proposal

The democratic forces supporting the true autonomy of Vojvodina in the democratic Serbia and Yugoslavia have agreed to coordinate, on the principles of equality and mutual respect, their activities based on common viewpoints. With this aim they have drawn up and signed the following

Proposal for the Change of the Constitutional Status
of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina

I. Why Changes

1. The deficiencies of the Constitution of Yugoslavia enabled, and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia inaugurated unprecedented and unjustified centralization into practice and turned all its citizens into highly dependent subjects of the state. The Power in Serbia has become centralized by the cessation of the autonomies and dispossession of the local self governments, thus the power is concentrated in the hands of tripartite personal union - the same people are holding the highest positions in the Power, in the party and in the economy. The theoretical balance of the Power has been destroyed to the detriment of the Parliament and to the advantage of the President of the Republic and the Government.

2. Instead of having a multi-party political life and multi-party Parliament - the monopoly of one party has been established; instead of having a state based on laws, we have despotism; instead of freedom, we have state-party control over all fields of social life (in economy, education, culture and public health); we get alms instead of wages.

3. The constitutional political structure of Serbia and Yugoslavia is incompatible with modern political, economical and legal systems of the democratic European countries and their directions of development. This unables the natural process of becoming linked with the environment, which would be the precondition of all economical and cultural progress.

4. The present constitutional and even more the legal solutions are against the democratic needs and interests of Vojvodina. They serve the exploitation of its resources, transfer of accumulation, creating thus an average low-level economy, culture and civilization on the whole territory of the Republic. Justifying it with the interests of a unified state, the centralistic Power of the Republic of Serbia is systematically exhausting Vojvodina economically, it is impoverishing its cultural-civilizational achievements and it is degrading Vojvodina politically. There is a danger that this status will become permanent, actually, there are proposals for the final cessation of the autonomy of Vojvodina and for replacing autonomy by quasi-regional division. Besides, the solution of economical, cultural, lingual and other problems - according to the present valid constitution, laws and practice - provokes distrust, fear and general uncertainty among nations, they stimulate nationalism, political extremity, slow down and even hinder the democratization of the state.

5. The post-Dayton period in Yugoslavia raised not only the question of economical reconstruction and the return of Yugoslavia to the world, but also the question of the political structure of the country, and at the same time the constitutional legal status of Vojvodina in the democratic Serbia and Yugoslavia. This fact is confirmed both by practical events and the determination and actual support not only by the political forces in Vojvodina, but also by some parties which have their centres outside Vojvodina. Although there are major differences in the concept concerning the content and the scope of the autonomy of Vojvodina, the common concept that the autonomy of Vojvodina is an inevitable element of the entire decentralization of the Power in the whole country, has strengthened. Therefore the points of view concerning the position and the status of Vojvodina in the democratic Serbia and Yugoslavia may serve as a base for discussion and joint activities in the aspiration for social progress.

II. What Changes

1. The Citizen, the Province, the Republic, the Federation

1.1. The basic principle that the new constitution of Serbia and Yugoslavia should be based on, is the consistent respect of civil sovereignty. The structuring of the Power and state organizations should start from the BOTTOM - from the municipality to the Republic and Federation, based on the principle of subsidiarity, that is, all that can be rationally solved on lower, should not be solved on higher level. This is the only way the citizen can take and accomplish active responsibility for his own lot, for the lot of others, and for the lot of his immediate and expanded community. Apart from the basic human rights and freedom, following the examples of the developed European countries, the Constitution of Serbia - respecting the historical, national, economical, cultural and other specific characteristics of certain parts of the state - should guarantee the rights of citizens for self-organization into municipalities, regions and autonomous provinces within the state.

1.2. The constitutional changes we support, should guarantee equal individual and collective rights of citizens of all nationalities to live - within the existing borders - in the country of their ancestors, right for the free expression of their national and religious feelings, political belief, with the obligation to respect the same rights of others. These are the principles that the communal spirit should be based on, both in Vojvodina and in the state it belongs to.

1.3. Similarly, the constitutional regulations should guarantee the rights of the citizens in Vojvodina to arrange their interrelations in their local environments, as well as rights to accomplish and protect their own economic and other interests, and to jointly decide on the status of Vojvodina within the state it belongs to, by respecting the right of the state to establish the functions which will protect the common interests on the whole territory of the state.
To be more precise, that means, that the republic constitution should fix, and the federal constitution should guarantee the political-territorial autonomy of Vojvodina within the structure of Serbia and Yugoslavia.
The constitutional regulations should precisely establish what the competences of the state (national defence, state security, foreign policy, monetary system, fundaments of the economic and fiscal system...), and what the exclusive competences of the Autonomus Province are, as well as, what affairs - according to the agreement between the state and autonomy - might be solved on the basis of the same principle on the whole territory of the state, even if they are in the competence of the autonomy.

