Kosovo to launch council for minority communities

23/09/2008

The new state of Kosovo is trying hard to show it has put mechanisms in place to protect and promote the interests of Serbs and other minorities.

By Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Pristina – 23/09/08

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu will head the minority council. [AFP]

Last week, Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu decreed the establishment of the Consultative Council for Communities. The decree is based on the constitution and relates to the articles concerning protection and promotion of minority rights.

The council will operate in the framework of the Office of the President of Kosovo, and will be headed by Sejdiu.

The community representatives who make up the council will be chosen by the communities themselves, presidential spokesman Xhavit Beqiri told Southeast European Times. The number of representatives from each community will depend on the population of the community they represent.

As a result, Serbs will have the most representatives on the council, followed by Turks, Bosnians and other minorities. Representatives of all minority communities, including the Serbs, have participated in the three consultative meetings and have expressed their readiness to be part of the council, Beqiri said.

"We strongly believe that the good work of this council will have an impact not only on the relaxation of interethnic relations but also on improvement of the well-being of all the Kosovo citizens," he said.

The proposal to establish such a council was part of the blueprint put forward by Martti Ahtissari, the former UN envoy for talks on Kosovo's status.

The council will not have executive or decision-making powers, President's Office attorney Xhafer Tahiri said. "It can make suggestions that will be sent to the Ministry for Returns and Communities, to the government or the parliament, through the President's Office," he explained.

The president, according to the constitution, can decree a law within eight days or return it to the executive bodies if the law goes against the interests of the public or jeopardises the functioning of Kosovo institutions.

Kosovo is trying to show it has put mechanisms in place to protect and promote the interests of the minorities, especially Serbs. Most Serbs, however, have not recognised the new state and continue to reject Pristina's authority in areas where they make up the majority of the population.