In response to questions from the other participants, an official with the Office for National and Ethnic Minorities of the Government of Hungary explained how voting for minority self-governments (similar to Montenegro’s minority councils) is arranged in her country. According to this participant, legislation was passed setting the following procedures: representatives serving in minority self-governments are elected directly and in elections that take place at the same time as municipal elections. Only Hungarian citizens who declare their membership in a minority community are eligible to vote.

The issue of voting eligibility was the most difficult and controversial in Hungary, explained this participant. In the end, it was decided that citizens’ declarations of membership in a minority group will be kept by the chief administrator of a given settlement, who would not make the information public or have any right to judge the content of the declarations. The administrator’s role vis-à-vis the declarations would be purely supervisory, and after elections these records would be destroyed.

As for candidates, representatives of organizations that have existed for three years or more are allowed to run for office in minority councils, this participant explained. No independent candidates are allowed. Candidates also have to make a declaration of their membership in the minority group and state whether they speak the language of that group – though knowledge of the language is not a requirement.

These rules, she said, were adopted as an effort to prevent abuse of the system, which has been a problem in Hungary.

Minority Councils and the Roma

During the roundtable several participants referred to the particular situation of the Roma in Montenegro, who, according to the last census, number 2,601, though generally accepted unofficial estimates are between 15,000 and 25,000. The low census count of Roma puts them below the threshold of 1% for Roma, as an ethnic proposed guaranteed representation in _{minority recognized} the national parliament. (Roma will, however, have guaranteed seats in

throughout Europe, “are

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their number in the

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population.”

regret over the fact that the last census

did not reflect the reality of the Romani population in Montenegro, a government official stated that the current official census, however flawed, must be used. This, he said, is the law, though hopefully “the situation will be rectified in the future.”

An ethnic minority parliamentary leader noted that there are discrepancies between the official and unofficial numbers of other minority groups in Montenegro as well, and suggested that admitting unofficial census numbers would open numerous difficult debates. However, a government official involved in the development of the Minority Law pointed out that Article 7 calls for the government to undertake special measures for the integration of Roma in Montenegrin society, and stated that this is an important provision included for the Roma. He added that a minority council will be especially important for the Roma community, given their lack of representation in the national parliament.

An ethnic Albanian parliamentary leader suggested an opposing view. He noted that Roma are not politically organized in Montenegro, and raised the question of whether the Roma community would in fact be well served by having a minority council, or whether other mechanisms, such as a governmental Roma Strategy, would not be better suited to their particular case. This suggestion, however, was rejected by a number of participants, who asserted that Roma have a right both to minority councils and to a targeted state strategy for their integration. One participant cited the recommendations of the Council of Europe in this connection, which assert that Roma, as an ethnic minority recognized throughout Europe, “are entitled to have the same rights as any other minority, regardless of their number in the population.” Another participant noted that the point is moot, since these rights for the Roma are now part of Montenegrin law.

Conclusions

With regards the composition of minority councils, the principle of maintaining a “50% plus one” majority for representatives chosen from minority lists was decided. Other council members, it was agreed, would be chosen through an electoral assembly.

Participants recommended that the Montenegrin parliament adopt new electoral legislation as soon as possible. Participants agreed that the next parliamentary elections (likely in fall 2006) should be held in accordance with the new Minority Law, and that following these elections minority councils should be formed.

Following the advice given by the official from the Office for National and Ethnic Minorities of the Government of Hungary, participants agreed that the rules for establishing the councils require that organizations and individuals seeking membership in the councils “prove their long-term connection to a given minority and to the mission of improving minority and human rights.”

Participants reached a consensus on the issue of setting a minimum number of seats on the councils – something which is not included in the Minority Law.

Following the roundtable, participants agreed on the following communiqué for public distribution:

KOLASIN COMMUNIQUÉ

The Project on Ethnic Relations, a US-based institute, together with the Ministry for the Protection of Rights of Persons Belonging to National and Ethnic Groups of Montenegro, held in Kolasin on June 2-3, 2006 its second roundtable in the series on Developing a Governmental Minority Policy for Montenegro. The meeting was sponsored by the British Embassy in Serbia and Montenegro. Participants included members of the parliament of Montenegro, government officials, leaders of ethnic communities from Montenegro, and international experts.

The main topic of the discussion was implementation of the law on minority rights, especially the establishment of minority councils that are envisioned in this law.

Following are the main items of the consensus that was reached at the meeting by the majority of participants:

�

The implementation of the law on minority rights and freedoms must improve Montenegro’s already good interethnic practice;

�

To encourage the parliament of Montenegro to adopt the new electoral

legislation as soon as possible by taking into consideration provisions of the law on minority rights and freedoms;

�

Taking into consideration the fact that the law on minority rights and freedoms gives the Ministry for the Protection of Rights of Persons Belonging to National and Ethnic Groups of Montenegro one year to draft the minority strategy for Montenegro, the ministry should be encouraged to draft the rules of establishing the minority councils and to form them as soon as possible according to the specific features of each minority;

�

The Ministry for the Protection of Rights of Persons Belonging to National and Ethnic Groups of Montenegro will produce the first draft of the rules on establishing the minority councils and will present it to the participants upon its completion;

�

The law on minority rights and freedoms sets up the maximum number of members of minority councils; the rules should include the minimum number;

�

The rules will provide for representation from non-governmental organizations and intellectuals; these organizations and individuals should prove their long-term connection to a given minority and to the mission of improving minority and human rights;

�

The state should strive for the council membership to be as authentic and representative as possible in relation to a given minority while respecting the provisions of the law on minority rights and freedoms; a possible solution might include the provision that 50%+1 members of the total number of council members should come from the minority lists.

The participants will provide all support needed to the Ministry for the Protection of Rights of Persons Belonging to National and Ethnic Groups as it works on drafting the provisions necessary for the formation of the minority councils.

Kolasin, Montenegro June 3, 2006

A NEW CONSTITUTION: MINORITY RIGHTS AND REPRESENTATION

In July 2006, after being questioned by the opposition People’s Party, Articles 24 and 25 of Montenegro’s Minority Law – two key provisions which guaranteed seats in parliament for minorities – were declared unconstitutional by the Montenegrin Constitutional Court. The rejection was unexpected. It was also interpreted as a set back by minority leaders since the adoption of the law prior to Montenegro’s referendum was an agreed upon precondition for securing the minority vote in favor of independence. To counterbalance this development, PER organized a roundtable held on March 9-10, 2007 in Becici to discuss possibilities for reinstating the two provisions in the text of the new Constitution.

The other big issue tackled during the roundtable was the Ministry for Protection of Human and Minority Rights’ draft on the “Rules and Instructions for the Elections of Minority Councils” – another key provision of the Minority Law. The following report is a summary of these two discussions and an outline of the agreements reached by the participants on solutions to unresolved questions, as well as a rundown of issues which remain divisive.

Minority Political Representation

Whether or not Montenegro’s draft Constitution should be based on a civil or nation state concept (in which Montenegro will be branded as a state of Montenegrins and other ethnic groups who live there – Serbs, Bosnjaks, Albanians, Croats, etc.) dominated the debate. The question is of particular relevance as it is directly connected to the issue of minority representation in local and state government which is at the heart of the Minority Law in its original form.

Civil State

One prevalent viewpoint supported by several participants at the roundtable advocated for a “one person – one vote” civil concept in which the Constitution does not provide for guaranteed minority seats in parliament, and instead focuses on individual rather than collective rights. As one participant stated, “Guaranteed seats for minority representatives means that ethnicity becomes the basis for electoral legislation in a unicameral parliament, which is a clear violation to the democratic principle of one person – one vote.”

When advocating for this position, the most recent census (2003) was often used by the participants for corroborative evidence as it clearly outlines Montenegro’s lack of an ethnic majority.³ From their perspective, because each ethnic

³ According to the last census (2003), Montenegrins comprise 43.16% of the population, Serbs 31.99%, Bosnjaks 7.77%, Albanians 5.03%, Muslims 3.97%, Croats 1.1% and Roma 0.46%.

group in Montenegro is technically a minority (under 50%), the need for proportional representation in parliament is obsolete and/or discriminatory.

