VZCZCXRO7111
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0372/01 1051436
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141436Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0169
INFO RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0256

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000372 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PBTS PGOV PHUM PINR PREL SR
SUBJECT: SOUTHERN SERBIA COPES WITH NEW POLITICAL REALITIES 
 
 
BELGRADE 00000372  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) In addition to the ongoing challenge of its integration 
with the rest of Serbia, the ethnically-mixed Presevo Valley is 
struggling with the impact of Kosovo independence on links 
across the new border.  Politically, ethnic Albanian leaders are 
still divided between two camps: pro-integration moderates 
favoring cooperation with Belgrade and hardliners against.  May 
elections will determine which camp is stronger.  Serb and 
Albanian leaders told the Ambassador during an early April visit 
that the region is calm because assistance from Belgrade and the 
international community has improved quality of life. 
Businesses reported problems exporting goods to Kosovo (a major 
source of revenue for this region) and mayors raised concerns 
about whether Republic of Kosovo certificates (such as diplomas) 
will be accepted in Serbia.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Political Landscape 
 
------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Serb and Albanian leaders in Southern Serbia were 
focused on upcoming local and national elections.  Albanian 
leaders remain divided over whether to participate in 
parliamentary elections.  Riza Halimi's Party for Democratic 
Action (PVD) planned to run for parliament but Halimi told the 
Ambassador on April 8 that prospects were bleak due to divisions 
within his coalition, the threat of a boycott from hardliners 
and the requirement for minority lists to gather 10,000 votes. 
Halimi complained that the higher threshold (7,000 more than in 
January 2007) disproportionately affected his community due to 
their small number of voters and lack of cooperation from large 
national parties.  (Since the meeting, the Liberal Democratic 
Party has begun assisting the Presevo Valley Albanians to 
collect signatures and NDI is looking for ways to help.)  Halimi 
told the Ambassador that Pristina leaders had been "more 
supportive" of Presevo Valley Albanian participation in Serbian 
elections in January 2007 than now.  Halimi said the public 
comments by Albanian Prime Minister Berisha were "especially 
helpful" to the pro-participation bloc.  Halimi told the 
Ambassador that Presevo Mayor Ragmi Mustafa and Bujanovac Deputy 
Mayor Jonuz Musliu were repeating their efforts to suppress 
Presevo Valley Albanian turnout without an outright call for a 
boycott.  Halimi said that he and coalition partner Skender 
Destani had been branded "national traitors" in a leaflet 
campaign sanctioned by Musliu, Mustafa and war veterans last 
year and expected the same again. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Presevo Mayor and hardliner Mustafa said it would be 
"ridiculous" for Presevo Valley Albanians to participate in 
national elections.  Mustafa told the Ambassador on April 8 that 
he would not call for Albanians to boycott the national 
elections and later mischaracterized his meeting with the 
Ambassador to local press, falsely claiming the Ambassador had 
agreed with his decision not to participate.  The Ambassador 
clarified to both local and national media on April 9 that Mayor 
Mustafa had assured him there would be no boycott and reiterated 
support for all Serbian citizens to vote in national elections. 
 
 
 
Presevo Valley Serbs 
 
-------------------- 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Democratic-bloc Serb leaders in the Presevo Valley were 
frustrated that national politics was dominating the local 
election campaign.  Nenad Manic, head of the Democratic Party 
(DS) branch in Presevo, told the Ambassador on April 8 that the 
DS-bloc's pro-EU message "was not resonating" in this poor, 
rural region of Serbia.  He complained that the DS had "lost 
control" on social issues, ceding these to the Radicals by 
appearing out of touch or corrupt to the average voter and their 
links with tycoons were especially harmful.  Manic said the 
region was cut off despite its location, noting that only 7% of 
 
BELGRADE 00000372  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the citizens in nearby Leskovac (a former textile center dubbed 
"Serbian Manchester") held passports, with even fewer in 
Southern Serbia. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Moderate Serbs and Albanians blamed hardliners in 
Belgrade for disrupting interethnic cooperation with their 
nationalist agenda.  Manic told the Ambassador that Prime 
Minister Kostunica (DSS) was the "main barrier" to regional 
progress because he was holding EU-integration "hostage" over 
Kosovo.  Former Bujanovac Mayor (and ethnic Serb) Stojanca Arsic 
said nationalists like Kostunica stalled implementation of the 
2001 Covic Plan which was to stabilize and integrate Southern 
Serbia after the 2001 unrest.  Arsic said that while the 
security situation was calm, the economic elements of the plan 
(creating jobs, improving infrastructure) were just as 
important.  Arsic praised Halimi for raising these issues in 
Parliament but expressed disappointment that Halimi was attacked 
by Socialist and Radical MPs in response.  Arsic and Manic both 
said they hoped to cobble together moderate Serb-Albanian 
coalitions if possible after May 11 elections as both said 
progress in the region would be impossible with that kind of 
cooperation on shared goals. 
 
 
 
New Challenges 
 
-------------- 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Political and business leaders told the Ambassador they 
were worried about some of the local impacts of Kosovo 
independence.  Dairy producers (a key local industry), both Serb 
and Albanians, said they recently started having difficulty 
exporting their products to Kosovo, on the Kosovo side of the 
border.  The dairy owners, who receive assistance from the USG 
from SCOPES, told the Ambassador that authorities in Kosovo 
required new certifications but it was difficult to find out 
specifics of the new requirements.  They did not report any GOS 
obstructions to trade. (Assistant Kosovo Minister Branislava 
Alendar told poloff on April 9 that the GOS was not obstructing 
any trade from Serbia to Kosovo.)  These Serb and Albanian 
business owners worried they may lose a critical export market 
in Kosovo. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Presevo Valley Albanian leaders worried about whether 
Kosovo university certificates would be accepted in Serbia after 
independence.  Many Presevo Valley Albanians complete higher 
studies in Pristina.  Both Halimi and Bujanovac Mayor Nagip 
Arifi told the Ambassador they were concerned that if the 
certificates had "Republic of Kosovo" printed on them they would 
not be acceptable documents in Bujanovac and Presevo.  Halimi 
and Arifi hoped that students could get access to a second 
diploma or some other mutually acceptable solution that would 
allow their constituents to return with an advanced degree and 
work in Southern Serbia. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Southern Serbia, surrounded on three sides by 
neighboring countries and blessed with a major European highway 
route, has a solid basis for economic growth. With continuing 
international assistance, this poor region should overcome the 
newest challenges in the aftermath of Kosovo independence. 
Moderate Serbs and Albanians agree that investment from the U.S. 
and other donors has played a critical role in stabilizing the 
region and keeping Belgrade engaged.  It is more important than 
ever, therefore, to keep Presevo Valley Albanians involved in 
Serbian politics and to ensure that ramifications of Kosovo 
independence do not break existing cultural and commercial ties 
between Southern Serbia and Kosovo.  End Comment. 
MUNTER