What would it mean for Serbia if having opposed political blocks at different levels of government?
– I believe that everything is possible in Serbia, because decisions brought by Serbia were mostly irrational. Besides, often the individual interests were decisive and not the general interest of citizens. Therefore it is possible that even now, at different levels of government, we get different coalitions. However, I can say with confidence that G17 Plus will not take part in any government, either in Vojvodina or in Serbia, if some corrupt compromises or deals are being agreed with the Socialists (SPS), the Radicals (SRS) and Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) at the level of Belgrade. I think that it would be very very bad for Vojvodina if cards are to be distributed in this way. Because in such case, the question is what Vojvodina can do in the future if at the central level rules the coalition made of the Radicals, the Populists and the Socialists. On one side we would be bound by Constitution and the budget and on the other side we may expect strengthening of wishes for a higher decentralization and autonomy of Vojvodina. I think that such dualism would lead to an absolute disharmony in functioning of everyday life because every decision would turn into the subject of political quarrels and spites.

Does it mean that G17 Plus would refuse, in case that the Belgrade city government is formed with the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), entering the republic government with the Socialists? What would in such case happen with the provincial coalition?
– In Vojvodina, the Socialists can not decide on the post-election agreements. If otherwise, our attitude not to participate in the government under no circumstance if bad compromises are made would also include the provincial level. The Socialist Party of Serbia must decide whether it will, with other parties, take part in building the European future of Serbia or it wants at every level adapt the coalition agreements to party interests. The Socialist Party of Serbia can not sit on two chairs and can not at one level form government with the Radicals and the Democratic Party of Serbia and on another with the Democrats. For G17 Plus this is unacceptable.

What can Vojvodina really expect to achieve when it is question of regional cooperation with EU countries and also when competing for the European funds?
– Vojvodina has a great advantage because in difference to other parts of Serbia it fulfills all regional criteria according to the European standards. In fact, Serbia has no law on regional development and the regionalization and decentralization are conditions that must be fulfilled in order to compete for the European funds. Vojvodina, however, has established the regional institutions and therefore it can without problems draw money from the funds available to Serbia if the country is given the status of EU candidate by the end of year, which will be possible only if it has a pro-European government. The capacity of the provincial management has only to be upgraded so as to be able to implement the European programs and projects. In this sense, it is necessary to institute an agency for the development of Vojvodina as well as the provincial project fund and the payment agency in order to be able to draw resources from the IPA Fund intended for the development of agriculture and for rural development. For all above the condition is co-financing, which is already fulfilled by establishing the Fund for Capital Investments with mechanisms to co-finance projects competing for IPA funds. Until Serbia builds its own institutions, actually until fully regionalized, Vojvodina can without problems draw these resources already in the first, the second and the third year. Thus Serbia would not face the problems as happened to some other EU candidate countries i.e. to have no capacities to use the European funds in the first two to three years after having acquired the status of candidate. I think that political will to build these institutions exists in Serbia but this should be done as soon as possible.

Does the current inter-party support present among the pro-European parties on the eve of the second round announces some wider pro-European coalition in Vojvodina or is it possible that some potential partners drop out if their mandates proved to be non-decisive in forming the majority in the APV Assembly?
– G17 Plus will absolutely support the widest possible circle of partners in the new Vojvodina’s government. By this I think that this government, apart from our list For European Vojvodina also includes the Hungarian Coalition and the list Together for Vojvodina. Every unconstrained government is bad government. Only with participation of all pro-European parties Vojvodina’s government would be able to lead Vojvodina efficiently towards Europe.

Have you hold within the coalition For European Vojvodina any negotiations about distribution of ministries in the regional government?
– I am not interested for the republican government. My interest is limited to Vojvodina and to my profession. However, I will think about that when I see the final distribution of power and what will make the political majority in the provincial government i.e. how much space there will be available for reforms.

www.autonomija.info

Can it make the position of Hungarian coalition difficult in the post-election agreements considering the negative reactions that the potential partners of the Hungarian Coalition towards the project of ethnical autonomy?
– Obviously that this thoughtless move of the Hungarian Coalition will make its potential post-election partners additionally cautious and certainly that it will be more difficult to establish a true cooperation after elections. Perhaps the political interests will prevail so as to form whatever government will be possible after elections but a true cooperation and the solution of this issue will certainly be out of question after the May election. It will be a long and difficult way to reach the right solution of the territorial autonomy of the Vojvodina Hungarians.

