ZAGREB, June 29 (Hina) - The Serb People's Council (SNV) held its second electoral assembly in Zagreb on Saturday. The SNV re-elected Milorad Pupovac president, and adopted a declaration on the position and rights of Serbs in Croatia,
a programme orientation for the next four years, and a proposal for the regulation of the Serb national community's status in a new constitutional law on the rights of national minorities in Croatia.
ZAGREB, June 29 (Hina) - The Serb People's Council (SNV) held its
second electoral assembly in Zagreb on Saturday. The SNV re-elected
Milorad Pupovac president, and adopted a declaration on the
position and rights of Serbs in Croatia, a programme orientation
for the next four years, and a proposal for the regulation of the
Serb national community's status in a new constitutional law on the
rights of national minorities in Croatia. #L#
The declaration evaluates that the Serb identity in Croatia is more
stigmatised than recognised.
The SNV seeks proportional representation for Serbs in all Croatian
state bodies, and the application of provisions on Serbs' rights
contained in the Erdut Agreement and a letter of intent in the
Constitutional Law on minorities' rights - documents which were
adopted during the peaceful reintegration of eastern Slavonia into
the Croatian constitutional order.
The declaration also calls for the signing of a Croatian-Yugoslav
agreement on the rights of minorities, and the resumption of
cooperation between the two countries.
The SNV programme orientation for the next four years cites as
priorities work on a new constitutional law on minorities' rights,
the return of Croatian Serb citizens, and the restitution of their
tenancy and ownership rights.
The SNV will not accept the loss of tenancy rights and will refer to
the international community and the European court for human
rights, reads the programme orientation.
The SNV also seeks the affirmation of the Cyrillic script and the
Serb culture and identity in electronic media.
Furthermore, the Council seeks that a constitutional law define the
Serb community's national minority self-government at all levels.
As an example of the Serbs' local and regional minority self-
government, the SNV cites the Joint Council of Municipalities of
Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Sirmium.
Pupovac said the incumbent authorities "have done nothing
regarding the exercising of the Serb community's rights in
Croatia," and that in this respect they were doing a worse job than
the former government.
Pupovac also advocated the passing of a law on the amnesty of Serbs
for some crimes committed during the 1990s Homeland War.
(hina) ha sb