SERBS IN CROATIA ESTABLISH SERB PEOPLE'S COUNCIL

ZAGREB, June 6 (Hina) - Serbs in Croatia are to establish the Serb People's Council, an umbrella association of the Serb national minority, within the next 30 days, in order to exercise more efficaciously the rights guaranteed to Serbs in Croatia. The draft of the document on the establishment of the Serb People's Council was signed in Zagreb on Friday at a meeting of the presidencies of the Association of Serb Organizations (SSO) and the Joint Council of Municipalities (ZVO) of eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western Srijem. The draft of the document was signed by SSO and ZVO presidents, Milorad Pupovac and Milos Vojnovic respectively. Taking part in the meeting were also the newly elected Serb assistant ministers and Serb representatives in the Croatian Parliament. The decision on the establishment of the Serb People's Council was founded on the Croatian Government's Letter of Intent on the Peaceful Reintegration of the Croatian Danube Region, international documents the Croatian Government accepted, and the Constitutional Law on Human Rights and Rights of Minorities, Pupovac told reporters after the meeting. The Council would comprise Serb representatives elected on national and municipal levels, representatives of all Serb national associations, of the Serb Orthodox Church and of the Joint Council of Municipalities of eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western Srijem, as well as some intellectuals, Pupovac added. Asked what the Serb People's Council would do to ensure compliance with the regulations in the Letter of Intent, Pupovac said that the from its founding session, the Council would submit to the Croatian Government the request that the regulations be included in the Constitutional Law. (hina) ha mm 061845 MET jun 97