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RAPPORTEURS OF THE MONITORING COMMITTEE MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COORDINATION BODY

20. July 2017.

Belgrade - Rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe met with representatives of the Coordination Body and familiarized themselves with the situation in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.

At the beginning of the meeting, Zoran Stankovic, President of the Coordination Body, informed the rapporteurs that the security situation in the three municipalities was stable and explained the role of coordination between the Government, the relevant ministries and state bodies and the municipalities.

Mr. Stankovic also presented to the rapporteurs what the Coordination Body had done in the three municipalities until then, underscoring, among other things, the seven-point plan of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, provision of textbooks in the Albanian language, the opening of the Faculty of Economics’ Department in Bujanovac, economic development, privatization of the media and integration of the Albanians. President of the Coordination Body said that, although there were occasionally some irresponsible statements made by specific Albanian leaders, representatives of the Coordination Body would not react to them, explaining that everyone was entitled to their opinion, but had no right to violate the law.

Rapporteurs Samad Seido from Azerbaijan and Maria Guzenina from Finland were especially interested in the issue of textbooks. 

Danijela Nenadic, Director of the Coordination Body, said that under the laws of the Republic of Serbia, national minorities had the right to pre-school, primary school and secondary school education in their language, while higher education, by the law, did not have to be provided to  them.  Nevertheless, the Faculty of Economics’ Department in Bujanovac was opened in 2011.  Ms. Nenadic said that there were three ways to provide textbooks, which include translation of the existing textbooks into the Albanian language,  the import of textbooks from the home country and the writing of textbooks  by  representatives of the national minorities themselves. 

“The Coordination Body, including the leading role of the Ministry of Education, worked on resolving the issue of textbooks from the establishment of the Albanian National Council until 2015.  79 primary school textbooks and three pre-school ones, which is a total of 82 textbooks, were provided until that year,” Ms. Nenadic said.  

Director of the Coordination Body’s Office pointed out that there had not been a single textbook from 2015 until that day, as the initiative had to come from the Albanian National Council. The Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Education and the Coordination Body cannot impose textbooks. Representatives of the Albanian National Council failed to propose a single new textbook in the previously done manner.  

The rapporteurs expressed their gratitude for the thorough familiarization with the situation in the three municipalities, and emphasized the need to  inform the Coordination Body of their impressions upon their visit to the southern Serbian municipalities.  

Source: Coordination Body