Suggestions for the action – to what refer the results of the project
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ACTION : to what refer the results of the project *
The project “Strengthening of the public consciousness of multiethnicity as a positive social capital in
the development of returnee local communities” is realized through a number of activities
(educational seminars, information and educational radio shows, bulletins “Multiethnicity and
development”, and brochure-manual “Multiethnicity, return, development”) through which was
being realized a very high-quality interaction between a number of participants who were
contributing to the implementation and development of the project itself. One of the results of such
approach was also a number of suggestions in what way to continue to improve minority-politics in
Croatian society, and in that way to contribute to the strengthening of multiethnicity and tolerance,
and thus, among other things, to strengthen the conditions for the real and sustainable return of
refugees and the development of their local environments to benefit of overall Croatian society. By
publishing of those suggestions in the last number of our bulletin “Multiethnicity and development”
we want to make them available to the public and in that way to encourage the discussion, but also
the possible – action.
For high-quality minority-policies besides the realization of rights we also need the implementing
of values
On the tenth anniversary of the Constitutional Law we are being given the opportunity and duty to
objectively analyze former success and results of its execution in all areas of realization of minorityrights, and figuring out the measures and policies which will insure its longevity and improve its
execution.
However, it should not be forgotten that prescribing and implementation of these legal norms by
themselves do not contribute to the realization of the rights of minorities. The realization of those
rights can be effective only in the climate of social tolerance, the acceptance of the fact of
multiethnicity and the right to preservation of cultural specificities of those social groups that are not
majority ones. If we want Croatian society to become ready to face this demand, it is necessary to
bring majority to consciousness to see the needs and rights of national minorities. The good news is
that the acceptance of minority-rights as legitimate and necessary from the part of all citizens serves
as an indicator of democratization of Croatian society. In order to realize the latter one in our country
the democratic political culture of Croatian society must strengthen. By the development of
democratic political culture it comes to the acceptance of right and need of guaranteeing and
executing of minority-rights among all Croatian citizens. Namely, minority-rights can not be executed
in some excluded part of a society, primarily because their execution is often secured by the citizens
who themselves are not the members of national minorities but work in government bodies.
Furthermore, when the rest of the citizens the rights of minorities consider a privilege and not a
right, it means that their legitimacy is not well explained and justified.
The promotion of ethnic variety and multiculturalism of a society by means of upbringing and
education
How can the objective informing about the fact of multiethnicity and multiculturalism of our society
be enabled? The educational system is an obvious and logical possibility, especially through the
announced educational program of civics, but also through the teaching of Croatian language,
history, geography, visual art and music. Educational process should promote intercultural dimension
and bring to consciousness the fact of historical coexistence of Croats and national minorities in the
examples of cooperation and intertwining in many local communities. By the development of
intercultural competence pupils become conscious of their own cultural identity, in the same time
familiarizing themselves with the cultures of other peoples and ethnic groups and respecting them.
Suggestions for the action – to what refer the results of the project
Let us hope that the political elites will take into consideration the attitude of experts and activists
and in due time deal with the question of the still present ethnic divisions in the parts of educational
system of our country. Such practice surely does not contribute to familiarizing with the tolerance
and to its growth, but cements the divisions which were induced by the recent war.
Media as a credible image of a society
In the last few years we started to deal more intense with the problem of insufficient representation
of minority-themes in Croatian media. As well as many other areas of realization of minority-right,
this has also come on agenda as a consequence of the European Union’s politics of conditioning.
However, despite the long-term pointing to insufficient representation of minorities in the media,
the indifference of media toward the minority-themes is discernible, unless it is sensationalistic and
stereotyping. Media are responsible for promotion of multiethnic tolerance, and should be
informative, objective and unsensationalist mirror of multiethnic and multicultural Croatian society.
Namely, as long as we uncritically accept the lack of representation of minorities in political,
educational, entertaining, informative, in other words in all programs of electronic media and in all
columns of newspapers, we have not socially matured and proved that the spirit of tolerance and
intercultural dialogue, mutual respect and understanding among all citizens, no matter of their
ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious affiliation has taken hold.
Bringing to consciousness the rights of minorities to employees of local and regional units of selfgovernment
Not only the central authority, but also the local and regional authorities are obliged to take effective
measures to promote the mutual respect, understanding and cooperation between all people who
live in their territory, especially in domain of education, culture and media. However, the fact is the
members of national minorities in everyday life still face the problems and difficulties connected with
the realization of the part of their own rights prescribed by the Constitutional Law on the Rights of
National Minorities under the jurisdiction of local and regional self-government. It is especially the
case in certain returnee areas. Exactly on the lowest levels of authority, i.e. in boroughs and counties
is important to continuously promote the spirit of tolerance and intercultural dialogue for the sake of
realization of the rights of minorities. Because in the contact and interaction with local officials the
members of national minorities realize their own rights or eventually can be discriminated. Since in a
part of local government has been noticed a deficiency in consistent execution of certain regulations
of Constitutional Law, I believe that it is appropriate to consider the introduction of systematic and
obligatory education of local and regional officials as well as the functionaries about minority-rights
and the necessity and benefits of minority-politics to Croatian society, and especially to the
communities in which minorities and majority coexist.
