US embassy cable - 05PARIS1527

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 001527 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, KAWC, SR, YI, FR, ICTY 
SUBJECT: FRANCE WILL ISSUE PRESS STATEMENT REACTING TO ICTY 
INDICTMENT OF RAMUSH HARADINAJ 
 
REF: SECSTATE 39938 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER-COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT, FOR REAS 
ONS 1.4 B/D 
 
1. (C) On March 8, POL M/C delivered reftel demarche 
encouraging press statements on the ICTY indictment of Ramush 
Haradinaj to Jean-Francois Terral, A/S-equivalent for Russia, 
the former Soviet space, and the Balkans.  Terral agreed with 
the necessity of issuing a press statement, and shared a copy 
of a French draft statement, an informal translation of which 
is at para 2.  In addition, Terral said the MFA was generally 
pleased with initial reports coming from Pristina, and that 
the GOF was optimistic that this crisis could be weathered. 
He particularly complimented the extensive UNMIK and KFOR 
preparations for this eventuality. 
 
2. (U) Informal translation of French press statement on the 
indictment of PM Ramush Haradinaj of Kosovo: 
 
"France expects full and complete cooperation with the ICTY 
from everyone, indictees and institutions.  We reminded 
everyone of this publicly when Mr. Ramush Haradinaj was 
proposed as a potential Prime Minister of Kosovo, because 
even then his possible indictment by the ICTY was discussed. 
 
Mr. Haradinaj's decision to resign his post of Prime Minister 
and surrender voluntarily upon being notified of his 
indictment is therefore a gesture that we were waiting for, 
and one that testifies to Mr. Hardadinaj's sense of 
responsibility. 
 
This resignation makes clear that the head of the Kosovar 
government is not being indicted but rather, it is simply a 
man who is being indicted for acts committed before the 
taking up of his current position. 
 
We continue to follow closely the continuing political 
process in Kosovo: the implementation of "priority 
standards," especially those concerning minorities, should 
continue actively, in the perspective of the global review 
which will take place in mid-2005 with a view to making a 
decision on the opening of discussions on the future status 
of Kosovo." 
Leach