Roma to be part of the Kosovo status negotiations

In a letter to the representatives of the International Contact Group the President of the European Roma and Travellers Forum, Mr. Rudko Kawczynski, reiterated his demand for the inclusion of the Kosovo Roma in the status negotiations process. According to Mr. Kawczynski, the new negotiations are chance for a truly inclusive process taking into account the rights and the interests of all Kosovo people.

“Previous negotiations were compromised by the fact that they did not include Kosovo’s third largest community, the Roma,” the President of the Strasbourg-based organisation said. “Kosovo Roma who were the main victims of war and ethnic cleansing were completely left out.”

Kawczynski particularly insisted on the need to include the Kosovo Roma diaspora in the talks. “UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) guarantees their right to return to Kosovo. They should in consequence have a say over any political developments which shape the future in their homeland,” he said further.

Recalling the recommendations of UN Special Envoy for the Standard Implementation Process, Mr. Kai Eide, as well as former statements of the Contact Group he urged its representatives to create the conditions for truly representative talks taking into account the concerns of all Kosovo people and, in particular, of the Roma.

“There can be no fair settlement over Kosovo’s future status if the rights and interests of Roma are not taken into account,” the President of the European Roma and Travellers Forum concluded stating that any other solution would merely endorse the results of ethnic cleansing.

The new initiative comes after the Forum’s unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the international negotiation team under the UN Special Envoy, Mr. Martti Ahtisaari. Those were systematically rebuked by reference either to the Belgrade or Pristina negotiation team.

The Forum has also attempted to get an insight into the drafting of a constitution for an eventually independent Kosovo by an international working group, but was likewise turned away on the basis of the same arguments.
Kosovo once had a Roma population of approximately 200,000 people. Most of them were chased away in the aftermath of war. The remaining population has become socially alienated and lives in isolated neighbourhoods or ghettos under fear.

The European Roma and Travellers Forum is the European Roma and Travellers interest representation which brings together Europe’s main international Roma organisations as well as national Roma organisations from most of the Council of Europe member states. Established in 2004, the organisation enjoys the recognition and support of the Council of Europe with which it has signed a partnership agreement.