2. Political Content of the Autonomy

   2.1. Respecting the federal and the republic constitution, the Autonomus Province would pass its owncharter (constitution, constitutional law, organic law, statute). According to the charter, as well as according to the federal and republic law (if it is foreseen in the federal and republic constitution), the Autonomus Province of Vojvodina would by its independent laws regulate all the issues of economy, education, old age benefit, health insurance, culture, information, with a special respect of the national equality and national minority protection.
   The executive functions of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina would, of course, be brought into accord with the regulations of the Constitution of Serbia and the Constitution of Yugoslavia but established on the basis of the charter of the Province. The responsibility of the executive bodies would be directed towards the Assembly of Vojvodina. In accordance with democratic traditions, the enforcement of the laws and other regulations should be mostly in the competence of the municipality, and more in the competence of the Province than in the competence of the Republic. This does not preclude the need for the preservation of certain controls by the federal and the republic bodies in accordance with the law.
   The second level of the local self-government would have certain competences taken over from the competence of the Province. Communities of municipalities, that is, regions would be formed (e.g. Srem, Banat and Backa) in order to carry out more efficiently and more economically the affairs of common interest.
   The autonomy of jurisdiction in Vojvodina is a natural and logical continuation of the legislative autonomy of Vojvodina, and the claim for such autonomy is based on historical, economical, national, cultural and other characteristics, as well as on the tradition of the legal system in Vojvodina.
   The independence of the courts would be solved by the formation of a non- parliamentary body, consisting of a certain number of deputies, representatives of expert and scientific institutions, associations in the field of jurisdiction, as well as other relevant, non-governmental organizations, responsible for the election and dissolution of the judges. Such solution would be rational for the whole country.
   Apart from the existing municipal and district courts which would keep the present competence, a Department of the Supreme Court of Serbia would be formed in the Autonomus Province of Vojvodina with the following competence:

establishment of fundamental principles and fundamental legal opinion on issues significant for uniform

enforcement of provincial regulations by the courts of the Autonomus Province of Vojvodina,

decision-making in procedures in contentious administrative matters against the final administrative acts of the provincial bodies,

decision-making on constitutional appeals (about claims for the protection of freedom and rights guaranteed by the constitution) if they have been violated by provincial acts, and no other protection is guaranteed,

second-level decision-making on regular legal remedies against decisions of the district and economic courts,

decision-making in conflicts concerning competence between courts in the Province.

Apart from its competences concerning the legal affairs in the Republic, the Supreme Court of Serbia would be competent for the following:

establishment of the fundamental principles and fundamental legal opinion on issues significant for uniform enforcement of regulations (laws) which are applied in the whole Republic,
third-level decision-making on regular legal remedies against the decision of the Department of the Supreme Court in Vojvodina, when it is foreseen by the law,
decision-making about extraordinary methods of review, stated against the decisions of the courts in the Province,
decision-making in conflicts concerning competence between the courts of the Province and courts of the Republic.

2.2. Concerning the historical and ethnical characteristics, the principles of national equality are the best principles for Vojvodina. In the Autonomus Province of Vojvodina it would mean, above all, the right of all nationalities - regardless their number - for active participation in political affairs, in constituting, exercising and controlling Power. Therefore, a Nationality Council would be formed in the Assembly of the Autonomus Province of Vojvodina, consisting of equal number of representatives of those nationalities which make more than 0,5% of the structure of the population. Concerning the problems in the information, education, culture, relevant scientific fields and other fields significant for the achievement of collective national rights, this council would have equal rights as the Civil Council.
It is especially important for the multi-national Vojvodina, that by the system of election, as well as by regulations concerning the nomination and dissolution of public officials, a democratic procedure should be guaranteed, which means equality of all the candidates, objective evaluation of their expert knowledge and capability, but also such a national structure of the representative bodies and other bodies of the Power, as well as all public officials which would approximately reflect the national structure of the population.

2.3. Within its competence to independently organize the Power, the Autonomus Province of Vojvodina would, by a separate law, establish the organization and the sphere of activity of the provincial administrative bodies and institutions for performing professional, research, informational and other affairs of interest for normal functioning of the Province.

