION OF HARADINAJ VERDICT; APPEAL 
SOUGHT 
 
REF: 07 BELGRADE 1532 
 
BELGRADE 00000357  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Serbia's coalition and opposition parties universally 
condemned the April 3 decision by The International Criminal 
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), finding former Kosovo 
Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, not guilty of war crimes and 
crimes against humanity.  The political parties only differed in 
how they believed Serbia should proceed in its future 
cooperation with The Hague Tribunal.  Only Serbia's ethnic 
Albanians were satisfied with the verdict, further showing the 
deep divisions in Serbia's ethnic communities.  The local ICTY 
office also expressed concern for what the verdict could mean 
for future cooperation, but both the National Council for 
Cooperation with the ICTY and the War Crimes Prosecutor said, 
cooperation will continue, for now.  Government officials 
responsible for ICTY cooperation said, however, that this 
verdict, which they see as a travesty of justice, has made their 
already difficult job more complicated.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Reaction of Serbian Leaders 
 
--------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) In the aftermath of the decision, leaders of Serbia's 
three main parties, the Democratic Party (DS), the Democratic 
Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Radicals (SRS) strongly condemned 
the ICTY's verdict. President Boris Tadic (DS) said the verdict 
represented an injustice. Tadic pointed out that Haradinaj was 
charged with serious crimes against Serbs, Roma and Albanians 
and "should be in prison, rather than walk free." In a statement 
issued by his office Tadic said that he would call on the 
Prosecutor's Office to file an appeal against the ICTY decision. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that the ICTY's 
verdict "proves beyond a doubt that this court was not 
established to provide justice."  "Serbia explicitly and openly 
states that in addition to Haradinaj's crimes a new major crime 
has been committed against the Serbs.  The Hague Tribunal mocks 
justice with this verdict and insults the innocent victims of 
Haradinaj's crimes," Kostunica said. On April 6, Kostunica 
called on the EU to comment on the ICTY decision to acquit 
Haradinaj.  "It looks like the EU believes that the best answer 
is to remain silent in relation to the acquittal ... and to 
pretend like nothing has ever happened," Kostunica said in a 
government statement.  "Serbia will not accept the justification 
of Haradinaj's crimes against innocent Serbs, nor will it let 
the matter end." 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) Deputy SRS Leader Tomislav Nikolic said on April 4 that 
international law and justice "had failed in The Hague." 
According to Nikolic, the verdict proved that "not a single 
Serb" should be sent to The Hague ever again under any 
circumstances. 
 
 
 
Liberal Democratic Party 
 
------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) Even the extremely pro-Western Liberal Democratic Party 
(LDP) expressed its frustration with the verdict.  LDP leader 
Ceda Jovanovic said on April 7 that the decision of the Hague 
Tribunal to acquit Haradinaj was "hypocritical and immoral." 
Jovanovic cautioned however, said that radical and nationalist 
elements in Serbia should not be permitted "to use this terrible 
feeling of injustice" for political purposes.  Jovanovic 
stressed that regardless of Haradinaj's verdict, the fugitive 
ICTY indictees Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic must be 
captured and imprisoned. 
 
 
 
BELGRADE 00000357  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
Ethnic Albanians Welcome Verdict 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) According to BIRN news service on April 4, Albanian 
leaders from Southern Serbia welcomed the ICTY Haradinaj 
acquittal.  Skender Destani, a moderate leader who is 
participating in Serbian elections on May 11 said he understood 
the acquittal "won't make opponents of Kosovo's independence 
happy" but said the verdict was "just and right."  Ragmi 
Mustafa, hardline Presevo Mayor who is against participation in 
May elections, said "the court confirmed what Albanian people 
already knew, that Haradinaj is innocent" and that the Kosovo 
Liberation Army's actions against Serbian forces was "just." 
Mustafa also said he hoped Hardinaj would return to political 
life "as soon as possible."  Hardline deputy Bujanovac Mayor 
Jonuz Musliu said ICTY proved Haradinaj's "innocence in the just 
fight that brought our people freedom and the independence of 
Kosovo." 
 
 
 
Verdict Perceived Harmful to Democrats 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Former Deputy Prime Minister and University of 
Belgrade Professor Zarko Korac, (president of the Social 
Democrats and coalition partner of the LDP) told the Embassy on 
April 7 that the Haradinaj verdict came at the wrong time (at 
the beginning of the election campaign), and would be used by 
parties that oppose cooperation with the ICTY as a crucial 
argument against that court and against pro-European parties. 
Korac said that the verdict would further destroy the ICTY's 
already bad reputation in Serbia.  Korac said that the verdict 
made the position of the pro-European forces extremely difficult 
and that the DS coalition would need to marginalize the ICTY 
issue in the pre-election campaign as much as possible.  Korac 
thought it indicative, however, that the Haradinaj verdict did 
not receive much attention by viewers in the popular TV B92 
political talk show "Impression of the Week." To him, this 
signified that the public probably expected a "not guilty" 
verdict in the case. 
 
