SERBS AT ELECTIONS

AIM, ZAGREB, March 20, 1997

Despite recent announcements, the Croatian Serbs will not take part at the forthcoming elections for the District Chamber of Parliament, as well as local government and self-government authorities as one national block. Although the lists of candidates can (i.e. must) be submitted by Sunday, March 24, it is almost certain that there will be no changes. Namely, the talks which have secretly, for a long time, been going on between Pupovac's Independent Serbian Party (SSS) and Djukic's Serbian National Party (SNS) have definitely fallen through, while the conflict between two most prominent politicians of the Serbs in Croatia remained as intensive as it was before thunderously announced union. Although immediately after the negotiations Milan Djukic informed the public of the merger of the two parties - the new party was to be called Serbian National Independent Party (SNSS) - showing preliminary agreement with his and Pupovac's signatures, Pupovac proclaimed that paper invalid.

"Several months ago the Independent Serbian Party and the Serbian National Party started negotiations regarding the establishment of a single party which would guarantee the maximum unity of Serbs in Croatia at the forthcoming elections. The Independent Serbian Party was willing to give maximum concessions without any ambitions of taking the leading positions for its members, and with the sole aim of creating a united organization, because we thought that it was the best way to protect civil and national rights of the Serbs, especially in Eastern Slavonia. These negotiations failed as we could not agree on the role of Serbs from Eastern Slavonia in that merger. We thought that this process was aborted when Djukic, without any authorisation, informed the public of the merger of the two parties. We therefore continued the negotiations with Serb representatives from Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Sirmium and these negotiations were successfully concluded", said Pupovac.

Namely, Pupovac proposed that the leading positions in the future Serbian National Independent Party be left to the Serbs from the Danube river valley, considering that area to be decisive for the future of Serbs in Croatia in general, while the local Serbs, as legitimate political representatives of the region with the greatest concentration of Serb population in Croatia, will, in the future, have the key political role in the resolution of -in all likelihood still open - the Serbian question in Croatia. Milan Djukic disagreed with such an approach wanting party leadership to remain in Zagreb and a minor role for Serb representatives from the Danube river valley being of the opinion that in the last five years his party has won indisputable advantage regarding the political representation of the Serbs, in other words that the presidential post should go to the SNS. "I could not agree to the name of Independent Democratic Serbian Party" said Djukic "and to Vukovar - a village - for party headquarters".

De facto that is where the negotiations on the merger of parties failed with the well known result: in fact, at the special session held on March 19, in Zagreb Pupovac's Independent Serbian Party was swallowed by the Independent Democratic Serbian Party from Vukovar, whose President is Dr.Vojislav Stanimirovic, and which will take part at the forthcoming elections with a unified list of candidates. The special session of the Independent Serbian Party also confirmed this agreement, whereby it was practically annulled as an independent party. Its leader, Milorad Pupovac, became the President of the SDSS Programme Council and member of the Main Board of that party, while Stanimirovic's men will take the majority of other important functions in SDSS.

With the Serbian National Party, Djukic will nominate his candidates and it is hard to believe that anyone will go to the elections - at least no in Eastern Slavonia - alone, apart from these two political groups. In Western Slavonia the Independent Serbian Party has nominated its candidates at the elections for communal councils in Pakrac and Lipik, which - naturally, if elected

• will most certainly join the Independent Democratic Serbian Party, while in some areas of Croatia there are even independent Serbian lists (Vrbovsko and Ogulin). The vast areas of Krajina will most probably be left without a single Serbian representative because in that region, according to Pupovac, "people live in fear of any political activity with a Serbian sign, while on the other hand, the Serbs can neither be nominated as candidates of the Croatian parties as that would be counter-productive".

Practically, with such regrouping the Serbs have determined their long-term political strategy. "The aim of the SDSS is a swift, undisturbed and efficient implementation of the elections, but for the Serbs in these parts these elections are not only a matter of selecting parties, but a matter of survival", said Pupovac. It seems that the SDSS will insist on the policy of peaceful reintegration of Serbs into Croatia wishing to avoid excessive confrontations with the Croatian authorities, so that it will try to avoid incidents at any cost. At the time of union of SSS and SDSS, Dr.Vojislav Stanimirovic was at consultations in Belgrade so that it seems almost certain that his party will endeavour to balance between Zagreb and Belgrade.

It seems that with the merger of SSS and SDSS Djukic's Serbian National Party has been pushed to political margins. Namely, Pupovac has joined a party which will, most certainly, win the majority of votes in parts of Eastern Slavonia where Serbian population is predominant. Thereby he has given up the role of a leader of Serbs from Croatia and left it to Dr.Vojislav Stanimirovic, but has, in all likelihood, secured his political future. In that way, according to those well-versed, Pupovac has expressed a certain scepticism in regard to the return of Serbs to Krajina. The SDSS political programme relates exclusively to the area of the Croatian part of the Danube river valley.

"We see the basis for the solution of the position of Serbs in Croatia in the Letter of Intent of the Croatian government, Constitutional Law and the Erdut Agreement - said Pupovac, "there is no way the Serbs could get their own districts, although a referendum concerning this issue will be held, but it will have no legal validity. However, the communal borders have been changed, there will be a Communal Council with a specific legal personality if General Klein reaches an agreement on this issue with the Croatian side. It is also expected that it will be possible for Serbs from Eastern Slavonia to acquire dual citizenship and for lists of people accused of war crimes to be reconsidered. The hardest part of the work remains to be done after the elections. It concerns the return, reconstruction, development and similar problems".

On the other hand, Djukic with his Serbian National Party is more turned towards Serbs from Krajina, and noticeably more inclined to confrontations with the HDZ. Djukic raised the question of the voting of Serbs refugees in the FR Yugoslavia and European countries claiming that it is against the Constitution and the law to deny these electors their voting rights. The process of issuing of citizenship papers is too slow and violation of human rights of the Serbs in Croatia is "rather a collective than individual phenomena". Also, the institution of proceedings has been announced regarding the voting rights of the Serbian refugees before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

It seems that in the areas of Eastern Slavonia in which Serbs represent the majority, the Independent Democratic Serbian Party will get the largest number of votes because the local population will most certainly support political leaders they know. For the time being less important is the question whether the party's headquarters will remain in Vukovar or be transferred to Zagreb. That question will be answered once when the final destiny of people living in these area is known.

BORIS RASETA