Vojvodina statute "harmonised", reports say

14/10/2009

With reports that the ruling parties have agreed to back the document, the Vojvodina statute could be debated in parliament this month.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 14/10/09

Vojvodina. [Nikola Barbutov/SETimes]

A year after its conception, an amended statute for the Serbian province of Vojvodina could finally gain parliament's approval by the end of the year, ruling coalition members said this week.

According to local media reports, ruling coalition partner Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) has said it will vote in favour of the document after receiving assurances from the Democratic Party (DS) that all elements that gave Vojvodina the possibility to create "a state within a state" will be removed from the draft.

The final version of the statute has been harmonised by the coalition, and will not contain any of the "statehood attributes" contained in the original document for the northern Serb province, Vecernje Novosti reported.

The provisions that will be removed include Vojvodina's right to pass legislation and call referendums.

SPS leader Ivica Dacic said his party supports broad autonomy for Vojvodina, but would not back a statute that "turns Vojvodina into a state".

Certain Vojvodina parties in the ruling coalition that favour the statute have called on parliament to finally make a decision on the act. The parties dismiss any possibility of the statute being separatist, and insist that it is in line with European standards.

Responding to rumours of inter-party discord, DS official Bojan Pajtic told Belgrade-based B92 that it is untrue that "branches in Vojvodina and Belgrade" do not agree on the Vojvodina statute draft.

According to Parliament Speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, MPs may debate the statute by the end of October.

However, even with the ruling parties on board, the statute still faces opposition. The Serbian Orthodox Church sent a letter to Serbian officials warning that some of the statute's provisions violate the Serbian Constitution and could lead to the disintegration of the state.

President Boris Tadic also has certain objections. On October 8th, he said the Vojvodina statute was "a matter of Serbia's internal order, which certain politicians in the country and some from the world want to internationalise". The president added he supports broad autonomy for the province, but also said "autonomy must not jeopardise the country's integrity and destabilise it."