OSCE Mission to Serbia issues statement on the establishment of the Bosniak National Minority Council
BELGRADE, 6 September 2010 - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, made the following statement today:
"The OSCE Mission has provided extensive support to the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights for the election of National Minority Councils. Following the 6 June elections, all Minority Councils have been convened, after appropriate action of the Ministry, which represents a positive development. The new Councils offer Serbia's national minorities an important voice in areas affecting culture, education, language and media, thus taking Serbia a further step towards a more inclusive and democratic society. It goes without saying that the National Minority Councils are seen as rallying points for minorities and springboards for their development.
"The events following 7 July concerning the Bosniak Minority Council raise concern. Nobody, we believe, wants to see this Council becoming a point of division. The Mission notes that the 6 June electoral result was not challenged by representatives of any of the three electoral lists. In view of this, the OSCE Mission calls on all sides, in a spirit of civil responsibility, to find an agreed solution on the basis of the expressed will of the voters in that election as soon as possible. In this regard, the Mission finds positive the interventions of the Commissioner for Equality, as well as the Republican Protector of Citizens. It is critical not to lose sight of the fact that the Bosniak Minority Council, as any Minority Council, is there to promote the integration and development of minorities in the Serbian state system as a whole."