According to one participant, a civil state concept has been recommended by the Council of Europe as the most practical structure given Montenegro’s current demographic composition and size. Another participant specifically drew correlation to the US and French models of civil states claiming them as particularly representative of genuine democracies. Speaking for his party, this participant stated that a civil state would, theoretically, create the preconditions for a political environment in which all individuals are equal, and unite all the various ethnic groups in Montenegro under one government, one constitution.

Nation State

The counterargument to the “one person – one vote” premise, vocalized by a number of minority leaders at the roundtable, is based on their perception of current political realities in Montenegro which have, according to them, the distinct aura of discrimination towards minority groups in connection with political representation. As one participant stated, “There are ethnic groups in Montenegro that are more equal than others. My people are in an inferior position economically, socially, and even with regards to media exposure.”

Those coming from the “Montenegrins and others” state perspective advocated a two chamber parliamentary system in which one chamber would represent all citizens of Montenegro and the other would represent all of Montenegro’s various ethnic groups. According to some minority leaders in attendance at the roundtable, this system would guarantee that the minority voice is heard at the highest, national level, would give minority representatives a powerful veto, and would dismiss any possibility that minority groups would be entirely out voted.

Direct Political Representation

During the roundtable, the most vocal proponent of the two chamber parliament initiated what he saw as a compromise by stating, “Direct proportionate representation in the parliament and bringing Articles 24 and 25 of the Minority Law back through changes in the Constitution will satisfy minority demands in Montenegro.” This compromise between the civil and nation state concepts is one in which the civil structure incorporates a positive discrimination policy towards its minorities thus guaranteeing them political representation at the national and local levels by reserving a determined number of seats in parliament proportionate to their demographic composition in the country. In essence, maintain the civil state concept but reinstate Articles 24 and 25 of the Minority Law. However, even among those who agree that this arrangement would be the best solution, there was still vast disagreement on how to implement the compromise.

According to one roundtable participant who reported on the Constitutional draft committee’s progress, the issue of direct political representation for minorities has been the most divisive. Their solution was to draft the Constitution in such a way that it provides for an indirect possibility of minority direct representation in parliament to be determined later by relevant laws. Hence, the Constitution would provide a constitutional basis for reserved parliamentary seats, and the new election law would determine how many seats are reserved for minority groups and how they are filled.

As one participant stated, “It should be left to the law, not the Constitution, to find in the upcoming period a mechanism of safe passage or a certainty that the minorities will find their way to the Montenegrin Parliament.” According to this perspective, electoral law is a more flexible and adaptable instrument that can be structured to fit the needs of minority groups.⁴

However, there was general consensus among minority representatives that the provisions for minority representation must be reinstated into the Constitution itself if the country is to avoid another battle in the Constitutional Court; or worse yet, alienate moderate minority leaders. The ambiguity of the proposed Constitutional Articles means that there is no guarantee that the laws on minority rights will not change according to the whims of whichever party is in power.

One international participant confirmed this misgiving by saying, “What we have learned from our past experience working in the region is that if there is to be dialogue, it is much better to have it now than tension later on.” There was also grave concern among some leaders that if the problem is not resolved now, the lack of resolution may give various ethnic groups impetus to claim that the

What we have learned

Constitution does not apply to them as

from our past experience

they had no say in its creation.

working in the region is

International participants at the Becici

that if there is to be

roundtable observed that tension in

dialogue, it is much

Montenegro is slowly escalating, and

better to have it now

minority leaders are struggling with the

than tension later on.

new state’s lack of progress towards greater minority rights. As one ethnic Albanian representative stated, “We need to come up with a specific solution in Montenegro and I see no such political will for that. There will be consequences in the future. I know [my party] started serious processes in Montenegro, but we will not support it further if there are no legal solutions. We cannot speak about subjectivity and rights of minorities without affirmative action.”

⁴ In order to be adopted, the Constitution requires a two-third majority consensus in the parliament.

Rules for the Formation of Minority Councils

Following PER’s roundtable in Kolasin (June 2-3, 2006) during which relevant actors discussed and agreed on a number of issues pertaining to these councils, the Ministry for Protection of Human and Minority Rights drafted Rules for Minority Council Formation which were presented to participants at the Becici roundtable – these rules were developed during the winter of 2006-2007 during which the Ministry consulted with PER and experts engaged by PER on this document. A senior official of the Ministry for Protection of Human and Minority Rights presented the draft and asked for the participants’ help on certain areas which remain the most problematic. These areas are as follows:

Council Composition

Article 14 of the “Rules and Instructions for the First Elections of Minority Councils” addresses the number of members elected to each council and how many of those members are there due to their parliament, state or local government function.⁵ Article 33.5 of the Minority Law states that eligible members ex officio are: “members of parliament elected from the minority lists, members of the Government appointed at the proposal of representatives of minority lists, presidents of municipalities in which the majority of the population belongs to the minority, and other members of the parliament and Government, as well as presidents of municipalities from the respective minority who wish to do so, presidents of minority parliamentary parties and presidents of the parliamentary clubs of the minority parties in local assemblies.”

Because Article 33.4 of the Minority Law stipulates that “The Council cannot comprise of more than 17 members,” the inevitable conundrum arises of what to do in cases where a minority group has more than 17 members ex officio. For example, what if the Albanian minority has 21 officials who ought to be members of the council due to their elected position?

Several possible solutions to this dilemma were proposed during the roundtable. Some participants suggested setting the minimum number at 17 but leaving the maximum number open. Others recommended providing a range determined by the size of the minority group. Still others advocated for setting a maximum number of members, but changing the terminology from a fixed number to stating “up to” the maximum number allotted. This option bears in mind small minority groups with no members ex officio – there is a concern that smaller

⁵ The second paragraph of Article 14 states:

The number of members that are to be elected at the Electoral Assembly shall be determined by subtracting from 17 the number of those members ex officio who have accepted their nomination into the Council.

minority groups, like the Roma who have no members ex officio, will have difficulty filling 17 spaces.

Some participants even mentioned doing away with a minimum or maximum requirement, and leaving the size of minority councils up for each minority group to decide. However, several international participants as well as participants from neighboring countries highly recommended setting a fixed number as the best way to avoid wrangling over legislative legitimacy later on.

By raising the maximum number of council members from 17 to 35, there would be more than enough seats to accommodate all who are members ex officio as well as members elected by secret ballot by the minority constituent assembly. However, this solution entails changing Article 33.4 of the already adopted Minority Law. The compromise reached during the roundtable was to change the Minority Law, set the number for council members at 35, and to add the sentence: “the council will decide how many members from then on.” The Ministry has already asked the parliament to approve such a change.

Council Members

During the discussion on the number of council members, another dilemma arose. What should be the official recourse of action when a member ex officio is unable or unwilling to assume his duties? A participant from a neighboring country cited a specific example in which a member of his minority council died, and the council had to continue through its mandate with fewer members. What if someone who is supposed to serve on the council because of his function refuses? Will his seat remain empty? Even more problematic, what if the official mandate of a member ex officio comes to an end? Does he continue to serve on the council even though he no longer holds his office? These are just some of the hypothetical problems mentioned during the course of the roundtable.

There was consensus that many of these issues will be resolved according to the rules that each council adopts upon its formation. However, the Ministry agreed to change the text of the rules by stating that “If the duty of a council member comes to an end, the new person will be elected if he is a member of the same minority and accepts membership in the council. Or, the replacement could be a person who received the largest number of votes at the Electoral Assembly but was insufficient to being elected to the council in the first place.”

However, if it is stipulated in law that each council should have a majority of members ex officio, the inevitable problem arises for minority groups like the Roma who have no members in elected offices or Croats who have few members in elected offices – without a majority of members ex officio required by law, they will not be able to meet the legal requirements necessary to have a minority council. As one international participant stated, “We have to look at those who are less developed politically. If there is a law, it has to be applicable to everybody and you have to find a common ground for those who have no functions in the state authority...otherwise it would be discriminatory.”

