VZCZCXRO5024
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0165/01 0581426
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271426Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1005
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNS/NSC WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0057

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000165 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (P. PETERSON) 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KWAC ASEC SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA REACTS TO FIRST KOSOVO WAR CRIMES VERDICTS 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Reactions in Serbia were swift and strong to the February 
26 convictions by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former 
Yugoslavia (ICTY) of five former Yugloslav or Serbian officials for 
crimes against humanity in Kosovo in 1999.  While human rights NGOs 
were happy with the five guilty verdicts, the government and other 
politicians criticized the ICTY for overly harsh sentences and 
demonstrating double standards toward Serbian defendants.  The only 
public protest to date was very small, met with a strong police 
presence, and occurred without incident.  The first ICTY guilty 
verdicts for crimes in Kosovo are significant and can help build a 
case for the legitimacy of Kosovo's declaration of independence. 
End Summary. 
 
Kosovo War Crimes Verdicts Make Headlines 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The Serbian press on February 27 was dominated by reports 
that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 
(ICTY) had on February 26 acquitted former Serbian President Milan 
Milutinovic of all charges of war crimes in the war in Kosovo while 
convicting and sentencing his five co-defendants.  Former Yugoslav 
Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, former Yugoslav Army General 
Nebojsa Pavkovic, and former Interior Ministry Kosovo Department 
Police General Sreten Lukic were convicted on all five charges in 
the indictment and received 22 years in prison each.  Army Generals 
Dragoljub Ojdanic and Vladimir Lazarevic were convicted of assisting 
and supporting deportations and forced relocations of the Albanian 
civilian population from Kosovo but were acquitted of charges of 
murder, expulsion, and violation of the laws and customs of war, and 
sentenced to 15 years in prison each.  Press headlines focused on 
the nearly "century long sentence" the five received. 
 
Human Rights Organizations Pleased 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Serbian human rights NGOs told us they were satisfied with 
the outcome of the trial.  Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights 
(YUCOM) President Biljana Kovacevic-Vuco and Helsinki Committee 
Chair Sonja Biserko both underscored to us the symbolic importance 
of the fact that the ICTY had returned the first verdicts for crimes 
committed in Kosovo.  While each thought the sentences could have 
been higher, the fact of the verdict was more important than the 
length of the sentences.  Neither was surprised at the Milutinovic 
acquittal, as he had not been a real decision-maker at the 
Federation level. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Both Biserko and Kovacevic-Vuco cautioned that there would 
be a general negative reaction to the sentences for the five 
co-defendants but that the case ran counter to the usual anti-Hague 
rhetoric.  Biserko said the verdicts undermined the anti-Hague 
lobby's efforts to portray ICTY as both incapable of completing 
trials and also prone to convicting every high-ranking Serbian 
leader on trial. 
 
Serbian Officials Criticize Rulings 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Serbian politicians' public reactions to the sentences were 
negative.  Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic (Democratic Party) told 
Parliament the sentences were "inappropriately severe," especially 
considering that former Kosovo Liberation Army commander Ramush 
Haradinaj had been acquitted.  Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Vice 
President Branko Ruzic called the sentences "draconian."  Serbian 
Radical Party deputy Dragan Todorovic noted that ICTY has sentenced 
Serbs to about 920 years total. 
 
¶6.  (U) Other politicians alleged the trial was political.  SPS head 
and Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said the verdicts were aimed 
at proving that Serbia as a state, rather than a few individuals, 
had committed crimes against ethnic Albanians.  Democratic Party of 
Serbia spokesperson Andrej Mladenovic said the goal of the verdicts 
was to justify the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia. 
 
Public Reaction So Far Muted 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The only public protest was weakly attended.  Soon after 
the verdicts were reported, ultra-nationalist groups 1389, Nasi 
(Ours), and the People's Movement of Serbia announced they would 
hold a protest at ICTY Belgrade's offices February 26.  "The 
objective of the protest is to point to The Hague Tribunal's role in 
justifying criminal NATO aggression toward the Former Yugoslavia in 
1999," according to the announcement.  ICTY Belgrade Head of Office 
 
BELGRADE 00000165  002 OF 002 
 
 
Deyan Mihov told us the authorities had handled the protest well and 
there had been no more than 100 protestors gathered.  Police told us 
they had 250 officers to counter about 50 protestors, with no 
incidents.  The organizers themselves estimated attendance had been 
only 20-25 people. 
 
¶8.  (U) Despite the poor showing for the protest, the average 
citizen's reaction is still unknown.  National Council for 
Cooperation with The Hague Tribunal head Rasim Ljajic told press it 
was inevitable that the verdicts would be compared to the acquittal 
of Ramush Haradinaj and would strengthen the public's impression 
that ICTY applied double standards.  Reporters speculated that 
Milutinovic's acquittal would be a surprise for the public. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The first guilty verdicts at the ICTY for crimes committed 
during the war in Kosovo are significant in confirming the 
atrocities Serbs committed against Kosovo Albanians.  By documenting 
the role of the Serbian government in persecuting its citizens in 
Kosovo, this case could be useful in the International Court of 
Justice (ICJ) consideration of the legality of Kosovo's independence 
declaration.  Rhetoric from Serbian politicians, including the 
ruling Democratic Party, is still on the "Serbs as victims" track. 
If we are to counter this rhetoric, we need to reiterate publicly 
and more widely our reasons for supporting Kosovo's declaration and 
enlighten Serbian citizens on what happened in Kosovo in the late 
1990s.  To that end, public statements of USG views of the ICJ case 
directed toward the Serbian public would be constructive.  End 
Comment. 
 
MUNTER