VZCZCXRO8859
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0217/01 0721346
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131346Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1063
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNS/NSC WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000217 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM PGOV PREL SR KV
SUBJECT: SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ASSERTS ITSELF IN SERBIAN POLITICS 
 
REFS: A) 08 BELGRADE 1123, B) 08 BELGRADE 1217, C) BELGRADE 138, D) 
08 BELGRADE 1026 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) With the May session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the 
Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) approaching, 94 year-old Patriarch 
Pavle remains hospitalized and incapacitated.  As during the 
November session, debate about Pavle's succession, and perhaps 
another movement to unseat him, likely will feature prominently in 
May.  The battle for positioning has begun in earnest with competing 
SOC leaders directly inserting the Church into public discourse on 
political hot-button issues such as the draft Vojvodina statute and 
draft anti-discrimination law.  Civil society and some government 
officials criticized the Church's new assertiveness in the political 
area, warning that blurring the divide between church and state was 
a slippery slope.  Church officials argue back that they have a 
right to voice their opinions and play a role in public debates. 
End Summary. 
 
Pavle Head of Church in Name Only 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Although he has been hospitalized since November 2007 at the 
Military Medical Academy in Belgrade, Patriarch Pavle still enjoys 
enormous respect among the Serbian public.  In its list of the 300 
most powerful individuals in Serbia published on March 9, the daily 
"Blic" awarded the Patriarch the 10th spot, sandwiched between the 
National Bank Governor and the U.S. Ambassador. 
¶3.  (SBU) During its November session, the Holy Assembly of Bishops, 
or Sabor, considered a request allegedly submitted by Patriarch 
Pavle to be relieved of his duties (Ref A), but a majority of the 45 
bishops present voted to have Pavle fulfill his lifetime 
appointment.  The Patriarch reportedly accepted this decision "with 
tranquility" and agreed to remain head of the Church (Ref B), with 
the four-person Holy Synod headed by Metropolitan Amfilohije of 
Montenegro and the Coastlands continuing to run the SOC on a 
day-to-day basis. 
SOC Criticizes Vojvodina Statute 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) On February 6, the Holy Synod addressed a letter to 
Parliament Speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic (copied to President 
Tadic and Prime Minister Cvetkovic) in which it expressed strong 
opposition to the draft Statute for the Autonomous Province of 
Vojvodina awaiting parliamentary approval (Refs C and D).  The 
letter stressed that the statute would undermine Serbia's 
sovereignty and territorial integrity, buzz words typically used to 
describe the threat of secession. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Echoing nationalist rhetoric espoused by the Democratic 
Party of Serbia (DSS) of former Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, 
the Holy Synod declared that the statute would create another "state 
within a state" and thereby continue the "dismembering of Serbia" 
that began with the "violent seizure and occupation" of Kosovo. 
(Comment: We believe that Amfilohije was the driving force behind 
the letter given his known opposition to autonomy and his 
predominant role in the Synod.  End comment.) 
 
Church Blocks Anti-Discrimination Law 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Bishop Irinej of Backa, frequently described as the chief 
rival to Amfilohije for succession to the Patriarchate, made news on 
March 4 when he allegedly directly intervened with the president's 
office to have a draft anti-discrimination law withdrawn from 
parliamentary procedure just hours before a scheduled debate.  The 
draft, which had been approved by the government and the relevant 
parliamentary committee following six months of public comment, had 
also received a positive review from the Council of Europe Venice 
Commission.  Nonetheless, the church led the charge to delay 
adoption of the law which is required for Serbia to gain Schengen 
White List status. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In a meeting with us on March 9, Metropolitan Amfilohije 
said that he had signed a letter, later resubmitted with the 
signatures of representatives of Serbia's seven "traditional" 
religious communities, which called for amendments to a number of 
articles of the law.  The letter questioned 13 articles, most 
importantly the deletion of articles providing freedom to change 
religious beliefs and prohibiting discrimination based on sexual 
orientation.  Irinej told "Vecernje Novosti" on March 11 that the 
draft law would provide Serbian citizens with rights which are not 
guaranteed by international law and that his proposals therefore 
sought to bring the law into accordance with EU and Council of 
Europe standards. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Amfilohije clarified to us that he felt the Dutch 
 
BELGRADE 00000217  002 OF 002 
 
 
anti-discrimination law, on which the Serbian law allegedly had been 
based was far too liberal for Serbia and that other European models 
would be more suitable for Serbian society.  He used as an example 
varying European standards for the definition of "legal age," and 
said some European countries even considered 12 years old legal, 
which was something Serbia could never accept.  "The Communists 
silenced us for almost 50 years," Amfilohije argued, "but the church 
has a moral view on issues and our voice will be heard."  In 
response to our comments that the church's intervention was giving 
the church a bad name in international circles, Amfilohije said he 
was confident a compromise could be found and added that all of 
Serbia's traditional religious groups shared his view. 
 
¶9. (U) Civil society representatives and many government officials 
reacted swiftly to this development.  Director of the Belgrade 
Center for Human Rights Vojin Dimitrijevic told the press that the 
move damaged Serbia's image by demonstrating that the government 
would accord preferential treatment to the SOC and other 
"traditional" religious groups.  Miodrag Zivanovic, head of the 
"non-traditional" Christian Adventist Church, issued a public letter 
challenging the government to ensure that its laws guaranteed the 
rights of all, not a select few. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Ministry for Human and Minority Rights State Secretary 
Marko Karadzic announced that "Serbia is a secular state, and no 
church should be able to influence the adoption of a law," arguing 
that the proposed changes essentially would turn the draft into a 
law promoting discrimination.  Minister for Labor and Social Policy 
Rasim Ljajic rhetorically asked whether he should consult religious 
communities before proposing pieces of legislation, and told us 
privately that he did not have support within the government for 
resisting changes to the draft. 
 
¶11.  (U) Minister of Diaspora Srdjan Sreckovic, while emphasizing 
the need for separation of church and state, expressed approval for 
the government's willingness to seek consensus since "religious 
communities should have influence on public life." Dragan Markovic, 
head of the United Serbia party that participates in the ruling 
coalition, said that his party would not support the draft without 
amendments, adding "I have nothing against homosexuals and what they 
do. Their rights do not bother me. To me it is an illness. I have 
nothing against those people personally, but as a member of 
parliament I cannot vote for something that is sick."  He concluded 
that "if homosexuals have to lead Serbia to Europe, then it is 
better that we stay here and look after sheep in Serbia." 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The unusual circumstances surrounding the government 
reversal led the press to allege a quid-pro-quo agreement between 
Bishop Irinej and President Tadic.  Citing unnamed high-ranking 
government officials, daily "Blic" reported on March 9 that 
President Tadic had agreed to withdraw the draft law in order to 
strengthen Irinej vis-a-vis Amfilohije in hopes that Irinej would 
provide traction within the SOC for the President's pro-European 
policies. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Patriarch Pavle's prolonged illness has created a power 
vacuum in the Serbian Orthodox Church, with church officials trying 
to assert themselves but lacking the power of the Patriarch's 
bully-pulpit.  Replacing Patriarch Pavle before he is deceased would 
create problems for his successor, but the status quo allows various 
bishops to jockey for position and creates disunity in the church. 
This vacuum demonstrates the need for the church, when a new 
Patriarch is chosen, to take a serious look at its practices to 
better adapt to its post-Communist role.  End Comment. 
 
 
MUNTER