Leader of Serbian national minority discusses participation of national minorities in the new government.
President of the Serbian National Council Milorad Pupovac confirmed on Wednesday that Serbs would be able to participate in government institutions, but added that level of their involvement has still not been agreed, reports Večernji List on October 12, 2016.
“As for the most important part, the participation in government institutions, that will be known before the government is confirmed in Parliament. As for the other levels of participation, there will be room for talks after the formation of the government”, explained Pupovac. Asked how Serbs can be sure that the status of minorities will be improved and whether they should get a deputy prime minister position, Pupovac said that it was certain that participation of Serbs in the institutions of government will be achieved. “At what level and to what extent – that will be seen in the coming days, because we are still discussing those issues”, said Pupovac.
He said that they have already agreed on certain points when it comes to the rights of minorities, pointing out that “people do not know how Serbs in Croatia actually live”. He added that it was necessary for representatives of Serbs to participate in solving various problems. “Is it not natural and normal that everyone should participate, including representatives of minorities? This is what we want”, said Pupovac.
Commenting on possible solutions for the issue of bilingual signs on public buildings in Vukovar, Pupovac said that “the Constitutional Court has made its ruling”. “The minimum is for representatives of Serbs and Croats to sit down and on the basis of the Constitution come to a decision that will be applied in Vukovar”, said Pupovac.
Responding to a question about the future Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Pupovac said that he was a man of extraordinary ability and qualities. “We will see what kind of policies he will advocate when it comes to solving the problems of Serbs”, said Pupovac, suggesting that Plenković’s intentions for relaxing the Croatian-Serbian relations should be welcomed.
“When it comes to his desire to calm the tensions and build tolerance, to include minorities in solving all the problems – that is something which should be welcomed”, said Pupovac on Wednesday.