2.4. The establishment of the autonomy of Vojvodina must not, by any means, mean "provincial centralization" instead of "republic centralization". On the contrary, it would mean and include highly developed regional, subregional and local self-government. The public affairs should be performed by those authorities which are the closest to citizens.
Minority self-government would have a special place, that is, the ethnical communities should have the possibilities to achieve certain collective rights through various aspects of cultural, personal, functional and other autonomies in the municipality, in the community of municipalities and in the Province. In the structure of the representative bodies of the Province, the interests and the influences of the local communities should be expressed by a special council (Council of Municipalities).

2.5. In order to achieve basic human rights and freedom, it would be of great significance to guarantee the right and create possibilities for citizens to participate in the process of decision making and exert influence on it, not only through political parties, but through class, professional, functional, humanitarian, ecological and other organizations.

2.6. It would not be possible to change the status of the autonomus province without the agreement of its assembly and its citizens. If in opposition with the Constitution, by acts of state bodies or by acts of another autonomus province, the equality of the autonomus province is violated, or if its interests are disturbed in any other way without compensation, the provincial bodies may pass acts for protecting the interests of the autonomus province.
The territory of the autonomus province would consist of the territories of its municipalities and it would not be possible to alter it without the agreement of the assembly of the autonomus province.

3. Economic Content of the Autonomy

3.1. As far as the economy of Vojvodina is concerned, it would be necessary to fix in the Constitution, thatVojvodina must have the possibility to influence the creation, and must have independence in the implementation of the established macro-economic policy through appropriate structure and relations between the legislative and executive bodies of the Power, as well as administrative bodies and public services.

3.2. Economization with the natural resourses is the major issue of the autonomy. It is quite natural, that those who have been creating capital goods with their work and investments for centuries, should possess those goods and be free to decide about them. They are the only ones who should have the right and responsibility for planning, to create development policy, and decide on optimum utilization of natural resources. These rights and responsibilities also include constant increase of employment, foreign trade affairs and accumulational abilities of the economy, especially the establishment of harmonious ratio between the achieved income and consumption (personal, general, common, investment).

3.3. Concerning the structure of its economy, as a homogenous autonomy in the Republic and in the Federal State, Vojvodina has a special interest to significantly influence the creation of state agricultural policy, which should be very consistent concerning the stable conditions and which aim must not be creating low average conditions, but on the contrary, it must stimulate those with the highest productivity. Such policy, must offer economic motivation for the production of food and raw material of regenerative origin through the protection of interests and the rights of the producers to have free disposal of the surplus market products, to obtain par income, that is, an income that they would obtain in other economical fields. In order to secure their own equal status at the market and to protect themselves from state monopoly, the producers should join in communities of interest according to their own criteria and interests.

3.4. The right for decision-making in public finances is a true criterion of the autonomy of a territorial community. Therefore it is necessary to guarantee the essential economic bases of autonomy by the Constitution of the federal state, and in order to implement its real autonomy, the Republic Constitution should establish the right of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina to independently decide, within the system, about its own public income and expenditures.

4. Non-Economic Fields

The laws of the Federal State and the Republic of Serbia should regulate only the basic rights and obligations in health care and social welfare, old age benefit, as well as in education, culture and information. In accordance with them, the functioning of these fields of social affairs would be regulated by provincial regulations.

5. Inter-National Relations

5.1. The proclamation and guarantee of the principles of national equality in Vojvodina would mean that, from the national point of view, nobody would be treated as majority or minority, neither would anybody have certain special rights, except for those rights which protect national minorities in immediate or expanded environment in relation to the national majorities.
The "highest international standards" cannot represent a starting point for Vojvodina. These standards are only the internationally accepted minimum, which has been an outworn conception for a long time, thus the return to it would mean a step backward.