Majority Rules

An important part of the discussion focused on Article 7 of the rules and the rights of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to nominate council members.⁶ The concern voiced by several participants was that the rules were giving NGOs a distinct advantage over individuals. As one participant stated, “It is well known in the Ministry that an NGO can be registered if it only has 5 members.” There was unease that NGOs, especially those only set up formally, may have the possibility to exploit this rule if they are not required to collect the same number of signatures as unaffiliated nominations. In order to preempt the possibility of misuse of Article 7 by NGOs, the Ministry agreed to state that NGOs should collect the same number of signatures as individuals thus equalizing the right to nominate council electors. In doing so, the rules will keep to a majority system for nomination of electors.

Council Elections and Mandates

There was some confusion at the roundtable as to whether or not these rules were for the first election in minority councils or for all elections pertaining to the formation of minority councils. According to the Ministry, the “Rules and Instructions for the First Elections of Minority Councils” only apply to the first election as it is stipulated in the Minority Law that each council will decide its own protocol from there on out. As a participant from the Ministry stated, “All other rules will be adopted by the councils themselves which will regulate their own future elections. We want to give rights and trust these councils with adopting their own regulations.”

However, general consensus was reached at the roundtable that should a newly formed council not perform its function to elect officers or adopt its own protocols within a timely manner, an oversight institution must have the legislative ability to dismiss the dysfunctional council in lieu of a new one. Speaking from past experience of working with divided minority groups and the turbulence surrounding the creation of functional councils in a neighboring country, one

⁶ Article 7 states:

Any citizen who declares himself as a person belonging to a minority concerned and provided that his nomination is endorsed by at least 100 persons belonging to the same minority who have right to vote, or he is nominated by one non-governmental organization or association of that minority, shall be eligible to be an elector.

international participant strongly recommended the need to set a specific period of time during which newly formed councils must gather and begin their work.

The Ministry agreed to insert into Article 16 of the draft rules the missive that if the council does not begin its work within 6 months, the Ministry, as the official authority to provide oversight for the proper implementation of the rules, will dismiss the council and restart the process anew.

Conclusions

Instead of progressing with their minority rights legislation, the above report shows how there has been some regression on both the part of the government and minority leaders in their dialogue during the summer of 2006. Past agreements are being rehashed and reevaluated, and cooperation is increasingly being replaced by frustration. Minorities are questioning the government’s political will with regards to minority rights.

That said, the roundtable also showed that the basic agreement on the need to institutionalize a policy of minority rights in Montenegro remains strong. The overall majority of speakers reiterated the need for more minority representatives in parliament and in local assemblies, the only difference being whether or not it is based on permanent, direct representation.

Several times throughout the roundtable, PER reminded participants of the need to maintain productive and progressive dialogue, for minorities to seek compromises, and for government officials to reward moderate minority representatives seeking unity with governmental institutions. In the words of one PER chair, “The beauty of Montenegrin interethnic accord is that moderates on both sides of the ethnic divide were rewarded for their moderate behavior. If you break that accord and stop rewarding those moderates, those people will lose to extremists who will take their place. Or, you will transform those moderates into extremists because of their frustration.”

EFFECTIVE MEDIA RELATIONS

On July 20, 2007, in Podgorica, PER organized an event which focused on how the Montenegrin government and parliament can better communicate about minority issues to its citizenry and to the international community. To this end, PER enlisted the help of Corinne Goetschel, founder of the Public Relations Agency CGC in Switzerland, who presented on the importance of and best methods for pro-active communication strategies, how government institutions can cultivate media as a democratic tool for dispersing timely and accurate information, and how to promote or mitigate minority issues. Having served as the spokesperson for one of the seven Federal Counselors (ministers) in Switzerland, and having worked as an advisor to the government of Macedonia, Ms. Goetschel was uniquely qualified to share her expertise with Montenegrin officials and government staff on effective media relations and their importance.

The event was broken into two parts. The first part was held in the morning during which Ms. Goetschel gave a formal presentation to a select group of parliamentarians, members of the parliamentary committee on human rights and freedoms, and officials from the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Protection. The second part of the event was a private workshop held at the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Protection, with only PER and Ministry officials in attendance. The following is an account of both meetings.

Seminar: “Effective Media Relations” Corinne Goetschel Presenting

The seminar was opened by Alex Grigor’ev, PER Executive Director, and Minister for Human and Minority Rights Protection, Fuad Nimani. During his opening remarks, Mr. Grigor’ev announced to participants that the Rules for the Formation of Minority Councils were published that same morning, on Friday, July 20, 2007, in the main Montenegrin daily “Pobjeda.” According to Minister Nimani, an Albanian translation of the rules would be published in the country’s Albanian-language weekly “Koha Javore” the following week. The official process, however, would begin the following Thursday (July 26, 2007) after the government gazette published the official text of the rules – after this official notice, minority leaders would have the right to contact the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Protection to set up the first elections of their minority councils.

Following this unexpected yet welcome announcement, Mr. Grigor’ev encouraged the government to prioritize adopting the Roma Strategy – a highly regarded document needed to promote Roma inclusion in Montenegrin society. Its quick adoption is necessary if it is to be included in the state’s budget for the upcoming year. He also advised the Ministry and attending minority leaders to work fast to form the minority councils so they might weigh in on Montenegro’s Constitutional proceedings currently underway and in the creation of a comprehensive governmental Minority Strategy.

Mr. Grigor’ev continued the meeting by discussing how communication strategies are an integral part of effective governmental policy. “The media are particularly powerful when they manipulate public opinion – they can even bear responsibility for such events as the outbreak of ethnic violence,” he remarked. While it is clear that many extremists and nationalists know how to use the media to their advantage, it is often not so clear that moderates are as capable at capturing the media spotlight.

“Democratic ways of dealing with the media are essential – in a democratic society, the media and government are partners,” said Mr. Grigor’ev. An open environment for media and governmental transparency are just a few of the standards the western world uses to judge whether or not a country is democratic and free.

Minister Nimani reiterated Mr. Grigor’ev’s opening remarks by stating, “Media relations are extremely important given Montenegro’s diversity.” While media can play a very important role in promoting minority rights, it can also play a very destructive role when it comes to minority and human rights misconceptions. “The Ministry has an Democratic ways of excellent relationship with the media in _{dealing with the media} Montenegro, but we need to be more

are essential – in a

aware and more careful about what sort

democratic society, the

of statements we give, what sort of tone

media and government

we are setting, and what sort of envi

are partners.

ronment we can create,” he concluded.

“It is maybe not a coincidence that a Swiss media consultant is called to Montenegro,” began Ms. Goetschel’s presentation. While speaking about Switzerland as a country composed of diverse ethnicity, cultures, languages, and as a model of peaceful coexistence for many different groups, she also touched on the fact that lingering conflicts remain in Switzerland, and they inevitably require strong communications strategies on the part of the government for effective media relations.

“Media has the power to empower you and also knock you down,” she said, “but what is worse is for them to ignore you.” By engaging the media with true and transparent information, a government not only has a partner for quick dispersal of timely information, they also are able to set the agenda for how a message is publicized to their constituents and the international community. “The government should be heard on matters of national importance – if this information is not provided by the government, it will be provided by someone else and probably less factually,” she advised.

Q&A and Constitutional Debate

A parliamentarian observed that when it comes to exercising minority rights in Montenegro, there is a lack of quality communication between political elites and the media. Without quality communication and explanation, simple governmental ideas like “affirmative action” are misinterpreted and misunderstood. Concepts such as these are particularly relevant considering their prevalence in the draft text of the new Constitution. “Even political elites are not sure of these concepts. We need to clarify and educate so we can develop the capacity to present our ideas and receive support for them,” he stated. The parliamentarian then opined that the centralized information service of the government is not a sufficient mechanism for information dispersal, and recommended that the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Protection develop its own information service.