What effect may this have on the voting body of the Hungarian Coalition if there is no prospect of possible partners for realization of this key theme of the election campaign and is it real to expect that the election results will repeat those recorded at the presidential elections?
– The positive wave considering results of the presidential elections and the creation of the Hungarian Coalition will have this time also positive effects on the voting body. However, if only the theme of territorial autonomy remains the key theme of election campaign then it is really sad. And currently everything is turning around this issue…
The leaders of Hungarian Coalition must find the common language with political leaders of the majority population. However, it is obvious that the President of Union of Vojvodina Hungarians is under the pressure of their radical partners from the Democratic Party of the Vojvodina Hungarians (DSVM), the Democratic Community of the Vojvodina Hungarians (DZVM) and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM) and will have to pay dearly for this coalition if not now then in the near future. This is already an indicator that the bill is already on the way.
For me there is no doubt that the territorial autonomy is necessary but the problem is how to realize it. If it should be instituted in bloodshed as it had been with the former Yugoslavia then we don’t need such autonomy. The society in Serbia will mature one day and realize that autonomy is neither scarecrow nor secession nor it is against the majority population but that it will be advantage for all of us living in this area. And finally it should be understand that we are historically destined to live together and that contended minority can only be a stabilizing factor in one state.

Is the project of minority autonomy the reason for change of attitude of the Hungarian Coalition towards the issue of autonomy of Vojvodina considering that some Hungarian Coalition leaders launched the theses that it is a “Serb-Serbian issue”?
- The Union of Vojvodina Hungarians has always advocated strengthening of autonomy of Vojvodina. Another question is how much this is stressed in the campaign of the Hungarian Coalition. I am certain that the Vojvodina Hungarians sincerely wish the autonomy of Vojvodina, as much as they wish democratic society, the European integrations … The Union of Vojvodina Hungarians has never forgotten about the autonomy of Vojvodina but is seems that at the moment the priority is to preserve undisturbed cooperation between the coalition partners in the Hungarian Coalition and in order to preserve it this coalition made some unfitting compromises.

B.D.S.

In these days a true storm has been raging in the media after the statement issued by the Hungarian coalition that they advocate the ethnical territorial autonomy for Hungarians at north of Vojvodina. Can you explain this for our web-portal?

– Our opinion is that Hungarians have right to ask the same as other minorities on the territory of Serbia. If during the process of implementation of minority rights some higher standards are ascertained like, let’s say, the ethnical autonomy for Serbs in north of Kosovo, then it is only logical that other minorities are also entitled to same rights. Only in this way, in the autonomous regions where we are the majority we can realize our national interests. It is the question of democratic principle and the democratic way of resolving the minority issue. Also, these are actually the European standards. It is nothing new in Europe that one minority, on the territory where it is majority, is entitled to self-administration. Whenever we present these arguments, the Serbian political scene reacts with aversion and always finds excuses to avoid such talks because it is never a proper time to discuss such themes as, allegedly, the Serbs have other national interests and more important problems than these are. We think that there is always time to discuss how to solve the minority issue and, of course, we will not give up.

What is your attitude towards the autonomy of Vojvodina? Does this ethnical autonomy is in contradiction with autonomy of Vojvodina?

– Not at all. As regards the autonomy of Vojvodina we believe that it should be absolutely differently conceived, that it should be much broader, that Vojvodina is entitled to the executive, legislative and judicial power. The Province should have its revenue source, its taxes and to function in reality as a Euro-region. In such autonomy what we are speaking about is also possible – the ethnical autonomy on the territorial principle in municipalities with the Hungarian majority. They don’t contradict each other.

Where is, in your opinion, the weak point of autonomous movement, actually is there a real possibility for Vojvodina to obtain a higher degree of autonomy?

– First of all this depends on the Serbian population in Vojvodina, actually how much this population is interested above all for economic autonomy. Is belonging to one nation or are other national topics more important for them than is economy? One should have in mind that 47 percent of the republic budget is filled by revenues from Vojvodina and that Vojvodina gets back much less. There is no logic that the republic collects all taxes and then returns (some) back. In this re-distributive system it should be left to Vojvodina to collect its own taxes and these taxes should remain where they are collected. And only then Vojvodina should contribute to the republic treasury as much as it is necessary i.e. for army, diplomacy and other common needs.

Vojvodina’s autonomous parties criticized your proposal for the ethnical territorial autonomy at north of Vojvodina?

– They can criticize, but it is a European claim. They may like it or not! The autonomy-oriented parties of the majority nation in Vojvodina held that Hungarians should be loyal to them and to fight against Belgrade so that they call out: FORWARD! but not: FOLLOW ME! Their problem is that they don’t want to be in the frontline, they wouldn’t go to, let’s say, Vrbas or Vršac, but they go and fish in ‘mud waters’ where the Hungarians are majority. They tell them – we are the Euro-Serbs, we are your friends, we are better than others who don’t understand you. This is a plain deceit! They should fight for a higher degree of autonomy of Vojvodina so that they should first of all explain to the Serbian population why the autonomy is so crucial. There is no need to persuade minorities – we know!  Our task is not to spoil this game. They have a reverse policy, they think that they may grab several (representatives’) terms if they appear in Ada, Senta, Kanjiža or Topola. These are their target places instead other and more tougher places.

In case that they decide to, as you say, take a lead and call FOLLOW US! they will certainly have the support of political parties of Hungarian minority?

– No question about it, but they must persuade the Serbian body of voters that autonomy is crucial!

