On Friday, February 7, the consultations on the new Kosovo constitution closed. Meetings were organised in various towns and villages, but in spite of this seemingly open process, the overall process remains in-transparent.
Minorities, and especially so Rroma, were totally excluded from the process. While the constitution, or at least what is know thereof states foresees Kosovo to be a multi-ethnic state, the actual terms and references, especially in the case of the Rroma minority is much less clear. Until the full text is provided and can be analysed in detail, what protections and guarantees are offered to minorities in Kosovo will remain unclear.
However, one can fear that lip service will be provided to the protection of minorities in the region, while the actual situation will remain as is, that is, extremely bad. And one can also fear that the new constitution will be used as an excuse by western government to forcibly repatriate remaining refugees from the region.
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