A minority leader agreed and reconfirmed that, “There are those who are not informed about the rules of the game – this creates misconceptions and misunderstandings. Without affirmative action, minorities cannot find themselves in the parliament – and if they’re not in the parliament, you cannot say that they are taking part in the development of their own society.” The participant then referred to the case of Albanians in Montenegro. Albanians have their own language and culture, and comprise a significant proportion of the Montenegrin populace, yet the government has so far been unable to translate adopted laws into the Albanian language. “We have only one weekly in the Albanian language, and you can’t expect the Albanian population to follow Montenegro’s processes with such limited information,” he argued. He then suggested that the Ministry and Parliament work together to initiate a translation of Montenegro’s basic laws into Albanian, or at the very least, introduce a daily paper in the Albanian language.

An international participant then floated the idea of a press conference during which Parliament’s Chairman for the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms and the government’s Minister for Human and Minority Rights Protection might come together and explain to the public their views on minority policy in Montenegro. “In other countries it is common for the head of a government’s ministry and for the chairman of a parliamentary committee to address the public together as a show of unity and cooperation on a significant policy issue, but this has not yet happened in Montenegro,” he observed.

A member of the Ministry promised to look into what the Ministry could do in regards to the above suggestions. He then announced that there was already a plan for the Ministry to hire a public relations officer. That said, the hiring process was facing several hurdles. For starters, the criteria for a qualified public relations officer was fairly stringent – it is difficult to find a qualified candidate with a degree in communications who is able to speak the local language, Albanian, and English, and who is also willing to work on the salary the Ministry is capable of providing. “The application process is ongoing,” he said, “and hopefully sometime in the near future we will have a person at the Ministry who is devoted to nothing else but communicating our message to the media.”

“Regarding this very important issue of how we communicate to our constituents – irrespective of religion, cultural or political affiliation – information affects all citizens,” one participant observed. As he saw it, the problem in Montenegro is a lack of development in the freedom of publicity or access to information – underdeveloped media affects all Montenegrins regardless of their ethnicity. “It’s true that when it comes to Albanians in Montenegro, they represent a very specific group just because of their different language. For that reason, Montenegro is obliged to make the maximum effort to ensure that information is provided much more in their language than what was provided in the past. I agree with my colleagues that Montenegro needs to have a daily in the Albanian language,” he concluded

The same participant pointed out that there are not so distant instances in which authorities in Montenegro have manipulated minorities. According to the participant, the most obvious case involves the adoption of the Minority Law ten days prior to the referendum that established Montenegro as an independent state. Right after the referendum, the Constitutional Court abolished the law’s two key articles related to direct representation in the parliament, thereby undermining the reason for the overwhelming minority support in the referendum. “As we have heard, we are about to establish a new Constitution, and there is a possibility to move beyond this type of action. We need the media to inform the public about our views and about the way in which these issues are regulated internationally so we can adjust our provisions to the needs of Montenegro,” he said.

Workshop: Developing a Communications Strategy

Following the seminar, PER staff, Corinne Goetschel, Minister Fuad Nimani, and Ministry staff met at the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Protection to put into practice what Ms. Goetschel discussed in the morning’s session. The workshop started out with the Ministry staff listing everything on their agenda that they intend to inform the public about in the upcoming year. The list included but was not limited to: the Ministry’s role in the minority councils’ first elections, the adoption of the new Constitution, the creation of the Minority Fund, the adoption of the Roma Strategy, the adoption of the governmental Minority Strategy, and the creation of a Center for Minority Cultures.

Ministry staff began formulating a plan for a possible media trip to areas where minorities are in majority throughout Montenegro as a means of establishing better relations with both local and international media representatives, and broadening the scope of topics in interethnic relations that journalists might be interested in writing about.

Conclusion

Both the seminar and the workshop were described as “extremely useful” and “timely” by participants, especially when considering the current status of Montenegro’s politics. Several participants said they were eager to present handouts from the seminar to their respective parties. The ministry’s intention to coordinate a media trip, if successful, could increase information about majority-minority relations in Montenegro, minorities in the country, and about the government’s policies towards them. It was the opinion of certain international participants that there was some momentum built during the day’s proceedings for Montenegrin officials to get more involved with communicating about minority issues.

DEVELOPING A MINORITY STRATEGY: ACTION PLANS FOR A COHESIVE SOCIETY

The year 2007 witnessed remarkable progress in Montenegro’s minority rights legislation. The new Montenegrin Constitution, adopted in October 2007, allows for the possibility of reconsidering the issue of securing permanent parliamentary representation for minorities. Montenegro’s first ever Roma Strategy was passed in November 2007 – this document is often touted as uniquely progressive with regards European Roma policy in that it commits the Montenegrin government to allocating 0.2% of its annual budget for the strict purposes of implementing elements of the strategy. By explicitly allocating a percentage of its national budget to Roma issues, Montenegro’s government declared its firm commitment to prioritizing minority issues, especially concerning those most marginalized.

Another important step for a more cohesive minority policy began in July 2007 with the government’s publication of the Rules on the First Formation of Minority Councils – the announcement officially began the process of minority council commencement. In the months following the announcement, the Minister for Human and Minority Rights Protection, Fuad Nimani and the ministry’s staff, met with representatives of each minority community in Montenegro, and explained the logistics of this important legislative document.

In conjunction with this progress, PER and the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Protection convened a discussion on the draft of the Minority Strategy – a document which will not only help Montenegro in its quest for European integration but also represents an important step in strengthening the cohesiveness of its citizenry, and in improving its all-inclusive democratic governance.

The roundtable took place in the Montenegro Parliament building in Podgorica on December 14-15, 2007, and brought together government officials, senior representatives of Montenegro’s parliamentary parties, leaders of Montenegro’s ethnic communities, domestic and foreign experts, and foreign diplomats. The meeting was opened by Minister Nimani and PER President Livia Plaks.

Presenting Montenegro’s First Ever Minority Strategy

One of the experts responsible for drafting the Minority Strategy summarized the draft, and the logic behind its provisions, to the roundtable participants. The expert informed those present that, “What all international legal instruments emphasize is that states have the final say with regards to protection of minority rights,” and that this strategy’s aim is to raise the level of Montenegro’s protection with respect to each citizen’s personal, ethnic, or religious identity. “We need to get to a point where everyone feels that they are a part of the Montenegrin state. We also need improvement of relations in the immediate neighborhood so that each citizen feels comfortable identifying with his or her state of ethnic origin,” the expert advised.

When asked about the difference between individual and collective rights, the expert responded that the strategy text explicitly focused on protection of the individual, and the need to protect that individual from discrimination. Collective rights are inherently protected if each individual in that collective group have these rights, the expert answered.

The expert spoke of the Minority Strategy’s attention to education as a perfect example of protecting collective rights through the individual. By addressing the right to education of each child in the Albanian minority, the government is also addressing the Albanian minority’s collective right to education in their

own language.

We need to get to a

The expert then explained the gov

point where everyone

ernment’s need to make each citizen in

feels that they are a part

Montenegro aware of minority cultures

of the Montenegrin

in Montenegro. In this way, the strategy

state.

is not focused entirely on minority

communities, but also on creating a

cohesive society in Montenegro proud of its diversity. The expert recommended that while each member of a minority community should have a right to use their own language, other members of Montenegrin society, especially members of the majority, should have a right to learn that minority language as well – that this might be one more additional way to integrate society. One way of doing this is to ensure that there is space in both electronic and print media formats dedicated to entertainment and information in minority languages.

When it comes to political participation, said the expert, this strategy emphasizes Montenegro’s duty to fully regulate the representation of minorities in Parliament on the basis of the new Constitution and the Minority Law. Encouragement and assistance in establishing minority councils will benefit this process, the expert advised. The strategy also pays particular attention to minority representation in the police and military, especially in locations where minorities are the majority.

The expert concluded the presentation by addressing the need to create special commissions and inter-ministerial cooperation in order to ensure timely and efficient implementation of the strategy. “The adoption and implementation of the strategy is, of course, up to the government of Montenegro and its working bodies

– the main coordinator is the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Protection which has a special role to play,” said the expert. That said, implementation will not be possible without joint efforts and open communication between other governmental bodies also involved in the implementation process.

