SUBOTICA, Jan 25 (Hina) - The Croatian National Council (HNV) held its constituent session in Yugoslavia's Subotica on Saturday, electing Josip Ivanovic the first president of this representative body of Croats in Yugoslavia.
SUBOTICA, Jan 25 (Hina) - The Croatian National Council (HNV) held
its constituent session in Yugoslavia's Subotica on Saturday,
electing Josip Ivanovic the first president of this representative
body of Croats in Yugoslavia. #L#
The HNV was appointed by the electoral assembly of the Croatian
minority in Yugoslavia last December, under Yugoslavia's law on the
rights and freedoms of national minorities.
The Council has 35 members chosen from two lists of candidates
proposed by the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV)
and the Forum of Croatian Institutions and Organisations in
Vojvodina.
At today's session these two groups diverged in opinion.
Dissatisfied with a proposed statute and accompanying documents, a
third of HNV members chosen from the DSHV roster walked out of the
session before the statute was up for debate.
Twelve DSHV members left after their proposal to put the adoption of
the statute for the next session received an insufficient number of
votes to pass. They urged calling off the session and having a joint
commission prepare the statute by consensus.
On the other hand, the HNV's 20 Forum members insisted on adopting
the statute and appointing the Council's leaders. The Croatian
community in Yugoslavia can no longer wait for its representative
body to be constituted as it should represent its interests in
communication with Yugoslavia and Croatia, they said.
The Council's newly appointed president, Josip Ivanovic, voiced
hope the DSHV members would attend the Council's next session and
participate in its future work.
The HNV will represent the interest of more than 70,000 Croats
registered in Serbia and its northern region of Vojvodina in the
2002 census.
(hina) ha sb