Minority-rights as a part of economic and developmental politics
If we want to contribute systematically to the climate of respect and tolerance, and to insure the
long-term sustainable minority-politics, I am of the opinion that the minority-politics should be made
a component part of all state-policies (to carry out so called mainstreaming of questions in all areas
of government and in all levels of state-institutions) and that it should be carried out in much wider
social frame than the present one. For example, the various EU projects request that in their own
results (and even in the project-proposals) should be indicated the contributions of the projects to
the gender equality. It is also possible to use this mechanism for the promotion of social inclusion of
minorities, tolerance, strengthening of the position of minorities or for the development of
multiethnic and returnee local environments. Therefore, the institutions which finance the projects
of civil society (such as for example National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, etc.) in
every project-proposal should demand “clause” of interculturalism, demanding from the projects the
Suggestions for the action – to what refer the results of the project
active contribution to the interethnic permeation and cooperation in environments in which they are
being carried out.
The return as an interest of Croatian society
The return of the members of the Serbian national minority is not the right and interest of returnees
only. The return is the interest of Croatian society primarily, that is of its devastated areas and local
communities. As a part of developmental agenda it is necessary to insist on the projects that can
contribute to the revitalization of the returnee areas, encouraging economic activities which are
relevant to those areas (for example, to encourage ecological food production, various rural projects,
transboundary cooperation, cooperative movements, design stimulating measures for young families
with children who would settle down in the returnee environments, etc.).
In the period of economic crisis, common social dissatisfaction which is also being fed by the high
rate of unemployment and the lack of perspective, the radicalization of attitudes toward other and
different people is a common phenomenon. It also happens in stable and rich democratic societies,
how much more in transition societies of unfairly divided social goods. Of that must also be aware
Croatian potentates who are obliged to act timely, promoting the climate of mutual respect,
understanding and cooperation among citizens and nationals, regardless of their ethnic, cultural,
linguistic or religious affiliation. Educational process, media and cultural activities are obvious and
the most efficient media for carrying out of such integrative minority-policies. Of course, the bad
economic situation should be acknowledged by members of minorities also and in the case of a
reduction of budgets intended for needs of preservation of their cultural autonomy accept that fact
as a temporary and necessary.
Continuous strengthening of minority-communities and their elites
All social communities, as well as minority ones, survive as long as they have their own members.
Exactly because of this reason the encouragement on cooperation by means of associations of civil
society is extremely important for the existence of minorities. However, the activities which minorityassociations deal with should not be exclusively intended for minorities, but of an integrative
character, and they should include more members of the majority people and other minority-groups.
When ethnical division are bridged by projects, the healthy foundation for coexistence, knowing and
respect is being formed. However, in order not to come to assimilation or atrophy of minorityidentities, it is important to bring to consciousness of young members of minorities the cultural
specificities of a community, and to encourage them to learn and educate themselves. Trend of
continuation of education at high-education institutions in parent countries should also be corrected
and everything should be done in order to keep the young and educated members of minorities in
the places of their origin. Namely, they are long-term potential engines of growth and development
not only of their own minority-community but the whole area in which they will live and create. In
the short run, because of the continuous strengthening of minority-communities in boroughs and
cities it is necessary to have integral educational seminars for minority-associations and the councils
of national minorities on the possibilities which will be opened by the forthcoming membership in
the EU (the use of funds, especially by the cooperation of associations of civil society and local selfgovernment).
The future of minority-politics after the accession to the EU
The European Union is based on the values of peace, democracy, respect of human rights, justice,
the rule of law and sustainable development. Among the aims of the Lisbon Treaty, which is the
latest version of the foundation treaty of EU, there are listed a number of those which to members of
minorities and minority-communities insure a sort of props to their demands of realization of
minority-rights. In that way, Croatia as a member-state, inter alia, will be obliged to fight against
Suggestions for the action – to what refer the results of the project
social exclusion and discrimination, and to promote social justice and protection; to promote
economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity on its own territory as well as among the
member-states; to highlight and promote the values of European Union, including respect of rights of
national minorities also; as well as to contribute to the protection of human rights and to strict
execution of regulations of international law. Aren’t all these the policies that in the same time
contribute to the interaction and inclusion of national minorities in Croatian society and wider
European society? It is still the duty of minorities to plead for the realization of their rights and
demand them. While doing so they are free to bear in mind that European Union and its membership
offer a sort of legitimacy to minority-rights, imposing on every member-state the obligation to
protect and promote the rights of minorities. In order not to come to the derogation of the minorityrights when the strength of the politics of conditioning ease up, it would be commendable to have a
consensus of the government and the opposition that by the Croatian accession to the Union the
rights of national minorities will not be reduced. Inasmuch as such thing would happen, it would be
the obvious example of democratic deficit and the avoidance of the obligations taken over by the
Accession Treaty.
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* Prepared by Antonija Petričušić