(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Kosovo is making moves to include ethnic Croats and Montenegrins as separate minorities listed in the constitution, giving them more rights. Both groups have so far been included with the larger Serbian community in Kosovo.
"Recognition as a formal minority in the country" is likely to follow, Jasmina Zivkovic, head of the Commission for the Rights and Interests of Minorities and for Returns, said.
Amendments would first go to the constitutional court, and, once approved by the court, then approved by parliament, she explained, adding that this would mean that the minorities would be separately represented in parliament.
It is unclear how many Croats and Montenegrins live in Kosovo today. The last census they appeared in, in 1991, listed 20,000 Montenegrins and 8,000 Croats.
In 1999, the new UN authority in Kosovo, UNMIK, bracketed Montenegrins with the Serbian community. Many Croats are thought to have migrated to Croatia.
Under the present system, Montenegrins and Croats in Kosovo attend Serbian-language schools, currently administered by Belgrade.
Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga met Montenegrin community members last week and promised that efforts were being made to give them constitutional minority status.
Under the last government's mandate, Jahjaga also promised former Croatian President Ivo Josipovic that the Croat community would be included in the constitution.
Kosovo's relations with both countries are cordial and both have recognised Kosovo's independence, whch Serbia has not.
However, Montenegro has hesitated to establish diplomatic ties until "the Montenegrin minority is accepted in Kosovo and the conditions have been met for the return of the non-Albanian communities to Kosovo".
The two communities have so far been represented by their respective associations, some of which participate in the President's Consultational Council for Minorities.
The extent of their rights and their representation would be set up through negotiated agreements. However, Fisnik Korenica, from the Group for Legal and Political Studies, an NGO in Pristina, said separate representation for them in parliament could prove problematic as there were only 20 seats set aside for minorities.
"It is a question of how the existing 20 minority seats will be divided. Ten go to the Serbian community, and the other 10 are divided amongst the other minorities," he noted.
Either the some of the other communities would have to give up seats "or the places will be taken away from the [100] Albanian-majority seats", Korenica added.
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