VOJVODINA MOVEMENT

AUTONOMY FOR MODERN EUROPEAN REGION

  1. The Vojvodina is an integral part of Serbia and Yugoslavia. However, the Vojvodina is DIFFERENT from the other parts of Serbia and Yugoslavia due to her geographical, economic, cultural, national and civilizational characteristics. This is the reason why things have to be done and decisions have to be made DIFFERENTLY in the Vojvodina.

  2. The Vojvodina constitutes a lesser part of the Republic of Serbia. According to statistical data – she makes up around 24% of its territory and around 21% of its population, therefore she has less voters and representatives in the Serbian assembly. That is why, if she is to be operated in a different manner, she has to have a right to decide, she has to have autonomy, she must be independent of the current changes and inter-party deals in the Serbian Assembly. The word 'autonomy' means autonomous legislature.
   When people in the Vojvodina are put in a position where they can not make independent decisions, they are deprived of what they have created with their own hands. This robbery is done openly or in disguise. People of the Vojvodina have always been giving, and are willing to give to the needy, but this will be done out of sheer solidarity, and it will be controlled by people from the Vojvodina. These people would simply not allow anyone richer or poorer then them to grab their goods away.
   Our demand for the autonomy of the Vojvodina within Serbia and Yugoslavia is based on the need of its people to protect their own economic, cultural and other interests. This is not something new. This inclination towards autonomy was present even in the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in the socialist Yugoslavia, and it is present today.

  3. The Autonomous Vojvodina bears differences within itself. It consists of three regions: Backa, Banat and Srem, separated by the rivers Danube and Tisa. Srem is different from Backa and Banat and the other way around. Even its towns show differences if compared to each other. For example, Subotica is different from Pancevo, and Kikinda from Sremska Mitrovica. This is exactly why there is no will within the autonomous Vojvodina to be centrally governed. What is preferred is a highly developed municipal and regional self-management, with municipalities smaller than the ones today, so that the Vojvodina citizens could have a better insight and control over those in power.

  4. Citizens of the Vojvodina know all of this, and talk about it. But something has to be DONE in order to change the present state of affairs. We made efforts to change things in a peaceful way – through elections and the assembly, and since unanimity is the only way to do it,  this is why everyone who strives for the autonomy of the Vojvodina has to join together for the elections.

  5. In order to organize an electoral group we have founded the VOJVODINA MOVEMENT. Until now the following groups have joined us: The Vojvodina Club, The Society for Truth about National Liberation Fight, The Vojvodina Society for the Hungarian Language, The Vojvodina Peace Movement, The All-National Democratic Front of the Vojvodina, all of these from Novi Sad; then, The Citizen's Movement of the Vojvodina Hungarians, from Senta; The Group for Peace Actions, from Pancevo; The Alliance of Citizens of Subotica, and The Democratic Alliance of Croats in the Vojvodina, from Subotica; also the Society for Tolerance from Backa Palanka – 10 party and non-party organizations. The movement is open for new members. All of them are equal within the Movement and decisions are voted on unanimously. The movement has made arrangements on what is to be done if unanimity is not reached.

WHAT IS Vojvodina Movement?

  1. Vojvodina Movement is not a single - new party. It is neither the first nor the only organization in favour of the Vojvodina's autonomy. However, the Vojvodina Movement is a DIFFERENT organization:

  • Vojvodina Movement  is the association of political parties, non-party organizations and individuals.
  • Vojvodina movement has no leaders. No one within the party has a leading role, or special rights. All are equal, all make decisions together, working independently.
  • Vojvodina movement (hereinafter referred to as VM) is the only political organization which gathers independent individuals, and they do not have to be members of its constituent parties, or in the movement itself. However, individuals who wish so, can become members of the Movement by signing the application form. Municipal Committees of the VM are being established in all municipalities in the Vojvodina by the VM members and individuals who do not belong to the VM. The VM Municipal Committees of individuals are interconnected and co-operate directly with the VM Executive Board. Individuals and organizations which are the collective members of the Movement are represented in the VM Assembly and VM Political Council through VM regional boards for Srem, Banat and Backa.
  • Municipal VM representatives, and Municipal Councils of organizations – members of the VM form co-ordination boards of the VM, and within these, mutual activities of the VM are co-ordinated in a respective municipality.
  • The Vojvodina Movement is the only political organization with the ethical code. This code determines the rules of behaviour of its members. Gaining personal wealth on the basis of one's position within the party or in power is the most immoral thing that could be done.
  • VM does not point at anyone as their enemy. The Movement shall use only arguments in discussing matters with the ones of a different opinion.

  2. Rights and obligations of all the members and co-operates of the VM, which means that they are going to the electoral presentation together, organizational scheme and rules of behaviour within the movement, as well as the approach of the Movement toward other organizations, have been established in the Agreement on Constituting the VM, in the VM Statute, its Ethical Code and other constituent documents agreed upon at the Constituent Assembly of theVM in Novi Sad.

  3. Mutual program of all the VM members and associates can be found in the MANIFESTO FOR THE AUTONOMOUS VOJVODINA, signed on 6 December 1995, by 17 political parties and non-party organizations in the Vojvodina, also in the PROPOSITION FOR THE CHANGE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION OF THE AP VOJVODINA, signed on 29 January 1997, by 23 political parties and non-party organizations. These documents determine the autonomy of the Vojvodina  we  are all looking for.

