ZAGREB, Feb 27 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Wednesday received the president of the Serb National Council (SNV), Milorad Pupovac, the president of the Serb cultural society "Prosvjeta", Slobodan Uzelac, and attorney
Cedo Prodanovic. Pupovac told reporters after the meeting they had informed the President about two crucial problems - the restitution of Prosvjeta's property and its denationalisation, and the adoption of a constitutional law on minorities, and minorities exercising rights in Croatia. Pupovac said the Croatian Serb community was encountering problems with regard to the return of property, whether it be private or belonging to legal persons. Prosvjeta has been unable to repossess its property for nine years now because the judicial system and "people controlling it" are obstructing property restitution, Pupovac said. The government and competent bodies have still not replied to the SNV's reques
ZAGREB, Feb 27 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on
Wednesday received the president of the Serb National Council
(SNV), Milorad Pupovac, the president of the Serb cultural society
"Prosvjeta", Slobodan Uzelac, and attorney Cedo Prodanovic.
Pupovac told reporters after the meeting they had informed the
President about two crucial problems - the restitution of
Prosvjeta's property and its denationalisation, and the adoption
of a constitutional law on minorities, and minorities exercising
rights in Croatia.
Pupovac said the Croatian Serb community was encountering problems
with regard to the return of property, whether it be private or
belonging to legal persons.
Prosvjeta has been unable to repossess its property for nine years
now because the judicial system and "people controlling it" are
obstructing property restitution, Pupovac said.
The government and competent bodies have still not replied to the
SNV's request that the denationalisation of Prosvjeta be carried
out the same way the Croatian cultural society "Matica Hrvatska"
was denationalised.
Asked whether they had discussed this with government
representatives, Pupovac said there was no official in the former
and current authorities and judiciary with whom they did not
discuss this. "The administration is simply silent, the judicial
system is hampering (property restitution) and private interests
are stronger than the law and the logic of authority," he said.
Pupovac criticised another postponement of the adoption of the
constitutional law on minorities and the fact that voices were
raised in a debate on it, in an atmosphere which only hampered the
adoption of a good and positive minority policy.
Minorities in Croatia, including the Serbs, are absolutely in
favour of finding a quality solution to their status in talks with
representatives of authority, particularly the parliament, but
they are against endless procrastinating and individuals who abuse
minority issues and raise the temperature in the country, he said.
Responding to a reporter's comment that one of the main objections
to the bill on minorities was that under it Croats in some areas were
treated as a minority in their own state, Pupovac said that "Croats
in some areas of Croatia are de facto a minority, however not a
political or status minority but a minority in terms of numbers."
(hina) sb rml