Šaljaj: Parliament to address equality and discrimination facing the Roma community on September 2

The issue that the Parliament of Montenegro will discuss on September 2 is not merely another item on the agenda. It is a question of equality, but also of the discrimination that the Roma community has faced for years, said President of the Roma Council Mensur Šaljaj.

Šaljaj pointed out that Roma remain one of the most discriminated-against communities in Montenegro.

- However, what is particularly disheartening is that one of the most obvious examples of our inequality is found precisely in the country’s highest legislative body - the Parliament of Montenegro. Roma today do not have their own representative, not because we lack people capable of representing our community, but because the same rules do not apply to us as they do to others - he said.

While a community with an almost identical population has an electoral threshold of 0.35 per cent, Šaljaj noted that the threshold for Roma is twice as high, at 0.70 per cent.

- If that is equality, then we have every right to ask: how can we talk about combating discrimination while at the same time maintaining discrimination through laws and electoral rule - Šaljaj asked.

He stressed that they are not seeking privileges or special treatment.

- We are asking for the same rights that others already have. That is why I expect the issue of political discrimination against Roma to finally be seriously addressed in the Parliament of Montenegro and for declarative statements about equality to come to an end. It is time for the state to show that Roma are not second-class citizens. Equality is not demonstrated through words and strategies, but through concrete decisions and laws - Šaljaj concluded.