PROJECT ON ETNIC RELATIONS

ROUNDTABELE ON INTERETNIC RELATIONS IN VOJVODINA

Athene, GREECE

February 14-15, 2000

COMMUNIQUÉ

On February 14-15, 2000 in Athens, leading democratic political personalities from Serbia, representatives of the most influential Serbian democratic political parties and parties of Vojvodina Hungarians and Romanians continued the discussion on interethnic relations in Vojvodina that started in Vienna on September 23-25, 1999.

The participants and observers in the included Andras Agoston, President, Hungarian Democratic Party of Vojvodina; Nenad Canak, President, League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina; Ion Cizmas, President, Union of Romanians in Yugoslavia; Ilija Djukic, Member, Main Board, Democratic Party; Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Party; former Ministar of Foreign Affairs of FRY; Alex Grigor’ev, Program Officier, Project on Etnic Relations; Tahir Hasanovic, Secretary General, New Democratic Party, Member, Executive Board, Coalition Dan; Dragor Hiber, Vice-President, Civic Alliance of Serbia; Miodrag Isakov, President, 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; Zarko Korac, Coordinator, Alliance of Democratic Parties; President, Social Democratic Union; Zoran Lutovac, Chairman, Committee on Ethnic Relations, Democratic Party; Milan Mikovic, Member, Presidency, Serbian Renewal Movement; Head, Serbian Renewal Movement Group, National Assenbly of Serbia; Sandor Pall, President, Denocratic Union of Vojvodina Hungarians; Livia Plake, Executive Director, Project on Ethnic Relations; Predrag Simic, Foreign Policy Advisar to the President, Serbian Renewal Movement; Tibor Varady, Professor, Central Europian University; Slobodan Vuckovic, Chairman, International Affairs Committee, Party of Democratic Centar.

In the intensive discussion and exchange of views, the participants agreed that the talks in Vienna and Athens showed that the democratic opposition in Serbia is capable of resolving – inter alia – the issues of interethnic relations in Vojvodina in the way that would imply a consistent respect for the soverignity and the territorial integrity of FRY and Serbia, the democratic principles, international standars, and values, and legitimate demands of national communities.

The roundtable participants agreed that the democratic opposition in Serbia has to respect the following:

1. The autonomy of Vojvodina within the Republic of Serbia corresponds to the interests of democratizaton and decentralization of Serbia as well as the preservation of its soveregnity 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 efficently resolved on the local level.

2. It is necessary to develop modern institutionat guarantees for the rights of the national communities in Vojvodina (in Serbia, FR Yugosiavia), incouding the right of national communities to self-organization for the purpose d preserving and developing their identities, especially in the fields of education, media, and culture. The national commumties can form nationail councils that are to decide alone or with state bodies on the issues of education, culture, and the media.

3. The self-organization of national communities through adequate autonomy arrangaments in keeping vith relevant documents of the OSCE and the Council of Europa is necessary for the more efficient organization of multicultural communities of citizens of Vojvodina, as well as for democratization of Serbia. Taxes and other finantial contributions paid by members of national communities should constitute the financial foundation of their self-organization. The organtirations 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 Vejvodina in the 1970s and 1980s. This particularly applies to the reafirmation 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 goverment. Regionalization and formation of admintstrative 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 end 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.

The participants of the roundtable expect the presidential collegium of the united opposition of Serbia to support these positions and to undertake measures for their impiementation.

The participants of the Athens roundtable thank the Project on Ethnic Relations for providing a framework for a useful discussion and expect the process to continue.