The SDF was established on October 8, 1991 as a civil association whose aim was to prevent the war that was soon to break out. It became one of the oldest non-governmental organisations for the development of civil society in Croatia and a nucleus of all institutions of the Serb national minority in Croatia, the chairman of the SDF board of governors, Veljko Dzakula, said.
Dzakula said that the SDF had played a key role in providing legal, humanitarian and other assistance for Serb refugees returning to their prewar homes in Croatia, and that it had also initiated numerous social projects and encouraged cooperation and dialogue, particularly in local communities.
Dzakula said that the SDF had good cooperation with international institutions as well as with the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (HHO) and the Civil Committee on Human Rights (GOLJP).
President Stjepan Mesic's envoy Vladimir Loncarevic said that the SDF had done a lot in healing the wounds of war, expressing confidence that the organisation would now focus on dealing with the problems of Serb returnees and preserving the identity of the Serb people in Croatia.
Milord Pupovac, president of the Serb National Council and representative of the Serb minority in the Croatian Parliament, said that now it was most important to preserve the faith in living together and assume responsibility for a common society. The Serb community in Croatia is fully capable of that, because it is institutionally organised and has developed the necessary mechanisms, he added.
Also attending were representatives of the US and Japanese embassies, UNHCR and USAID.