Is Vojvodina on the Path to Independence?

The Assembly of Vojvodina adopted a declaration on the protection of the constitutional and legal rights of the province on Monday, despite opposition from Belgrade parties that deemed the document separatist.

Seventy-five representatives of the ruling coalition in Vojvodina, which includes the Democratic Party (DS), the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV), and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), voted for the declaration, while 21 opposition representatives, including the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Democratic Party of Serbia, and the Serbian Radical Party, voted against it.

Before the discussion on the document at the Assembly session, the president of the Vojvodina government and vice president of the DS, Bojan Pajtić, stated that Vojvodina ‘will not remain silent’ and will continue to insist on the respect of its constitutional and legal rights.

-As soon as we raise our voice and demand that our constitutional and legal rights be respected, there is an uproar aimed at silencing us… But those who think that Vojvodina will remain silent are very mistaken,’ Pajtić noted.

During the assembly discussion, the head of the opposition SNS club, Igor Mirović, stated that his party is fighting against the creation of an ‘independent state of Vojvodina’ and advocated for the rejection of the declaration.

-This is a dangerous political pamphlet, which contains some more, some less dangerous topics, and some are completely nonsensical. The most dangerous intention is to divide us. The gap between the central and provincial authorities, between provincial and local authorities will deepen. The already fragile bridges will be destroyed, and the citizens of Vojvodina will gain nothing from it,’ Mirović said.

The head of the SVM club, Sandor Egeresi, stated that there is not a single letter ‘s’ of separatism in the Declaration, but he noticed a small letter ‘a’ of autonomy.

-I responsibly assert that members of minority national communities in Vojvodina are loyal citizens of the state of Serbia. And Vojvodina is as Serbian as it is Hungarian, as Bunjevac as it is Romanian, as Slovak as it is Croatian,’ Egeresi conveyed, advocating for the adoption of the declaration.

The Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, which has one representative in the Assembly of Vojvodina, previously announced that it would support the adoption of the declaration.

The declaration states that the rights and competencies of provincial bodies have been violated by the central state authorities, which are called upon to respect the rights and obligations towards the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

The document was proposed by the government of Vojvodina as it ‘notes the occurrence of multiple violations of constitutional principles and legal regulations concerning the rights and competencies of bodies and institutions in the AP Vojvodina.’

It also ‘calls on republican bodies and institutions to work together with the provincial administration and representatives of local self-governments, strengthening mutual cooperation, to improve the level of respect for prescribed procedures, as well as undisputed rights and obligations.’

The announcement of the adoption of the declaration at the beginning of April was the reason for a protest in front of the government of Vojvodina, organized by certain Serbian associations and parties – including the ruling SNS – who opposed the adoption of such a document.

The Vojvodina government is led by the Democratic Party (DS), which is in opposition to the ruling coalition at the state level, consisting of SNS, SPS, and the United Regions of Serbia led by Mlađan Dinkić.