As it was explained, “The task of this commission will be to pay attention to multiple strategies and see the bigger picture so that during implementation, there is no collision between. Because, honestly speaking, in the past 5 years, Montenegro has adopted a lot of strategies. A lot of those strategies were not simply because of a desire for that strategy, but because certain international institutions told us that without them, we cannot move forward. We’ve had a lot of ambitious projects and ambitious ideas, but implementation has often fallen flat. We try and have good will, but sometimes it is not realistic or feasible based on the realities of our budget and capacity. The special commission’s mandate will be to see these deficiencies and find solutions to work around them.”

Timelines and Action Plans

An international participant noted that the period for implementation was too long, but expressed more concern about the length of preparation time. One of the experts advised that, “A period of ten years is a deadline which, from an international practice in this region, seemed to be the best and most acceptable considering the number and complexity of the activities. A social environment must be created to overcome some of the obstacles and this strategy recognizes that it does not happen over night.”

It was also observed that, “the timeline of ten years might sound too long, but for a state that has just got out of a conflict (with Serbia) and especially keeping in mind the context in which Montenegro has to live – the timeline isn’t so long and is realistic. We need to also allow some time to the private sector to benefit from some of the shorter goals in this strategy so that they can help us move forward with the process.”

Another expert observed that, “We must also take into consideration the security of the region. If the region remains stable, I imagine the interethnic policies of Montenegro will improve exponentially. If there are problems or conflicts, there will be a destabilizing factor in Montenegro which we must be aware of and prepared for.”

A compromise was proposed in which the drafters would create schedules for each individual chapter in the strategy thereby setting shorter deadlines within the implementation process. The text in the strategy would also identify specific actions to be completed within that shorter timeframe, thus guaranteeing that implementation of the Minority Strategy would not be delayed until the final year. For example, the issue of language could be resolved within 2 years while the issue of political participation in 3 months.

Minority Communities and Their Respective Needs

It was recommended by participants that each minority group should have a specific activity and part of the action plan as each have different priorities. Many minority groups observed that the needs of the Albanian minority do not match the needs of the Croat minority – and neither of these needs match the needs of the Roma. Said one participant, “for every minority, there is a specific issue that should be addressed. For Albanians, it’s education. For the Croats, it’s the issue of employment. The biggest ethnic distance is towards the Albanians

– why? – there needs to be research done to discover the roots of this distance.”

While Montenegro has adopted a separate strategy for the Roma, it was advised that there be cross references placed in the text referring to the Roma Strategy which will be attached as an appendix when the document is brought forth for adoption.

Permanent Representation and Political Participation

During the roundtable, minority representatives placed special emphasis on the need to reinstate the two articles of the Minority Law which were rendered unconstitutional by the Constitutional _{If you look at these} Court. One participant stated, “Without authentic minority representatives, we

issues from the

cannot talk about minority policy in a

perspective of human

real way.”

rights – for both the

Albanian population and Other government officials acknowledged _{the Roma, the most} that the new Constitution and the Minority Law left little doubt as to

important thing is to

whether or not minority communities

have access to

should be represented in parliament but

education.

that how to do this legally and fairly

remains problematic. A participant responded that a solution must be figured out soon if Montenegro is to keep its reputation for serving as a good role model for interethnic relations in the Balkans.

A local expert commented that, “Political participation is not the most important thing. It is a significant issue but not the most significant issue. If you look at these issues from the perspective of human rights – for both the Albanian population and the Roma, the most important thing is to have access to education. They ask why there are no Albanian or Roma judges? We don’t have Albanians and Roma with the ability to be judges because of lack of education. Education, therefore, is the most significant issue.” “Political representation,” responded the participant, “will only speed up this process.”

Faulty Data and Unreliable Statistics

All participants acknowledged that there is a very serious problem in Montenegro with regards accuracy of statistics. Said one participant, “The 2003 census states that there are 0.4% Roma in Montenegro. I’ve been living here and if you go to just one part of Montenegro, you will see not 2,500 Roma but 5,000. You can’t adopt measures on the basis of such a faulty census. If we look into the actual situation of the Roma in Montenegro, we know there are well over 1%.”

While generally agreeing with these observations, the drafters of the strategy insisted that this problem should not be an issue of the Minority Strategy, but an issue of the state. “In 2013 we will have a new census,” said one of the experts. “We don’t want to make speculations and would prefer to use exact data but that’s not possible at present. We still need to move forward.”

Implementation and Funding

It was generally recommended to the experts in charge of drafting the strategy that presidents of the minority councils should serve on a special commission responsible for monitoring the implementation of the strategy. By involving the minority councils, Roma, who have no other means for representation, will be included in the implementation process. It was also advised that the commission be headed by a Deputy Prime Minister and include the Minister for Human and Minority Rights Protection. It was observed by PER staff that the text of the strategy also includes provisions for inter-ministerial cooperation, a solution that PER has been encouraging since the inception of this project.

“Frankly speaking,” said one international participant, “one of the most important parts of the Roma Strategy is that Montenegro is the only country which has put in a budgetary allocation – this has impressed everyone. No matter how marginal it is, I think this should be put into the Minority Strategy as well, no matter how small.”

“Just by looking into the document,” observed an expert, “your suggestion for financing is very much welcome. A financial framework for meeting the demands in Montenegro will have to be determined. We will rely on available data to make this assessment. But again, we don’t have exact data so this financial framework can’t be fixed. We need to come to a satisfactory position until we have more reliable data. This will be our recommendation. It needs to be determinable but not determined.”

“In regards to the financing of this strategy,” responded a representative from the Ministry for Human and Minority Protection, “funds will be taken from the Minority Fund which was adopted in November 2007. It seems to me that we won’t need that much money – not as much money as we needed for the Roma. Why? Because many of the minorities have been already integrated to a degree not done by the Roma. Everyone unanimously supported the Roma Strategy when it was adopted by the government in October. Everyone understands that in regards to the position of Roma in Montenegro, something radical has to be done. Obviously there is strong will coming from the government with regards minority issues, and this will translate into implementation.”

Conclusions

The general tone of the meeting was that the current draft of the Minority Strategy is a good and comprehensive document. In the text there are definitions of “affirmative action” and other terms, which have been used in the political life of Montenegro but so far have not been officially defined in detail. It was also observed that the strategy draft gives a good balance between the concepts of individual and collective rights, and emphasizes integration over assimilation.

As shown, the deadlines set forth in the strategy draft proved to be contentious. A member of the international community pointed out that it is fairly common with such documents that minority representatives feel that the time period for implementation is too long while government representatives worry it is too short.

Permanent political representation of minorities in parliament proved to be another contentious issue. Some minority representatives felt that the new Constitution along with the Minority Law guaranteed them this right.

There was consensus that the statistics used in the Minority Strategy, and in most other government strategies in Montenegro, are unreliable. That said, a solution to this problem has not yet been produced and all agreed that it was more important to move forward than wait.

EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCE: MONTENEGRO, HUNGARY AND ROMANIA

At the invitation of the Project on Ethnic Relations (PER), Montenegro’s Minister for Human and Minority Rights, Fuad Nimani, and Assistant Minister, Sabahudin Delic, accompanied by PER staff, visited Hungary and Romania.

In the countries’ two capital cities, Budapest and Bucharest, the Montenegrin delegation and PER met with various parliamentary committee chairmen, commissioners, presidents of local minority self-governments, secretaries of state in the governments of both countries, as well as with experts on minority rights. During the trip, Minister Nimani and Assistant Minister Delic discussed best minority related practices in Hungary and Romania, as well as presented Montenegro’s achievements in creating a comprehensive governmental minority policy.

By meeting with government officials from Hungary and Romania, two countries with their own stories of successful minority practices, Minister Nimani and Assistant Minister Delic had the opportunity to exchange ideas on how to capitalize on Montenegro’s recent minority rights legislation progress. They also discussed how to facilitate and sustain successful administrative bodies capable of addressing minority needs, and learn from the positive practice in Hungary and Romania.

Budapest, Hungary

On April 7-8, 2008, the Montenegrin delegation met with the Hungarian Office of Ombudsman, Members of the Hungarian and European Parliaments, leaders in the National Roma Self-Government, officials from the office of the Prime Minister, and the State Secretary for Minority National Policy of Hungary. During discussions, the Montenegrin delegation was informed about the Ombudsmens’ system in Hungary, the structure and prerogatives of minority Self-Governments, and implementation of state policies towards minorities living in Hungary. Special attention was paid to the issue of the Roma.

