Sandor Egereši, spokesman to the Assembly of Vojvodina, has come out in defense of the draft Statute of Autonomy for this multi-ethnic province, a text approved by a landslide majority in the Assembly but still to be accepted by the Serbian Parliament before it may come into force. Several Serbian nationalist groups have fiercely attacked the Statute on the grounds that it divides the country.

According to B92, Sandor Egereši said: “that is a completely untenable, unfriendly accusation. The Statute does not envision finance control, police, an army, state security or foreign policy for Vojvodina”. The spokesman invited opponents not to confuse the issue of Vojvodina’s status with Kosovo’s. “Vojvodina does not want secession,” he stressed. Egereši, though, expressed his satisfaction on the fact that a “real, serious public debate about Vojvodina’s status has now, finally, begun.”
The spokesman has also referred to the Serbian Orthodox Church, whose leaders said early this week that autonomy for Vojvodina would lead to the creation of “a state within the State”. In response to accusations, he argued that the Church should not interfere with State politics.

Vojvodina is an autonomous region of Serbian majority in the north of the country. The region, though, is highly populated by a considerable Hungarian, Slovak and Croatian minorities –among others. Its Assembly voted in favour of a new Statute of autonomy last October, but it needs the green light of the Serbian Parliament. The approval by the Serbian Chamber is a matter easier said than done, as parties opposed to the regional Constitution (Serbian Radical Party, Democratic Party of Serbia, both nationalists, and the Socialist Party of Serbia) may join efforts to form majority against it.

Supporters of the Statute are confident that the Democratic Party, currently in power, will be able to convince members of the Socialist Party of Serbia, with whom they form coalition, to back the Statute. The spokesman to the Assembly of Vojvodina remains positive about reaching an agreement on this matter soon. He also believes that no amendments should be made that could slow down the process, since “Europe won’t wait”.

Further information:

• B92: "Statute does not create state within state"
• MónDivers: Creix l'oposició dels partits serbis a l'Estatut d'autonomia de Vojvodina
• Nationalia: SPECIAL REPORT: Vojvodina expects imminent endorsement of its new Statute of Autonomy