Language Research

4. Minority groups: To what extent are minority groups in this country disadvantaged by their language?

The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in contrast to the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, is an example of a markedly multi-ethnic community. The manifestation, preservation and promotion of ethnic affiliation and tolerance against the background of cultural and ethnic pluralism are the main characteristics of the life of members of national minorities in the territory of AP Vojvodina.

VOJVODINA

On many occasions the citizens who are members of national minorities in Vojvodina have declared that they consider Yugoslavia their homeland, in which they fully exercise their right to ethnic affiliation. Members of the non-dominant national minorities in Vojvodina maintain that the prerequisite for good inter-ethnic relations is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, based on democratic principles of a civil State of equal citizens irrespective of their nationality.

The four largest national minority communities in Vojvodina feel that guarantees of the stability of the status of ethnic groups are to be found in the Constitution and laws. They also believe that such guarantees would help in the promotion of democratic relations, tolerance and confidence, as well as in the consistent observance in practice of the proclaimed rights and adequate material and institutional resources. Members of the dominant and other national minorities are represented in the provincial and, in particular, local authorities.

Based on the above, it appears that members of national minorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, except for almost all members of the Albanian national minority in Kosovo and Metohija, exercise their right to political organization in compliance with the Constitution and law.

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