A leader from the Roma community in Hungary informed the delegation that the Hungarian government continues on implementing Roma policies without Romani participation. The Montenegrin delegation was congratulated for their governments’ inclusion of Roma leaders when developing minority policies, despite Montenegro’s general lateness in addressing minority issues. The Hungarian Roma Self-Government offered to jointly cooperate with the newly elected Roma Minority Council in Montenegro. Their experience might be of use to Montenegro’s new council as it develops its administration and capacity for implementing community projects.

A common theme during the meetings was Hungary’s and Montenegro’s ongoing struggle to resolve the issue of permanent parliamentary representation for minorities. The Romani leadership in Hungary stated that it has been fourteen years since the adoption of the Minority Law in Hungary, yet its provisions for permanent parliamentary representation for minorities have still not been implemented. Montenegro, for its part, is currently working on attempting to return the 2006 provisions of its Minority Law that allow for permanent representation in their parliament. A Hungarian representative in the European Parliament commended Montenegro for passing its progressive Minority Law. The majority of European Parliament members agree, he said, that any future EU candidate will have to have such a law as a prerequisite for EU accession. The President of the Hungarian Parliament remarked that in the year 2011, when Hungary takes on the EU Presidency, minority issues will be its top priority.

After the meetings in Budapest, the Montenegrin delegation remarked to PER staff on their need to develop further steps on how to implement minority policy at the local level. So far, the greater part of the focus in Montenegro has been in defining and developing the national legislation – little thought has been given to how local governments will actually enact it. In this regard, they stated, the Hungarian experience was extremely instructive.

Bucharest, Romania

On April 9, 2008, the Montenegrin delegation met with officials from the Romanian Prime Minister’s office, various State Secretaries in the Romanian government and the office of the Prime Minister, the Romanian government’s Department for Interethnic Relations, senior officials from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and various Romanian Parliament members.

The visit to the Romanian Parliament was particularly instructive for the Montenegrin delegation. Romania is one of the few countries that has actually implemented the policy of reserved permanent parliamentary seats for minorities. During meetings it was remarked that minority representation in parliament is crucial when promoting minority interests.

It was also stated, however, that permanent parliamentary representation should not be the only vehicle for ensuring minority presence in the parliament. In Romania, leaders from large minority communities struggle with being equated with numerically insignificant groups. They suggested that a policy that equates someone who receives 150,000 votes and someone who receives a few thousand votes is flawed – instead of receiving 3 or 4 representatives, they are limited to just one. For example, even though only 50,000 votes are required for a seat in Parliament and the Roma party receives 150,000, they are limited to one seat because their party does not receive a 5% political threshold and qualifies for only one minority reserved seat. Plus, the political weight of one seat is hardly sufficient for successfully passing legislation for the minorities that one seat represents.

Officials at the Romanian government’s Department for Interethnic Relations (DIR) informed the Montenegrin delegation about their programs and projects. They stressed the importance of working not only with minorities but also with majorities – this dual approach is the only way to alleviate the country of prejudice. For example, extreme right wing groups recruit mostly from the majority’s youth population – if not educated and made aware about minorities, these youth might become tomorrow’s neo-Nazi movement.

With regards educational programs, the department focused on the need to produce textbooks in minority languages and a textbook on multiculturalism (mandatory for second grade students in Romania). DIR officials stressed the need for minority participation in government and said that only through such participation it is possible to resolve minority needs effectively.

The most important conclusion drawn from the meetings in Bucharest was the Romanian officials’ stress on the importance of political will when resolving minority issues. Even the most perfect laws and regulations serve only as a mechanism for establishing a working dialogue between majority and minority communities. It is through this dialogue and not the legal framework, minority policy achieves sustainable results.

38

MINORITY INTEGRATION IN MONTENEGRO: NEXT STEPS

One June 27, 2008, in Podgorica, PER organized its concluding activity in the three-year long project titled “Developing a Governmental Minority Policy in Montenegro.” Minority representatives and government officials came together to discuss how the new legislation and government strategies resulting from

The responsibility for our

the PER project (Minority Law,

future is in our hands –

Minority Fund, Roma Strategy,

regardless of the good

Minority Strategy, Rules on the For-

intentions of PER and

mation of Minority Councils) have improved the daily lives of minorities other international living in Montenegro, how minority organizations – it is up to communities can utilize the legislative us if we want to be the tools now available to them, and what role model for good future steps are needed to secure interethnic accord in minority integration in the country.

Europe.

The conversation ranged from congratulatory remarks on how far the Montenegrin government has come along its path towards minority integration and cautionary reminders of how far both the Montenegrin government and minority communities have yet to go. In terms of minority policies in Montenegro, there remains much to debate. Ambiguities persist about already established institutions like minority councils – a consistent vision for their organization, functioning, authority, and influence continues to be a topic of uncertainty. Practical issues such as the constitution of the Minority Fund continue to be a problem. And lastly, the mechanism for permanent minority representation in the Montenegrin parliament and local assemblies continues to be unresolved, and more importantly, increasingly contentious.

Opening Remarks

“The events in the past year have shown very clearly the minorities’ belief and trust in the authorities in Montenegro,” stated PER President Livia Plaks in her opening remarks, “and it is this belief that has led to the country’s continued stability.” She praised the government for its accommodation of minorities, especially with regards the ongoing debate about permanent representation of minorities in parliament and concluded by stating, “in Europe today, there is a very important lesson to be learned – namely, that the management of interethnic relations is above all in the national interest.”

Montenegrin Minister for Human and Minority Rights Protection, Fuad Nimani, began his opening remarks by stating, “We’ve stopped counting the activities we’ve held with PER – there are just too many. At the first events, we focused on the states’ relations with the Albanian community. We are in the 4th generation of students at the Albanian-language faculty, our border crossings with Albania are working well, the maternity ward in Ulcinj has been open since 2005 – the list of our joint successes continues.” He then went on to say that Montenegro has an additional obligation to raise the level of minority accommodation even higher than that of other democracies – raising

minority rights to the level of European standards is only the beginning. “The responsibility for our future is in our hands – regardless of the good intentions of PER and other international organizations – it is up to us if we want to be the role model for good interethnic accord in Europe,” he concluded.

Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Presentation

Assistant Minister for Human and Minority Rights Protection of Montenegro Sabahudin Delic presented his Ministry’s main priorities and achievements over the past year. “Article 33 of the Minority Law states that every minority can select its own minority council, from 17-35 members,” he reported. In July 2007, the Ministry began this process by publishing the Rules for the First Formation of Minority Councils, after which they began a publicity campaign to educate the public about what these minority councils are supposed to do and why they are important. “We’ve published in multiple languages information about these councils on websites, TV, radio – and met with NGOs privately. We went to the localities of minorities and explained the procedures for electing the first councils. The Croatian Council, then Bosnjak, then Roma, then Muslim, and finally Albanian Council (April 19, 2008) have been formed. The establishment of each council was followed by registration by the government – with this registration, the councils have obtained the status of legal entities.”

With regards the Minority Fund – financial support for all language, cultural, educational and other activities of minority communities – the ministry had difficulty engaging the parliament which, according to the ministry, showed a lack of interest in developing a law on the fund. The ministry had to take the initiative and the statutes of the fund were adopted by the government in February 2008 and 0.15% of Montenegro’s 2008 budget has been allocated for these activities (approximately 1 million euros). Representatives of minority councils along with government officials are supposed to serve on the board of directors for this fund – this has been delayed because the minority councils have been slow in nominating their representatives. “We still haven’t received the names from certain minorities of who will be representing certain councils on this board of directors, and until the board is completely formed, we are unable to disperse the funds.”

The official concluded his presentation by announcing that Montenegro’s Center for Minority Cultures is fully equipped and up and running – this center’s main priority is to protect the cultural identity of all communities living in Montenegro. The Roma Strategy – the government’s plan to help the Roma specifically from 2008 – 2012 has been allocated 400,000 euros in 2008 alone for special projects. And the Minority Strategy is in its final revision stage and should be adopted within the month.

