The political representatives of Serbs from Croatia and Croats from Serbia signed a declaration in Golubić Obrovački in which they emphasize that, as minorities in their respective countries, the signing parties would like to warn of the fact that any act of threat or aggression by the majority towards them as a minority puts the community in the other country at risk.
BY: Goran Borković / Novosti
In Golubić Obrovački, on the occasion of the 15th scientific congress “Serbian-Croatian Relations,” the Declaration on Cooperation between Serbs from Croatia and Croats from Serbia was initialled. It was signed by Milorad Pupovac (SDSS, Independent Democratic Serb Party) and Tomislav Žigmanov (DSHV, Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina). As announced, this document will be confirmed by the official bodies of each of the two communities, within the democratic process.
In the Declaration, the political representatives of Serbs in Croatia and Croats in Serbia commit to, starting from the specificity of the two communities and for the purpose of common interest and better mutual understanding, work on reciprocal support and better relations between the two countries with the aim of even closer relations between Croatia and Serbia.
“We agree to work together on improving the relations between the two peoples, both in our two countries and in the wider context, and also to cooperate in all areas of mutual interest. We agree to work on a plan for creating conditions for a better life and for protecting the rights of both our own community and that of our partner. We are committed to improving the existing cooperation in all areas of social, political, economic, cultural, and sports life for the benefit of our two communities and the countries in which we live,” the Declaration states.
It is also encouraged that the countries in which they live should, instead of renewing and resuscitating the conflict, encourage cooperation with the aim of prosperity for all citizens, which implies the resolution of all existing and conceivable open issues through dialogue, understanding, and respect for international law in both Croatia and Serbia, as well as establishing the highest standards of protection when it comes to minority communities.
“This also implies consistent application and enforcement of all valid laws concerning human and minority rights, assumed by international obligations, international treaties, and bilateral agreements,” the Declaration reads.
Political representatives of Serbs from Croatia and Croats from Serbia condemn any form of expression and propagation of hatred towards members of the other nation and state, any form of glorification or denial of crimes committed by individuals or groups against members of the other nation, especially by those they represent.
The Declaration specifically emphasizes that, as minorities in their respective countries, the signing parties warn of the fact that every act of threat or aggression by the majority towards them as a minority puts the community in the other country at risk.
They also added that they encourage any form of compensation and restitution for the victims of war conflicts, as well as access to the rights denied to each and every one of them, in addition to their families, and the right to impartial and open cooperation with regards to war crime trials and issues of missing persons, regardless of the fact whether they are of Croatian or Serbian nationality, states the Declaration, which was signed in both Croatian and Serbian languages, as well as in the Cyrillic and Latin script, which connect the two nations.
– The rights of Serbs in Croatia cannot be an insignificant component. Since the two countries are burdened with other relations, we felt it necessary to emphasize the need for cooperation and to invite the two Republics move in this direction. Based on that program, we will get concrete forms of political relations between Serbia and Croatia – said Milorad Pupovac.
In response to a journalist’s question, Pupovac added that the current circumstances had not, and would not be in favour of cooperation between Croatia and Serbia. – But there is no doubt that the policies in Zagreb and Belgrade did not isolate the area of cooperation between Croatia and Serbia, either from the perspective of domestic or foreign politics. We think it is time to start protecting this space and the cooperation between Croatia and Serbia – Pupovac pointed out.
This Declaration is the result of our many years of fruitful cooperation, and it contains everything we have done thus far. It is an important step towards further expanding and injecting our intentions. I believe that this will have positive consequences, not only for these two communities, but also more widely, especially when it comes to the politics of intergovernmental relations – said Tomislav Žigmanov.
At the Congress, the participants discussed and attended to topics related to heroization and political myths with regards to Croatia and Serbia, and they also talked about EU incentives to encourage the rural development of Dalmatia. In addition to the scientists and researchers, the congress was also attended by representatives of the DSHV and the SDSS, as well as other political representatives of Serbs from Croatia and Croats from Serbia, in addition to local officials and functionaries.
The Congress was organised by the Association for History, Cooperation and Reconciliation from Golubić (Obrovački) and the Centre for History, Democracy and Reconciliation from Novi Sad.