PER Roundtable on Interethnic Relations in Vojvodina
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Subject: PER Roundtable on Interethnic Relations in Vojvodina
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Original sender: Alex Grigor'ev <[email protected]>
PER Roundtable on Interethnic Relations in Vojvodina
PROJECT ON ETHNIC RELATIONS
ROUNDTABLE ON INTERETHNIC RELATIONS IN VOJVODINA
Vienna, AUSTRIA
September 23-25, 1999
COMMUNIQUE
On September 23-25, 1999 in Vienna, leading democratic political
personalities from Serbia, representatives of the most influential
Serbian democratic political parties and parties of Vojvodina
Hungarians, Romanians, and Croats discussed interethnic relations in
Vojvodina.
The participants in the meeting included Andras Agoston, President,
Hungarian Democratic Party of Vojvodina; Gordana Anicic, Member,
Presidency, Serbian Renewal Movement; Member, Yugoslav Federal
Assembly; Jon Cizmas, President, Union of Romanians in Yugoslavia;
Emil Fejzulahi, Vice-President, League of Social Democrats of
Vojvodina; Alex Grigor'ev, Program Officer, Project on Ethnic
Relations; Dejan Janca, Member, Presidency, Vojvodina Reform
Democratic Party; Laszlo Jozsa, Vice-President, Alliance of Vojvodina
Hungarians; Dusan Janjic, Director, Forum for Ethnic Relations; Allen
Kassof, President, Project on Ethnic Relations; Jozsef Kasza,
President, Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians; Mayor, Subotica; Milan
Komnenic, Vice-President, Serbian Renewal Movement; Head, Serbian
Renewal Movement Group, Yugoslav Federal Assembly; Zoran Lutovac,
Chairman, Committee on Ethnic Relations, Democratic Party; Ferenc
Melykuti, Representative in Hungary, Project on Ethnic Relations;
Dragoljub Micunovic, President, Party of Democratic Center; Dusan
Mihajlovic, President, New Democracy Party; Sandor Pall, President,
Democratic Union of Vojvodina Hungarians; Livia Plaks, Executive
Director, Project on Ethnic Relations; Predrag Simic, Foreign Policy
Adviser to the President, Serbian Renewal Movement; Bela Tonkovic,
President, Democratic League of Croats in Vojvodina; Tibor Varady,
Professor, Central European University.
In an intensive discussion and exchange of views, the participants
(with the exceptions noted below) agreed on the following: (The
Serbian Renewal Movement and Mr. Agoston declined to subscribe to the
document. SPO considers that the autonomy of Vojvodina inside Serbia
corresponds with the interests of democratization and decentralization
of Serbia and with its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This
autonomy is the best framework for resolution of problems of national
communities, including their individual and collective rights, since
these questions can be more easily and efficiently solved on the local
level. SPO considers that in Vienna there was an open and tolerant
discussion in which different opinions were expressed. This
discussion should be continued with the purpose of finding acceptable
solutions as soon as possible.)
1. The autonomy of Vojvodina within the Republic of Serbia corresponds
to the interests of democratization and decentralization of Serbia as
well as the preservation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It also represents the most suitable framework for the resolution of
all issues pertaining to the national communities. These issues are
more efficiently resolved on the local level.
2. It is necessary to develop modern institutional guarantees for the
rights of the national communities in Vojvodina (in Serbia, FR
Yugoslavia), including the right of national communities to
self-organization for the purpose of preserving and developing their
identities, especially in the fields of education, media, and culture.
3. The self-organization of national communities through adequate
autonomy arrangements in keeping with relevant documents of the OSCE
and the Council of Europe is necessary for the more efficient
organization of multicultural communities of citizens of Vojvodina, as
well as for democratization of Serbia. Taxes and other financial
contributions paid by members of national communities should
constitute the financial foundation of their self-organization. The
organizations of national communities should freely allocate the
portion of the budget earmarked for culture, science, education, and
the media, proportionate to their taxes and financial contributions to
that same budget. Regarding national communities that cannot satisfy
their needs in this way, the principle of positive discrimination
shall apply.
4. The right of national communities to use their own language should
not be lesser than it was in Vojvodina in the 1970s and 1980s. This
particularly applies to the reaffirmation and precise definition of
the use of language in curricula, schools, the state organs, in
documents, in the media, geographical names, etc.
5. Free media and the right to establish private schools and cultural
and academic institutions is the principle that should be applied to
all citizens, including members of national communities.
6. Decentralization and greater autonomy for municipalities, including
the management of respective shares of revenues, is an important
element of the modern democratic system of government.
Regionalization and formation of administrative districts requires
taking into account interests of citizens and interests of ethnic
communities.
7. Support for the democratic forces whose goal is the inclusion of
Serbia in European integration processes is in the common interest of
all citizens and national communities of Vojvodina and Serbia.
8. The continuation of the democratic dialogue and cooperation between
the representatives of national communities and all democratic forces
in Serbia is the way to resolve problems in ethnic relations. This
excludes the possibility of resorting to any form of interethnic
violence. Solutions shall be sought within Serbia.
9. Hannes Swoboda, Vice-Chairman, Commission on Southeastern Europe,
European Parliament, participated in a part of the discussion as an
observer.
10. A member of PER's Romani Advisory Council informed the
participants about the problems of Roma and Sinti.
11. The participants thank the Project on Ethnic Relations for
providing a framework for a useful discussion and expect the process
to be continued.
__________________________
Alex N. Grigor'ev
Program Officer
Project on Ethnic Relations
15 Chambers Street, Princeton, NJ 08542, USA
Tel: 609-683-5666
Fax: 609-683-5888
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.netcom.com/~ethnic/per.html
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