SERB NATIONAL COUNCIL HOLDS EXTRAORDINARY SESSION

ZAGREB, May 8 (Hina) - The Serb National Council (SNV) supports efforts made so far by political parties with the aim of reaching a consensus on the new election law, SNV officials said at an extraordinary assembly held in Zagreb on Saturday. The Council refuses the possibility of reducing the number of parliamentary seats for Serb minority representatives and it requests that Croatian Serb refugees be guaranteed the right to vote in the upcoming elections. Speaking about a Declaration on the status and future of Croatian Serbs, SNV president Milorad Pupovac said the state leadership and judicial authorities have to stop the implementation of the Amnesty Law from deteriorating further, as well as to prevent arbitrariness and manipulation with lists of war criminals. The refugee return procedure, which envisages the return of property of Serb refugees, is not being applied, Pupovac said, adding that open questions could be solved only in cooperation with state institutions and Croat fellow citizens. SNV secretary Jovan Vejnovic said that certain progress has been made as regards the return of refugees. As regards NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia, the SNV believes that they are not a solution to the Kosovo crisis or the status of Kosovo Albanians. The Yugoslav Ambassador to Zagreb, Veljko Knezevic, expressed dissatisfaction with the poor implementation of the Amnesty Law and the small number of Serb returnees, as well as with inefficiency in recognising the returnees' property rights. (hina) rml