Minority Councils

A member of the Croat Minority Council reported that the first problem the Croat community faces in Montenegro is the inability to use the Croatian language in schools, the media, on TV, radio, etc – and the fact that they do not have their own media. “This is something that represents the basic problem in trying to preserve our identity,” she stated. The second problem, she acknowledged, is the inability of Croats to participate at the national level in institutions.

A member of the Albanian Minority Council then reported on his council’s recent progress. Since the establishment of the Albanian Council (19 April 2008), five sessions have been held and the rules for procedure have been adopted. The council, however, faces an uncertain future since certain members ex officio are boycotting and refusing to work with the current council. These members claim the election of the Albanian Council was unfair and does not represent the Albanian minority community. International participants noted that this boycott is symbolic of Montenegro’s already acknowledged intra-ethnic Albanian political discord. If this problem is not resolved quickly, it could lead to delegitimization of the Albanian Council, and Montenegro’s minority councils in general.

A member of the Bosnjak Minority Council commented that the current problem in the Albanian Council is symbolic of a greater danger – the focus on political identity in Montenegro rather than cultural. “I represent the Bosnjak Council, and what my primary interest is that we have no funds, no offices.

Fourteen members ex officio have automatically become members of my council and I don’t think this is good – it leads to automatic politicization of how the council operates and what it focuses on. We have the opportunity to be the bridge between the east and west, and as the second largest ethnic community in Montenegro, there’s no reason why we can’t be a leader in this movement. We need to know how to apply for the funds for the councils, for the funds for minority activities. We need to know how to tap into additional funds from international resources,” he concluded.

A member of the Muslim Minority Council informed participants that his community faces a different set of problems. Since the Muslim people in Montenegro are not established into political parties, they do not have the same problems with politicization. That said, because the council is mostly composed of intellectuals, they may not wield the same political clout as officials in their fellow councils. The participant then proudly informed the others that the new Muslim Council is one of the few institutions that has prioritized gender equality – 5 out of the 25 of its members are women.

A member of the Bosnjak Council suggested establishing a coordination committee responsible for coordinating the activities of minority councils in Montenegro so they can work proactively together. “It is not enough for each council to focus on its own cultural and identity. We must work together for all minorities in Montenegro.”

An international participant advised that the councils work faster to elect members to the Minority Fund’s Board of Directors. Without all five councils doing this, the Ministry will not be able to disperse finances from this fund. The same participant reminded those present that while it may seem like things are moving slowly, Montenegro is moving forward quite quickly with implementation. Just one example of this is the Roma Strategy which was adopted less than a year ago but has already begun financing 17 projects for Roma related activities. What obviously determines whether or not a policy or new institution does well is the political will of the minority community to take advantage of tools already accessible to them.

The same international participant suggested that once the councils are established and representatives appointed that the Ministry host a meeting to discuss what each expects from the other – what the government expects from the councils, and what the councils expect from the government. “Apparently there is some confusion about what the councils are supposed to do,” he noted. “Obviously the government needs to clarify this better. A conversation is what is needed.”

Permanent Parliamentary Representation

A minority representative and member of parliament opened his statement with: “what we’ve heard so far is a nice story, and the intentions are definitely on the right track. But the key to all this is how to define the mechanism of political representation of minorities in the parliament. Without this definition, we cannot speak about integrating minorities or improving their access to cultural self-identification. If you’re not present in parliament, you’re not present in politics.”

A member of the Albanian Minority Council reminded participants that minority rights have always depended on the ruling party. “When they need us, they are very accommodating. When they don’t need us, they set us aside,” he stated. Because of this perceived discrimination, the participant insisted on the need to focus on parliamentary representation. Without permanent political representation, this participant said, there can be no agreement on harmonious interethnic relations in Montenegro.

Conclusion

“As a member of the ruling party, I can admit that some of the things we agreed, we have not been able to fulfill,” said one parliamentarian at the roundtable. “But we have achieved a great deal of many things that were agreed to. The process has been long, but we have not lost our way.” The participant then spoke about Montenegro’s EU accession process and how the country has been treated the same as Bosnia, Serbia and Macedonia. According to this participant this treatment is unfair. “No one has ever shot a gun or killed anyone during elections in Montenegro,” he said. “We’re on a much higher level of interethnic accord than the countries in our surrounding region. It is our joint achievement that we have a majority tolerant society willing to negotiate with minority communities. I am proud of that.”

One minority representative stated, “Today is better than it was yesterday, and it is worse than it will be tomorrow. We are constantly improving. If we have learned one thing from PER, it is to ‘take it step by step.’ We can’t do it all at once. We need to go one step at a time and continue with dialogue.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, future steps were outlined for further improvement of minority issues in Montenegro. These include:

Financing of minority councils

Minority council capacity building

Implementation of the Minority Strategy and minority related legislation

Creation of a minority council coordination committee

Resolving the issue of permanent parliamentary representation for minorities

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS^*

(English alphabetical order)

Participants from Montenegro

Borislav Banovic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Social Democratic Party) Mehmet Bardhi, Member, Parliament of Montenegro; President,

Democratic Alliance in Montenegro (2) Vaselj Beganaj, President, NGO Pocetak, Niksic (3) Sinisa Bjekovic, President, Center for Human and Minority Rights,

University of Montenegro Mikosav Boskovic, Adviser for Local Self-Government to the Minister of Justice of Montenegro Agron Camaj, Senior Advisor, Secretariat for Local Self-Government, City of Podgorica Gazmend Cuca, Senior Legal Adviser, Ministry for Human and Minority Rights

Protection of Montenegro (6) Goran Danilovic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Serb People’s Party) Dobrilo Dedeic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Serb People’s Party) Sabahudin Delic, Assistant Minister, Ministry for Human and Minority Rights

Protection of Montenegro (4) Ferhat Dinosha, Member, Parliament of Montenegro; President,

Democratic League of Albanians (6) Isen Gashi, President, Roma Minority Council Amer Halilovic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Bosnjak Party) (3) Gezim Hajdinaga, Minister for Protection of Rights of Persons Belonging to

National and Ethnic Groups of Montenegro (3) Rafet Husovic, President, Bosnjak Party (3) Ivana Jelic, Assistant Professor, Department of International Public Law and

Human Rights, Law Faculty, University of Montenegro Sabro Kalac, Secretary General, Bosnjak Party Velizar Kaludjerovic, Chairman, Club of Deputies of the Socialist People’s Party,

Parliament of Montenegro Dragan Koprivica, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Socialist People’s Party

of Montenegro) (2) Avdul Kurpejovic, Member, Muslim Minority Council Vasilije Lalosevic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Socialist People’s

Party of Montenegro)

*The number in parentheses indicates the number of PER roundtables the participant attended. Where no number appears, the person took part in one roundtable only. Some participants have changed their titles between 2005 – 2008. Only the titles at the time of their latest attendance are listed.

