Acting assistant secretary general of the Protector of Citizens, Jablanka Tabas, said today that since the establishment of the institution, 120 citizens of Sjenica addressed the Protector of Citizens, and that 90 complaints have been filed, all of which have been closed.

The visit to Sjenica is the twelfth of the thirteen planned visits that we are implementing as part of the “Day of the Protector of Citizens” campaign. The number of complaints received from Sjenica is lower than the average number of complaints from other cities and municipalities in Serbia. This is precisely why we are in Sjenica today, said Tabas, to inform the citizens about exercising their rights and to encourage them to file complaints about the work of public authorities in a situation where they believe their rights are being threatened.

Jablanka Tabas spoke with Mayor of the municipality of Sjenica, Hazbo Mujovic, and his associates, about continued cooperation in the field of protection of human and minority rights. The meeting was also an opportunity to speak with the representatives of the local self-government about citizens' complaints received that morning by representatives of the expert service of the Protector of Citizens.

During the day, acting assistant secretary general Jablanka Tabas and Dragana Grabovica held a meeting with representatives of public companies and the non-governmental sector and outlined the work of the Protector of Citizens in the field of protection of human and minority rights.

The Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pasalic, said today that in the ten years of the institution's existence, there have been 352 complaints from citizens of Novi Pazar, which is a very small number compared to the rest of Serbia. Within the “Day of the Protector of Citizens” campaign in Novi Pazar, after meeting with the Mayor, he said that their complaints were not specific and that they mostly complained about property - legal relations, social and economic issues.

“This is an opportunity for me to invite the citizens of Novi Pazar and this region to contact the Protector of Citizens in writing or electronically, and we have the jurisdiction to handle all cases except those related to the courts and the judiciary. If we are not competent for a certain case, then we will refer citizens promptly, quickly and efficiently to the body that is, and we will monitor the work of that institution acting on the citizens' complaint”, said Pasalic.
He added that most complaints come from citizens who live in cities that gravitate towards Belgrade, because information is more accessible to them.

“To illustrate, in and around Novi Pazar there are at least five schools that are close to the main roads, which is why every citizen should come to the municipality and complain about it, as this is a problem of republic importance. Through this example, I want to show you the point of our arrival here, and that is to receive complaints and resolve them with the local self-government, but also to set those issues that are outside of our jurisdiction as our topics as well”, said the Protector of Citizens.

He pointed out that this campaign has shown that it is completely different when you meet the people in person, when you hear their words, and that this cannot be compared to any conversation via Skype or other electronic device.
He also added that he would soon organize a public forum in this city to explain to the citizens the function and powers of the institution of the Protector of Citizens.

The Mayor of Novi Pazar, Nihat Bisevac, said that he informed the Protector of Citizens about the problems of citizens and about the cooperation of local and republic institutions.

“We also discussed the national representation of citizens in certain republic institutions. Our goal is that the City Administration, together with the Protector of Citizens, considers and resolves the problems of citizens in accordance with the rights guaranteed by law”, said Nihat Bisevac.

During his visit to Novi Pazar, the Protector of Citizens also spoke with representatives of the non-governmental sector from that city.

The Republic Ombudsman is visiting 13 local self-governments within the “Days of the Ombudsman” campaign. The visits are implemented within the project of increasing the accessibility of the Protector of Citizens to citizens living in the interior of Serbia. The project is implemented by the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia with the financial support of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Serbia.

The Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pasalic, said in Novi Pazar today that the position of national minorities in Serbia is good when it comes to laws, but that sometimes it takes more time to resolve certain problems.
During the third quarterly meeting with presidents of the national councils of national minorities, he said that minorities in Serbia mostly complain about their legal rights to use their native language, written and spoken, as well as in education.

“You know that we have corrected the problem of registering citizenship in travel documents for representatives of national minorities. When representatives of national minorities complain to us, we take their problems extremely seriously and in most cases resolve them”, said Zoran Pasalic.

Bosniak National Council (BNV) president, Jasmina Curic, said that as host of the rally, Pasalic would point out to the numerous unresolved issues of Bosniaks.

Citizens of Bujanovac spoke with Zoran Pasalic today, the Protector of Citizens, as part of the “Ombudsman Days” campaign, and they mostly complained about labor disputes and the fulfillment of their rights in the field of pension insurance, as well as about problems with public utility services, while representatives of the local self-government emphasized the problems of lack of respect for human rights and the slow work of the judiciary.

The Republican Ombudsman urged all citizens who have trouble registering in electoral rolls to personally contact the institution of the Protector of Citizens. Registration in electoral rolls is a right of all citizens, said Zoran Pasalic.
At a meeting with representatives of the local self-government, he emphasized that cooperation between the institution of the Protector of Citizens and local authorities in Bujanovac is very good, but that there is always room for improvement, noting that the Protector of Citizens is there to improve communication and cooperation between the republic and local authorities. He said that through the local offices of the Protector of Citizens in Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja, so far, several problems have already been addressed, such as the official use of languages in state institutions or problems with textbooks.

Mayor of the municipality of Bujanovac, Shaip Kamberi, said that one of the biggest problems that citizens face in that local self-government is the lack of respect for human rights, which includes the removal of citizens from single electoral rolls, which is also related to their removal from the resident register. Kamberi also added that the local self-government received complaints about the slow work of the courts, citing as an example that the municipality of Bujanovac this year paid 8.5 million dinars from the budget for a process initiated in 1986.

He also assessed that the local self-government has good and regular communication with the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia and that he expects that the cooperation will continue and contribute to solving all problems.
The Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pasalic, said that most of the citizens of these municipalities have so far complained about similar things as citizens in all other cities and municipalities in Serbia, and that these complaints relate primarily to the work of the state administration, largely to the fulfillment of the right to an old-age pension or to the slow work of the courts.

Citizens may approach the Republic Ombudsman regarding issues with the fulfillment of any of the rights that are guaranteed to them by the law, he reminded.

According to the records of the local office of the Republic Ombudsman in Bujanovac, in the ten years of its existence, there were only 200 complaints, while since the beginning of the year, 221 citizens have addressed that office, with a total of five complaints. As it was pointed out, this is a lower average of citizens' complaints than in other municipalities and cities with similar population, which is why the Ombudsman once again urged citizens to contact him in case of disrespect of their rights.

From the beginning of the year, there were 551 citizens' complaints in the offices of the Republic Ombudsman in Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja, of which 182 in Presevo, 221 in Bujanovac and 42 in Medvedja.
Zoran Pasalic also met with representatives of non-governmental organizations in Bujanovac today, representatives of public enterprises, as well as with the President of the National Council of the Albanian National Minority, Ragmi Mustafa.

The Republic Ombudsman is visiting 13 local self-governments within the “Days of the Ombudsman” campaign. The visits are implemented within the project of increasing the accessibility of the Protector of Citizens to citizens living in the interior of Serbia. The project is implemented by the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia with the financial support of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Serbia.