    • Territorial,  political, economic and cultural autonomy of the Vojvodina in democratic Serbia and Yugoslavia, with determined contents and constitutionally guaranteed departments of the Vojvodina autonomy. Also, the provincial legislative judicial and executive power should be provided within those departments,
    • Autonomy of the Vojvodina where all the citizens will have equal individual citizen's rights, and equal collective national rights
    • Autonomy of the Vojvodina with the right to organize municipalities into regions of Srem, Banat and Backa,
    • Autonomy of the Vojvodina with the rights of the villages to have their property, municipalities to have municipal  property, and the state – state property,
    • Autonomy of the Vojvodina with the pre-determined jurisdiction among villages, municipalities, regions and the Province in their respective departments of autonomy and their right to deal with their own sources of public income and other goods, which are the result of their work,
    • The Assembly of the AP Vojvodina shall have three councils: The Civil Council, Municipal Council, and Nationality Council, with pre-defined competence of each Council.

  4. The way to realize the mutual programs are elections, initiating changes of present system laws through the assembly system, and changing the present constitutional position of the AP Vojvodina in the same manner.

II Why Vojvodina Movement?

  1. Vojvodina Movement was founded in order to go to the municipal, province,  republic, federal and presidential polls in the Vojvodina.

  2. According to the public opinion polls, most people who live in the Vojvodina are for the autonomy of the Vojvodina. However, this atmosphere has not yet been indicated by the suitable number of committee members of political parties which are in favour of the autonomy of the Vojvodina in the Municipal Assembly and members of parliament in the Province and Federal Assembly (after the 1996 elections), nor were there any envoys in the Republic Assembly (1997). Parties  in favour of autonomy did not have even a half of the compulsory candidates for all of the electoral units. That is why the Vojvodina today has not enough respectable representatives who could stand for her interests in the country and abroad.
   Based on the experience gained from past elections, it has been concluded that parties in the Vojvodina that are in favour of autonomy can not count on a substantial electoral success unless they join together.

  3. According to the present electoral laws regarding the Vojvodina,  26 envoys are chosen to go for the Federal, 55 for the Republic and 120 envoys for the Province Assembly.

III HOW  can Vojvodina Movement succeed at elections?

  1. According to the Agreement on Constituting the VM, the constitutive part of which is the Declaration on the Electoral Organizing of the VM, candidates of  the VM for the envoys and MPs

  • can be only those who live and work in their electoral unit.
  • are not obliged to be members of individual organizations, nor members of VP
  • do not sign a declaration of loyalty to parties or the Movement. They morally answer only to the citizens – their voters.
  • During the process of choosing the candidates for envoys and MPs,  the VM will see to it that there is a respective national and social structure in the respective electoral unit.

  2. The procedure of candidacy, and nomination of candidates

    • is initiated and ends: for envoys, and province envoys on the municipal level, for republic and federal MPs on the level of the electoral unit. In the Political Council of  the VM there is only a verification of the nominated candidates.
    • Candidacy, deciding on candidates and nomination of candidates is done in the municipal, coordinative, or regional boards of VM. Only in the case of dispute, Political Council of the VM acts as the arbiter.

  3. The candidates are expected to engage themselves directly in the election campaign in the area of their respective electoral unit. Voters should know whom they choose and that they choose persons of integrity.

  4. The electoral goals and tasks of the chosen board members and MPs are the following:

    • to gain the majority in the Vojvodina Municipal Assemblies, in the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and majority among the MPs from the Vojvodina in the Republic and Federal Assembly.
    • Direct tasks of the chosen board members and envoys are to: initiate the change of the existing laws through the assembly bodies. These laws include laws on local self-management, property belonging to the state, on public income, health and social security, pension insurance, education, culture, sport and other laws important for the Vojvodina; their aim being to protect her economic, cultural and other interests. The ultimate goal is the change of the present constitutional position of the AP Vojvodina.
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IV FOUNDING VM COMMITTEE

  1. The aim of the founding assembly is to constitute the VM Municipal Committee of individuals – members and non-members of  the VM, and together with the Municipal Committees of organizations-members of the VM to form a co-ordination committee of the VM in the respective municipality.

  2. The Municipal Committee of the VM can be formed by the individuals – direct members of the VM, and, on the equal basis, the individuals who are not members of the VM, nor are they members of political parties within the VM, but are willing to co-operate with the VM. The condition for funding the Municipal Committee of the VM is that there are at least 5 interested individuals.

  3. In the municipalities where there are already Municipal Committees of member organizations of the VM, co-ordination committees of the VM are formed from the representatives of all the Municipal Committees. On the level of Srem, Banat and Backa, Regional VM Committees are formed by individual members and non-members of the VM. Regional Committees appoint 5 delegates to the VM Assembly and one delegate to the Political Council of the VM.

  4. Immediate tasks of the Municipal Committees of the VM in their field of action are to: found local committees of the VM of individuals in villages, to record the candidates for future committee members and deputates, activate them in the work and electoral organizing of the VM, independently and within the framework of the adherent Co-ordination Committees of the VM, and to organize public platforms with topics of their choice, and promote the work of the VM through them.