REGARDING CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL FOR NATIONAL MINORITIES

    The CDCS considers the confirmation of national holidays and symbols of national minorities, which is on the agenda of the first session of the Government of Serbia’s Council, a very important and necessary task. On the other hand, the CDCS expects the representatives of national minority councils to bring up the question of why they were ignored, contrary to current laws, when a series of laws relevant for national minorities’ rights were being adopted.

    Apart from this, the CDCS believes that national minority councils should immediately bring up the following questions as well:

    1. Why is there only one place ensured for a common representative of all 15 national minority councils in the National Council for Education, a key body concerned with education with 43 members in compliance with article 13 paragraph 10 of the Law on Basis of Education System? Were the national minority councils consulted during preparations of this Law, and if not, why?

    2. According to the provision from the article 9 paragraph 2 of the Law on Basis of Education System “for members of national minorities the teaching is performed in their mother tongue. Exceptionally, it could be performed bilingually or in Serbian language in compliance with a separate law.” Why did the Ministry of Education try to abolish a lot of classes taught in minority languages in an entirely nontransparent way including the Minister’s recommendations given on the phone? How can this nontransparent and illegal attack on education in minority languages be prevented in the next school year with accelerated assimilation of members of national minorities as its result?

    Among all 15 national councils only the National Council of Hungarian Minority timely and effectively reacted on attempt of the Ministry of Education to physically suspend minority rights guaranteed by the Constitution and a series of laws by means of phone orders wrapped in recommendations to merge i.e. abolish the classes taught in minority languages? Will the representatives of national minority councils ask for an explanation for this attack on minority rights at the incoming session of the Government of Serbia’s Council for National Minorities on 30 October 2009 and will they demand guarantees that such nontransparent and illegal practice of the Ministry of Education will not happen again?

Strongly hailing the constitution of the Government of Serbia’s Council for National Minorities once again and acknowledging that confirmation of national holidays and symbols of national minorities is an important task, the CDCS believes that an attempt to avoid or postpone the clarification of the above said vital questions at the first session of the Council would mean (self)treating the national minorities as a decoration and not as vital segments of multiethnic society of Serbia.