 
 
Local ICTY Office- Concern for Future Cooperation 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Haradinaj's not guilty verdict could bode poorly for 
Serbia's future cooperation with the Tribunal, ICTY Belgrade 
Office Head Deyan Mihov told poloff on April 7.  Witness 
intimidation was a large problem in the Haradinaj case, and 
could have played a role in the court's ultimate decision, Mihov 
said.  He stressed his concern that witness intimidation could 
become commonplace in other cases, with the hopes of leading to 
future "not guilty" verdicts.  Particularly, he was concerned 
this would happen in the ongoing Vojislav Seselj case (reftel). 
If the Radicals win in May he speculated Serbia would not only 
end cooperation with the ICTY, but he feared Serbia could 
actually see greater intimidation of witnesses. 
 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) According to Mihov, new ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge 
Brammertz is scheduled to visit Belgrade next week.  As of now, 
the GOS has not yet turned off the visit as a result of the 
Haradinaj verdict, and Mihov was cautiously optimistic the visit 
would happen.  Although President Tadic was expected to meet 
with Brammertz, Prime Minister Kostunica would not, Mihov said. 
According to Mihov, Brammertz's visit was important if Serbia 
wanted to influence the Prosecutor's next report to the UN on 
Serbia's coooperation, which would be released in mid May. 
 
 
 
GOS: Cooperation will Continue, but the Job just got Harder 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
BELGRADE 00000357  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic, 
told poloff on April 8 that his office will "absolutely continue 
to work with the ICTY," despite Serbia's disappointment in the 
Haradinaj verdict.  He particularly singled out the efforts of 
his office, the President's Office, and the Justice Ministry, 
but said he expected no cooperation from those ministries 
controlled by Kostunica.  Vukcevic said, however, the verdict 
has made his work more difficult, citing a new example this week 
of witness intimidation in the Seselj case, following the 
Haradinaj verdict.  He expressed concern that Seselj's 
supporters might become more emboldened to use witness 
intimidation, since they now see this as an effective tool for 
influencing the verdict. 
 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Director of the Office of the National Council for 
Cooperation with the ICTY, Dusan Ignjatovic told poloff on April 
8 that the Haradinj verdict was "definitely not not helpful," 
and he did not expect any further improvement in cooperation 
with the ICTY. Ignjatovic said, although he would not judge the 
merit of the Haradinaj case, the verdict was reached improperly, 
and was "based solely on procedure, and not on the substance of 
the case."  Regardless, Ignjatovic said that there would no 
change in the cooperation of the Council with the ICTY, but he 
could not anticipate the level of future cooperation, after 
elections.   Ignjatovic assessed cooperation up to now as 
"excellent" and he was optimistic that Brammertz's report due in 
May would be positive. 
 
 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Economics Professor Mihailo Crnobrnja, a dual Serbian 
and Canadian citizen, told DCM on April 8 that the verdict hurt 
even the most western-leaning Serbs.  Haradinaj "bragged in his 
book 'Narrative about War and Freedom' about killing Serbs," 
Crnobrnja said, "and now that he is released this news is met by 
complete silence around the world."  According to Crnobrnja this 
silence only adds to Serbian paranoia that "the world is out to 
get us."  Crnobrjna added that it was common knowledge that 
Haradinaj gained his freedom by eliminating his witnesses and 
that this also was more than a dangerous precedent. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) Serbs view the Haradinaj verdict as a travesty of 
justice.  The more cynical and radical elements of Serbia's 
society believe it is yet one more example of the Western world 
trying to shame and humiliate Serbia.  Many pro-Western Serbs 
are disappointed by the silence of democratic countries to the 
verdict.  Nonetheless, those Serbian public servants intimately 
involved in the Serbian government's fight for justice remain 
committed to their tasks, despite their personal feelings on the 
verdict.  Unmistakably, the verdict has made their task to have 
Serbia live up to its own past all the more difficult, and it 
may become nearly impossible if the Radicals win the May 
elections.  Both the SRS and the DSS are certain to exploit the 
verdict for their own political gains in the lead up to the 
election.  And that too would be a travesty for Serbia.  End 
Comment. 
MUNTER