ZAGREB, May 5 (Hina) - The Serb People's Council (SNV) will request that the Croatian National Sabor postpone the adoption of the government's draft changes to the Constitutional Law on Human and Minority Rights because it believes
that that law is not nor should it be a precondition for Croatia's admission to the Partnership for Peace programme or any other Euro-Atlantic association, SNV president Milorad Pupovac said at a news conference on Friday, strongly criticising the Government for its hasty decisions. Naming minorities individually in the bill on changes to the Constitutional Law is "the policy of the HDZ", because it is known that the key and largest minority in Croatia is the Serb minority, Pupovac said. Speaking about minority representation in parliament, which depends on the minorities' share in the overall population, Pupovac said the threshold of eight percent should be lowe
ZAGREB, May 5 (Hina) - The Serb People's Council (SNV) will request
that the Croatian National Sabor postpone the adoption of the
government's draft changes to the Constitutional Law on Human and
Minority Rights because it believes that that law is not nor should
it be a precondition for Croatia's admission to the Partnership for
Peace programme or any other Euro-Atlantic association, SNV
president Milorad Pupovac said at a news conference on Friday,
strongly criticising the Government for its hasty decisions.
Naming minorities individually in the bill on changes to the
Constitutional Law is "the policy of the HDZ", because it is known
that the key and largest minority in Croatia is the Serb minority,
Pupovac said.
Speaking about minority representation in parliament, which
depends on the minorities' share in the overall population, Pupovac
said the threshold of eight percent should be lowered to six percent
or even less. Pupovac strongly criticised the refusal of this
amendment at yesterday's joint session of three parliamentary
committees, objecting that Sabor Vice President Mato Arlovic "has
with one-sided changes to the Constitutional Law violated
regulations agreed on with the international community before
Croatia was internationally recognised."
The SNV fully supports the Government in resolving the serious
economic and social problems and believes that regulating minority
rights is not a priority for Croatia and its citizens at the
moment.
The SNV wants the Serb minority, as the key and largest minority in
Croatia, to be granted the right to minority self-government, which
is enjoyed by minorities in neighbouring countries, that is, by
Croats and Serbs in Hungary, or Italians in Slovenia.
Pupovac, like the president of the parliamentary committee on human
and minority rights, Furio Radin, believes the changes to the
Constitutional Law do not have to be adopted as part of a package of
laws on the official use of minority languages and education, and
that the minority issue can wait with regard to the international
community as well, since it is a minorities' request.
(hina) mm rml