"The Serbs from the Republic of Serb Krajina will never accept ethnic cleansing as a method of settling a political issue, in this case the Serb issue in Krajina," read a statement released to the press after the closed-door session.
The former parliament speaker of the unrecognised statelet established by Serb rebels in Croatia in the early 1990s, Rajko Lezajic, told the press before the session this was "the first extraordinary session in exile" at which deputies elected at "regular parliamentary elections" in 1993 had been invited. About 40 of the then 82 deputies attended.
Asked if the organisers of the session had contacted representatives of the Serb minority in Croatia, Lezajic said, "No, we're not in touch. They are representatives of the Serb minority and we are representatives of the Serb people". He added the Serbs had been a constituent people in Croatia until 1990.
The parliament adopted a resolution saying, among other things, that "occupation is not a legal but a temporary state of affairs" and that "the Serb national issue and the survival of the Serbs can be achieved only by stopping this occupation and ensuring security and free decision-making for all who lived on that territory until the occupation of 'RSK'".
"Moreover, we feel that Croatia cannot and must not become part of European structures if it is created through the ethnic cleansing of the Serb people. The Serbs have never, not even today, asked for what doesn't belong to them, only the right to self-determination, a right which all the peoples of Europe and the world have," read the resolution.
No Serbian official has responded to the constitution of the "RSK government in exile".