The Erdut Agreement, signed on 12 November 1995 by the Croatian government and representatives of rebel Croatian Serbs in the presence of UN officials, established transitional U.N. administration in the Croatian Danube region. The region was demilitarised, which enabled the start of return of refugees to the region, which was previously under Serb occupation.
Since its establishment the ZVO has believed that the government and its bodies will demonstrate readiness to define the status of the ZVO, an internationally recognised body, to the mutual satisfaction, reads the statement.
Ten years after the signing of the Erdut Agreement, which was the basis for its establishment, the ZVO not only is not a sui generis institution, a proposal supported by previous governments, but is fighting with political means for its bare survival, reads the statement.
Despite its undefined status, the ZVO provides assistance to some 6,000 Serbs living in the Croatian Danube region in solving various problems.
"We are encouraged by the fact that President Stjepan Mesic recently expressed a positive opinion about the need to regulate the status of the ZVO for good," the association said, expressing hope that the incumbent government would recognise that need and try to find the best solution for the ZVO through partnership with political representatives of the Serb minority.
The ZVO is the umbrella organisation of the Serb national minority in the Danube region which provides for the protection of the minority, cultural, and educational rights of the Serb community.