VZCZCXRO9937
PP RUEHAST RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR
DE RUEHC #8851 0842116
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 252058Z MAR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 8661
INFO ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS STATE 028851 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM OSCE KKPO KPAO KV SR
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL:  STATEMENT ON RULE OF LAW 
IN KOSOVO 
 
¶1.  Post is authorized to make the following statement at the 
March 26, 2009 meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in 
Vienna: 
 
Begin Text: 
 
Thank you, Madame Chairwoman. 
 
Last week here in the Permanent Council, the Ambassadors of 
Serbia and the Russian Federation made statements concerning 
the fifth anniversary of the worst inter-ethnic violence in 
Kosovo since the Kosovo war.  We note that last week also 
marked the one-year anniversary of the attacks by ethnic Serb 
extremists on UN and NATO personnel protecting the UN 
courthouse in Mitrovica, Kosovo, which cost the life of a UN 
peacekeeper and injured many more UN police officers. 
 
No violence is acceptable, be it Milosevic's brutal 
repression of Kosovar Albanians, the 2004 violence, or the 
Mitrovica courthouse attacks.  The United States welcomes the 
acknowledgement of the Government of Kosovo that what 
happened in 2004 was unacceptable.  On the March 17 
anniversary of the violence, Kosovo's Prime Minister Thaci 
issued a public statement that the attacks on Serb churches 
and homes that took place in 2004 were deeply regrettable and 
must never be repeated.  Indeed, some of the worst 
perpetrators of the 2004 violence were arrested, prosecuted 
and jailed.  On the same day, Prime Minister Thaci also 
repeated his Government's pledge for reconciliation and 
cooperation for a brighter future for all of Kosovo's 
citizens and for the region.  On March 23, Kosovo Foreign 
Minister Hyseni underscored this message before the UN 
Security Council.  The Government of Kosovo is doing more 
than just issuing statements.  It is building a positive 
future in accordance with its progressive constitution that 
guarantees far-reaching protections for its ethnic minority 
communities. 
 
As Foreign Minister Hyseni outlined to the Security Council, 
the Government of Kosovo, with assistance from the U.S. and 
other concerned parties, has been actively engaged in efforts 
to preserve and reconstruct many of the Serbian Orthodox 
churches and monasteries targeted in the 2004 attacks, as 
well as other important cultural sites in Kosovo.  The 
Reconstruction Implementation Committee (RIC), of which the 
United States has been a strong supporter, has partially or 
fully reconstructed 34 sites, and is scheduled to finish 
major reconstruction by the end of 2009.  The government of 
Kosovo is the largest funder of the RIC.  My government has 
donated USD 1 million for restoration and preservation of 
several cultural heritage sites in Kosovo, including four 
Serbian Orthodox sites: the Church of the Presentation of the 
Virgin in Lipljan, the St. Sava Church in Mitrovica, the 
Church of St. Archangel Michael in Stimlje, and the Budisavci 
Monastery in Klina. 
 
The future of Kosovo lies in a multi-ethnic, tolerant society 
that works for the benefit of all of its people.  We will 
continue to work with Kosovo, Serbia and the other countries 
of the region to promote lasting peace and prosperity in the 
Balkans. 
 
We encourage the government of Serbia to work constructively 
with an independent Kosovo and the many willing international 
partners engaged in the region to find pragmatic solutions to 
the challenges that face them and to look towards their 
European and Euro-Atlantic future as peaceful, stable 
neighbors. 
 
Thank you, Madame Chairwoman. 
 
End text. 
CLINTON