The war, recent evictions of population on national basis, experiences of exile as well as traditional national animosities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have significant bearing on the current state of minority rights in these two states. Due to the legacy of the past and/or non-democratic regimes in power, minority rights are not observed and individual guilt is frequently equated with the collective. For this reason, two news agencies – SAFAX from Sarajevo and STINA from Split – initiated a project titled 'Educative and Informative Service for Minority Rights and Inter-Ethnic Relations' in conjunction with Westminster Foundation for Democracy from Washington. The project consists of radio-programming production for local radio-stations in BiH and Croatia as well as various texts and articles emailed to respective readership. The conception of both the radio programming and articles is informative and analytical, and they cover developments in the field of minority rights in BiH and Croatia. The texts and articles are available on the MPI web (scroll down to the bottom of the page for link). 
The main objective of the project is to initiate systematic and competent informing of the public on the status, rights and significance of minorities, the value of interethnic life, interethnic tolerance as well as the relations between majority and minority in a society. 
Systematic informing on these issues will contribute to gradual overcoming of prejudices generated by the war as well as ideological and political manipulation, while an evolving political culture of minority issues and their relations with the majority would advance the overall democratisation of society. Namely, there can be no genuine democracy of Western profile without a sophisticated cultivation of minority-majority relations. 
In addition, information on political culture in terms of minority issues and minority-majority relations would be particularly helpful to all those involved in practical development and harmonisation of the relations between minorities and majority, including the conduct of local authorities, educational arrangements, protection and development of national cultures and identities and even most complex issues of minority relations with their kin communities in respective neighbouring countries. 



ARCHIVE OF MINORITY BULLETIN

SAFAX - Sarajevo Fax News Agency

STINA - news agency