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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Ministry of Diaspora launches initiatives to improve position of Serbs living abroad

Belgrade, 16 August 2004

Following a recent visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, Serbian Deputy Minister of Diaspora Aleksandar Cotric and Assistant Minister of Diaspora Miodrag Jaksic said that the Ministry has proposed several initiatives to improve the position of Serb nationals in the two countries.

Aleksandar Cotric and Miodrag Jaksic

The Ministry has asked the Serbia-Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs to set up a Serbia-Montenegrin consulate in Skadar to help Serbs living in Albania exercise their human rights, said Jaksic, adding that the Ministry has also launched initiatives to sign a bilateral accord on human rights between Serbia-Montenegro and Albania, and to abolish common visa requirements.

As part of their visit to Albania, the two officials met with representatives of the Albanian Minority Rights Committee.

Serbs have difficulties exercising their basic human rights in Albania and declaring themselves as Serb nationals, said Jaksic, stressing that over 40,000 Serbs have been forced to change their names.

Noting that the Serb Diaspora in Albania is the only national minority in Europe to have been deprived of the right to receive information and education in its language, Jaksic said that the Ministry has asked the Committee to address the problem. The committee was quick to inform the Prime Minister about the issue, Jaksic went on to say, adding that he expects the Prime Minister to help tackle the problem.

Although the Constitution of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation describes Serbs as a constitutive nation, the reality is much different, said Cotric. He warned that Serbs account for only four to five percent of total Bosnia-Herzegovina population, adding that 20,000 Serbs currently live in Sarajevo, compared to some 200,000 that used to live in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s capital.

Instead of 17, Serbs have only nine deputies in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation parliament, Cotric added.

There are much more Bosniaks and Croats living in Republika Srpska than Serbs living in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation, he went on to say, adding that unemployment and pressure from authorities and neighbours represent the major obstacles to Serb return.

In cooperation with the Serb National Council, the Democratic Initiative of Sarajevo Serbs, and international NGOs, the Ministry will organise a census to register all Serbs that have not returned to the Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation, said Cotric.

The Ministry will also organise a business conference on Oct 1 to bring together Serbian-born businessmen living abroad and Serbian business people from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cotric added.

According to Jaksic, Serb political representatives from the region will meet on Oct 8 in a bid to urge Serbia to prepare a national strategy on its Diaspora in the region.