5.2. By the charter of the Autonomus Vojvodina, all members of nationalities, citizens, as well as members of ethnical communities - by the application of the principles of positive discrimination - will be guaranteed the following:

right for gatherings and agreements,
right for joining social and political organizations and associations,
right for public and free political expression of their interests,
right for active participation in political affairs, in constituting, exercising and controlling the Power,
right for membership in representative bodies and other governmental bodies in the proportion approximate with the share in the total population structure, by the application of the principles of positive discrimination,
right for self-organization for accomplishing rights established by the constitution and laws,
right to organize non governmental national committees, councils and assemblies of general character or in specific field of social affairs as education, culture and information,
right for complete and immediate information in the mother tongue through public media,
right for the expression, development and transfer of the national tradition,
right for free public and private use of their language and alphabet,
right for education in the mother tongue and decisive influence on the decisions related to the network of
schools, elements of the Curriculum for education in the languages of the minorities,
right for free choice and use of their own, and their children's names, as well as to write those names according the original orthography in the registries and personal documents,
right to use their own national signs and symbols,
right for making contacts with citizens and associations of other countries,
right for the recognition of statistical national structure of the population as an approximate criteria for economic contribution and distribution of assets for collective consumption which has the aim to preserve national identity (culture, education, information), by possible correction according to the principles of positive discrimination,
right to press charges for disrespecting state guarantees concerning the implementation of rights stated above.

The question of the implementation of the true autonomy of Vojvodina and the solution of national issues, that is, the status and protection of national minorities, are mutually related and are not in opposition in priority. There is no autonomy without the solution of the national problems, and vice versa. Thus, the problems should be solved simultaneously.

III. How to Reach Changes

1. Such regulation of the constitutional-legal status of Vojvodina is possible only in the democratic Serbiaand Yugoslavia. The proposed solutions support the consistent development of article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia which says that "the Republic of Serbia is a democratic state of all the citizens living in it, based on the freedom and right of people and citizens, laws and social justice". it means that the autonomy of Vojvodina also presumes similar forms of modern self-government of other regions in Serbia in accordance with the expressed and politically articulated will of the population.

2. Starting from the signed PROPOSAL the signatory organizations will mutually discuss, but independently decide on the forms, contents, methods and speed of their parliamentary and non-parliamentary activities and about joining other parties and organizations in electoral, functional and other coalitions.

3. In order to coordinate their support and actions for achieving the purposes of the PROPOSAL, the signatories will form a Coordination Committee and will delegate two members in the Committee. The Coordination Committee may, in order to carry out operating affairs, form an executive council. The decisions of the Coordination Committee will be made by consensus.

Novi Sad, January 29, 1997

I. POLITICAL PARTIES

1. DEMOCRATIC UNION OF THE CROATS OF VOJVODINA, Subotica (Branko Melvinger, autohized by the president Bela Tonkovic)

2. DEMOCRATIC COMMUNITY OF THE HUNGARIANS OF VOJVODINA, Becej (Sandor Pal, president)

3. CIVIL MOVEMENT OF THE HUNGARIANS OF VOJVODINA, Senta (Jozef Berec, president)

4. PEOPLE'S PEASANT PARTY, Pancevo (Dragan Veselinov, president)

5. DEMOCRATIC REFORM PARTY OF VOJVODINA, Novi Sad (Ratko Filipovic, president)

6. UNION OF CITIZENS OF SUBOTICA, Subotica (Slavko Parac, president)

7. UNION OF THE HUNGARIANS OF VOJVODINA, Subotica (Jozef Kasa, president)

8. ALL-NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF VOJVODINA, Novi Sad (Zivan Berisavljevic, president)

II. INDEPENDENT CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS

1. THE BANAT FORUM, Pancevo (Djurica Savkov, president)

2. SOCIETY FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NATIONAL LIBERATION WAR, Novi Sad (Zivko Blagojev, president)

3. SOCIETY OF THE HUNGARIAN CULTURE IN YUGOSLAVIA, Novi Sad (Istvan Bosnjak, president)

4. SOCIETY OF THE HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE OF VOJVODINA, Novi Sad (Karolj Kasas, president)

5. SOCIETY OF TOLERANCE, Backa Palanka (Zdravko Marjanovic, president)

6. GROUP FOR PEACE ACTIONS "M", Pancevo (Mirko Mandarino, president)

7. INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATION OF THE JOURNALISTS OF VOJVODINA, Novi Sad (Mile Isakov, president)

8. HUMANITARIAN ASSOCIATION "PANONIJA", Novi Sad (Danica Stefanovic, president)

9. MOVEMENT FOR THE PEACE OF VOJVODINA, Novi Sad (Slavenka Ljubic, president)

10. MOVEMENT FOR PEACE, Pancevo (Nenad Zivkovic, president)

11. EQUALITY, Subotica (Tamas Korhec, president)

12. ASSOCIATION OF PRISONERS OF WAR AND VETERNS OF WORLD WAR II FORVOJVODINA, Novi Sad (Milorad Sekulic, president)

13. VOJVODINA CLUB, Novi Sad (Stanimir Lazic, president)