ZAGREB, Oct 13 (Hina) - Croatian Serb MPs Jovan Bamburac, Vojislav Stanimirovic, and Milorad Pupovac on Wednesday sent a letter to Croatian President Franjo Tudjman asking him to exercise his powers as the President of the State and
of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) so that the election bill envisaging the reduction of parliamentary seats for Serb MPs from the current three to one be changed. "Since the current bill envisaging one seat in the House of Representatives for the Serb community is contrary to the Constitution, Constitutional Law, and the Letter of Intent, as well as to your stand presented during our last meeting, we request that you act in line with your powers as the President of the State and the president of your party and see that this contradiction be removed by the beginning of the next parliamentary session and that the bill be changed in line with the law and your word", the three repre
ZAGREB, Oct 13 (Hina) - Croatian Serb MPs Jovan Bamburac, Vojislav
Stanimirovic, and Milorad Pupovac on Wednesday sent a letter to
Croatian President Franjo Tudjman asking him to exercise his powers
as the President of the State and of the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ) so that the election bill envisaging the reduction of
parliamentary seats for Serb MPs from the current three to one be
changed.
"Since the current bill envisaging one seat in the House of
Representatives for the Serb community is contrary to the
Constitution, Constitutional Law, and the Letter of Intent, as well
as to your stand presented during our last meeting, we request that
you act in line with your powers as the President of the State and
the president of your party and see that this contradiction be
removed by the beginning of the next parliamentary session and that
the bill be changed in line with the law and your word", the three
representatives said.
Regarding the representation of the Serb community in the Lower
House, the three MPs also recalled a meeting with President Tudjman
and his associates in May this year. During the meeting, "we heard
your (the President's) stand that the rights of the Serb community
regarding their representation must not be reduced". After that, we
believed that all conditions for correcting the current election
bill and the envisaged reduction of seats for Serb representatives
have been met, the MPs said.
At the end of the letter, they described as illogical the fact that
after the successfully completed process of peaceful reintegration
and results achieved in the return of refugees the number of Serb
MPs was being reduced instead of being increased.
"Also, it is completely unacceptable that there are attempts to
weaken an instrument for regulating the minority status of the Serb
community because it is clear that there is a need for that
instrument and that it is in the interest of the Serb minority as
well as of the Republic of Croatia", the letter said.
(hina) rml