Misela Manojilovic, Deputy Secretary, Secretariat for Local Self-Government, City of Podgorica

Miroslav Maric, President, Croat Minority Council

Milomir Mihaljevic, Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister of Montenegro

Miomir Mugosa, Mayor, City of Podgorica; Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Democratic Party of Socialists)

Bozo Nikolic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Croat Civic Initiative) (3)

Fuad Nimani, Minister for Human and Minority Rights Protection of Montenegro (5)

Mevludin Nuhondzic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Democratic Party of Socialists) (5)

Koca Pavlovic, Chairman, Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms, Parliament of Montenegro (Movement for Changes) (3)

Gojko Raicevic, Vice President, Executive Board, Serb People’s Party

Rifat Rastoder, Vice President, Parliament of Montenegro (Social Democratic Party) (5)

Serbo Rastoder, President, Bosnjak Minority Council

Dani Sahiti, Member, Roma Minority Council

Orhan Sahmanovic, Secretary, Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Protection of Montenegro (6)

Nedzmedin Salja, President, Romani Circle of Montenegro (3)

Vuksan Simonovic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (Socialist People’s Party) (3)

Vasel Sinishtaj, Member, Parliament of Montenegro; President, Albanian Alternative (2)

Dragan Soc, Chairman, Club of Deputies of the People’s Party, Parliament of Montenegro

Tahir Tahiri, President, Albanian Minority Council

Sonja Tomovic Sundic, Adviser for Human Rights and Minorities to the President of Montenegro

Dejan Vucicevic, Member, Parliament of Montenegro (People’s Party)

Nebojsa Vucinic, Professor, Law Department, University of Montenegro; Director, Center for Human Rights; Chairman, Working Group on Drafting the Law on Protection of National Minorities, Ministry for Protection of Rights of Persons Belonging to National and Ethnic Groups of Montenegro (2)

Marija Vucinovic, President, Croat Civic Initiative (4)

Miodrag Vukovic, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations and European Integration; Chairman, Club of Deputies of the Democratic Party of Socialists, Parliament of Montenegro (5)

Aleksandar Zekovic, Member, Working Group on Drafting the Law on Protection of National Minorities, Ministry for Protection of Rights of Persons Belonging to National and Ethnic Groups of Montenegro; Program Director, Center for Civic Education (2)

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS

Council of Europe

Vladimir Philipov, Special Representative of the Secretary General, Office in Podgorica

Vladimir Ristovski, Special Representative of the Secretary General, Office in Podgorica

Ana Zec, Program Officer, Office in Podgorica

Republic of Hungary

Laszlo Biro, Senior Researcher, Institute of History, Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Zoltan Biro, Senior Researcher, Institute of History, Hungarian Academy of Sciences: Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Hungary

Katalin Deak, Counselor, Office for National and Ethnic Minorities, Government of Hungary

Ferenc Gemesi, State Secretary, Department for National and Ethnic Minorities, Government of Hungary

Jozsef Juhasz, Senior Researcher, Institute of History, Hungarian Academy of Sciences: Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Hungary

Orban Kolompar, President, National Roma Self-Government

Antal Paulik, Deputy Director General, Department for National and Ethnic Minorities, Government of Hungary

Attila Pok, Director, Europa Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Member, Council for Ethnic Accord, Project on Ethnic Relations

Csaba Tabajdi, Member (Hungarian Socialist Party), European Parliament; Chairman, Intergroup for Traditional National Minorities, Constitutional Regions and Regional Languages, European Parliament

Judith Toth, Legal Advisor to Commissioner for National and Ethnic Minority Rights

Laszlo Teleki, Member of Parliament (Hungarian Socialist Party), Parliament of Hungary

Erika Torzsok, Director General, Department for National and Ethnic Minorities, Government of Hungary

Zoltan Szasz, former Director, Institute of History, Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Katalin Szili, President, Parliament of Hungary

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Paraschiva Badescu, Ambassador; Head, Mission in Montenegro (4)

Helen Gardiner, Human Rights Officer, Mission in Montenegro

Rada Gavrilovic, Ethnic Minorities Officer, Podgorica Office, Mission to Serbia and Montenegro (2)

Tatjana Miranovic, Democratization Program Assistant, Mission in Montenegro

Andrzej Mirga, Senior Advisor on Roma and Sinti Issues, Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues, Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (3)

Raffaella Zoratti, Senior Democratization Officer, Mission in Montenegro (2)

Project on Ethnic Relations

Nenad Djurdjevic, Representative in Serbia and Montenegro Alex Grigor’ev, Executive Director (7) Adrienne Landry, Program Officer (4) Alan Moseley, Program Officer (2) Livia Plaks, President (6)

Republic of Serbia

Laszlo Jozsa, President, National Council of the Hungarian Ethnic Minority in Serbia (2)

Romania

Mihnea Constantinescu, State Advisor, Head of the Prime Minister’s Office,

Government of Romania Victor Giosan, State Secretary, Secretariat General, Government of Romania Attila Marko, State Secretary; Head, Department for Interethnic Relations,

Government of Romania Nicolae Paun, Member of Parliament, President of the Commission for Human Rights and Minorities Issues, Parliament of Romania Valentin Platon, Undersecretary of State, Department of Interethnic Relations, Government of Romania

Rodica Precupetu, Head of Unit, Programmes and Relations with Civil Society and International Bodies, Department for Interethnic Relations, Government of Romania

Gheorghe Magheru, Director General, Directorate General for Extended Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania Raduta Matache, State Secretary, European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania

Swiss Confederation

Corinne Goetschel, Founder and President, CGC

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Kevin Lyne, Ambassador, Embassy in Montenegro Dino Pasalic, Head of Projects, Embassy in Serbia (3) Aleksandra Radetic, Head, Projects and Public Diplomacy Section, Embassy in

Serbia and Montenegro Lianne Stephens, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy in Montenegro Ivan Vukcevic, Political Officer, Embassy in Montenegro (3)

United States of America

Arlene Ferrill, Principal Officer, Consulate in Podgorica Zlatko Ivanovic, Political Specialist, Embassy in Montenegro Roderick Moore, Ambassador, Embassy in Montenegro Gina Werth, Vice Consul, Embassy in Montenegro (2)

OTHER PER PUBLICATIONS

For a complete listing of all PER publications, please visit our website:

www.per-usa.org

Montenegro on the Brink: Avoiding Another Yugoslav War (2000)

Roma and the Law: Demythologizing the “Gypsy Criminality” Stereotype (2000)

Vojvodina: The Politics of Interethnic Accommodation (2000)

The Year 2000 Elections in Romania: Interethnic Relations and European Integration (2000)

The Roma in Hungary: Government Policies, Minority Expectations, and the International Community (2000)

Toward Community Policing: The Police and Ethnic Minorities in Hungary (2000)

Albanians and Their Neighbors: Unfinished Business (2000)

Roma and the Government in Slovakia: The Debate Over Migration (2000)

Roma and Statistics (2001)

Albanians as Majorities and Minorities: A Regional Dialogue (2001)

State Policies Toward the Roma in Macedonia (2001)

Parliamentary Representation of Minorities in Hungary: Legal and Political Issues

(2001)

Political Will: Romania’s Path to Ethnic Accommodation (2001)

Yugoslav Roma Face the Future (2001)

Leadership, Representation and the Status of the Roma (2002)

Yugoslavia at the Crossroads (2002)

The Bulgarian Ethnic Experience (2002)

Political Extremism and Interethnic Relations in the New Millennium (2002)

Roma and the Question of Self-Determination: Fiction and Reality (2003)

Roma in Multiethnic Communities in Serbia (2003)

The Romani “Mahalas” (Neighborhoods) of Southeastern Europe: Politics, Poverty and Ethnic Unrest (2003)

Albanians and Their Neighbors: Is the Status Quo Acceptable? (2003)

Macedonia’s Interethnic Coalition: The First Six Months (2003)

Macedonia’s Interethnic Coalition: The First Year (2004)

Albanians and Their Neighbors: Moving Toward Real Communication (2004)

Women in Governance and Interethnic Relations (2004)

Macedonia’s Interethnic Coalition: Solidifying Gains (2004)

Roma and EU Accession: Elected and Appointed Romani Representatives in an Enlarged Europe (2004)

Kosovo 2005: Assuring Security for the Neighborhood (2005)

Macedonia: The Next Stage (2005)

Central and East European Governments and Cooperation with the Hungarian Communities: Efforts, Accomplishments, Failures (2005)

Macedonia: On the Road to Brussels (2005)

Kosovo and the Region Prepare for Change: Relations, Responsible Governance, and Regional Security (2005)

The Political Uses of Anti-Semitism (2006)

The Balkans and the EU: Challenges on the Road to Accession (2006)

Macedonia: Agenda 2006 (2006)

Romani Politics Present and Future (2006)

Serbs in the Twenty-First Century (2006)

Kosovo Roundtables (2006)

Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic Integration: Advancing Common Interests (2007)

New Majorities and Minorities in the Balkans (2007)

Confidence Building Measures in Kosovo (2007)

The Balkans as a Source of Security and Stability in Europe (2007)

Reviving Interethnic Political Dialogue in South Serbia (2008)