BELGRADE, Aug 29 (Hina) - A meeting of the constitutional commission where drafts of a constitutional charter of the future Serbia-Montenegro union will be discussed will be held at the beginning or middle of next week, a member of
the commission and the president of the Yugoslav Parliament's Council of Citizens, Dragoljub Micunovic, stated on Thursday.
BELGRADE, Aug 29 (Hina) - A meeting of the constitutional
commission where drafts of a constitutional charter of the future
Serbia-Montenegro union will be discussed will be held at the
beginning or middle of next week, a member of the commission and the
president of the Yugoslav Parliament's Council of Citizens,
Dragoljub Micunovic, stated on Thursday. #L#
The draft of the constitutional charter was adopted by the
presidency of the ruling coalition, DOS, at last night's session.
A statement issued after the session notes that the future
constitutional charter will contain a preamble that clearly
defines the objectives of the new union, clearly expresses the fact
that Serbia includes the autonomous regions of Vojvodina and Kosovo
and Metohija, as well as the obligation to adopt a separate charter
on human and minority rights.
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic has said the draft adopted by
the DOS presidency was agreed on with Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) as well as other
Montenegrin parties. Djindjic does not expect Yugoslavia's
accession to the Council of Europe will be postponed.
"The Council of Europe demands that by Sept. 2-3 we clearly say that
we have harmonised our views on the most important issues. The draft
charter must pass through the parliaments by mid-September, so that
we may have some dates set for elections and the constitution of
these bodies," Djindjic said.
He added that compared to Djukanovic's DPS, the DOS presidency
supported the idea that future MPs in the future community of Serbia
and Montenegro should be elected directly, "as any other way would
not be beneficial for the functioning of the state."
The focus of the future charter is a re-organised state that would
retain its legal subjectivity with regard to international
relations, continue with the rights and obligations of current
Yugoslavia, retain membership in all international organisations
and existing legislature until it is not amended, Djindjic
explained.
Not one leader of parties from Vojvodina attended the meeting of the
DOS presidency. Some parties have already announced they will
withdraw from the constitutional commission if the charter does not
clearly indicate Vojvodina's autonomy.
The representative for the Sandzak region, too, announced his
withdrawal from the commission because minority rights in the
future community have not yet been defined in the draft charter.
(hina) sp/ha sb