SERB MAJORITY MUNICIPALITIES DEMAND RESIGNATION OF EDUCATION MINISTER

EDUCATION MINISTER $ VUKOVAR, Sept 10 (Hina) - The Joint Council of Serb majority municipalities in the Danube river region of eastern Croatia demanded on Wednesday that Education and Sport Minister Ljilja Vokic resign. The council demanded Vokic's "resignation or dismissal" because of her "departure from the agreement on the reintegration of the regional education system into the Croatian system, threatening some rights guaranteed by the Croatian Constitution and regulations and international conventions, and because of her public statements," council chairman Milos Vojnovic told Hina during a break in the council session in Vukovar. He said that the council believed that Vokic was deliberately obstructing the education process in the UN-administered region. Asked what the council would do if the demand was not met, Vojnovic said that the council "will respect any decision of competent Croatian institutions" because it wanted to "exercise the rights of the Serb community in the Croatian Danube region without jeopardising the interests and rights of the Croatian state." (hina) vm jn 101921 MET sep 97