VOJVODINA'S ASSEMBLY AGAINST SERBIAN PARLIAMENT'S LAW ON HELP TO ICTY INDICTEES

BELGRADE, April 8 (Hina) - The parliament of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina on Thursday adopted a bill insisting on the annulment of a law on assistance to Serbian nationals, indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal, and to their families. The chairman of the Vojvodina Assembly, Nenad Canak, will present the bill to the Serbian parliament, which adopted the law on assistance on 30 March.#L# Vojvodina parliamentary deputies from the Democratic Party, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, who hold the absolute majority, voted for the revocation of the Serbian law on Thursday. Those who were against the motion were MPs of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), which is an opposition party at the local level. The law on assistance stipulates that ICTY indictees are entitled to compensation for their (lost) salaries, funds to cover the costs of collecting evidence for their defence, and funds to cover the costs of expert assistance. The state reimburses indictees' families for costs of visiting the indictees in The Hague and pays their telephone bills and other similar costs. Under the law, the Serbian government also pays monthly salaries to indictees who have been employed in state bodies. Many nongovernmental organisations have raised their voice against the law. The committee of lawyers in human rights actions lodged a request with the Serbian Constitutional Court to assess whether the law is in compliance with the national constitution. The Democratic Party (of the assassinated Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic) has launched a campaign to collect signatures for a petition against the disputable law. (Hina) ms