Nedim Sejdinović

(www.magazinvojvodina.com)

- You have drawn a parallel between Kosovo and Vojvodina. Would you say that ethnical principle in the case of decentralization doesn’t play the only role or at least the decisive role?

- No, I haven’t drawn any parallel between Kosovo and Vojvodina. I have only tried to compare constitutional reasons “for granting” the essential autonomy to Kosovo and for “taking away” from Vojvodina the autonomy of that quality. I have concluded that Serbia without a reasonable, realistic and in a certain sense futuristic approach to the issue of autonomy and territorial organization falls into serious difficulties, in unsolvable aporias that soon or later, more or less quickly lead to a deep constitutional and political crises. That constitutional crisis in Serbia is already evident, it has already begun! Essentially, the Constitution of Serbia practically installs there forms of autonomy and in this way creates dangerous constitutional vagueness. What three forms of autonomy? This is first of all, unessential autonomy: second, essential autonomy: third, supra-essential autonomy. The unessential autonomy (or limited, restrictive, adolescent, “a supervised autonomy”) has been foreseen for Vojvodina and such autonomy Vojvodina neither wants nor deserves. The essential autonomy has been intended for Kosovo, but Kosovo doesn’t accept such autonomy. Supra-essential autonomy (or the “future autonomy”) is the real situation in Kosovo but Serbian government doesn’t want to hear about it. This is a pure “schizophrenia”. But one thing is clear: the Constitution reveals an open “poisonous” discrimination towards the autonomy of Vojvodian! The Constitution of Serbia can not so arrogantly and unpunished play with the autonomy of Vojvodina! It is perfectly clear that Serbia in Vojvodina systematically and continually kills neither God nor autonomy but – A STATE!

- What about the ethnical principle and decentralization?

- To this question one has to look for answer in the sociological researches published in Serbia on this topic. In short, the ethnical principle doesn’t need to play a decisive role in the processes of decentralization. You have today highly decentralized modern states which are practically mono-national. Naturally, multi-ethnicity can be a “strong’ reason for decentralization and this depends on the “political logistic”: political culture, a degree of development of democratic institutions, the rule of right etc. in one state or one society. Multi-ethnical, multicultural, multilingual factor could be an important factor of decentralization in Vojvodina, but in Serbia as it is now, hardly that it can become a respectable reason!

- It seems that international factors in view of this all don’t appear too interested for the position of Vojvodina. Is this because they are not interested for the issue to it simply hasn’t yet been put on the agenda?

- I cannot reply to this question either quite positively but neither absolutely in negative. Actually, behind these questions of yours I am aware of a shorter and more direct question: Why hasn’t the issue of Vojvodina been internalized until now? Would internalization of Vojvodina’s issue (essentially) have the impact on its status of autonomy or its state status? It is not true that EU is indifferent to the position of Vojvodina in Serbia. Remember that at the end of August of 1992, at the London Conference, it was decided to re-establish for “the citizens of Kosovo and Vojvodina all civic and constitutional rights and to ensure the respect of civic rights to inhabitants of Sandžak” and, if Serbia and Montenegro would ignore it, the Security Council would be forced to imply strict sanctions and impose full isolation. Sanctions we had, bombardment we had, and nothing. Vojvodina was lumped together into the constitutional quarantine – bear it and work!

- What is it in your opinion that prevents a more significant development of the authentic Vojvodina’s parties and the development of Vojvodina’s social and political scene in general? Inter-party animosities, lack of capacity, lack of means for the election and other campaigns, the influence of Belgrade and Belgrade’s public opinion or something else?

- Let’s for a moment leave aside a series of important questions about relations between parties with a Vojvodina’s sign. For example: when these parties are founded, in what social and political circumstances, under what stigma is Vojvodina in time of introducing the multi-party system, how fierce and ruthless was the campaign against Vojvodina’s “advocates of autonomy”, etc. Hence, take into account that all Vojvodina’s parties are founded predominantly as “defensive” mechanisms around the national or civic corpus. They are attempting to preserve, maintain or save from “cleansing” either ethnical or civic identity! These parties gathered around national corpus are “by nature” hermetic. Their hermeticism is conditioned by the locus, language, confession, cultural pattern, the influence of state of their native nationality and they resort to the additional protecting umbrellas through cultural, personal autonomy. These ethnical Vojvodina’s parties are small and relatively stable. Their life in the province or local self-rule is ensured by the positive election discrimination etc.

- Regarding Vojvodina’s parties of civic provenience, they are open, small, relying on the civic profile of voters in Vojvodina, they don’t find rational interest in Serbian environment and vice versa, and these parties incline to slowly wither away. Their election survival these parties frequently tie with Belgrade’s political parties of predominantly national sign. In this way they not only bring into question their program identity but create confusion among Vojvodina’s electorate and turn the voting confidence of Vojvodina’s population to some other party’s direction or they passivate voters’ decisions.

- As regards prospects of the current Vojvodina’s parties on Vojvodina’s political scene in the forthcoming period, they should seriously think about them if they care for their own future.

- In its attitude towards the autonomy of Vojvodina, the Democratic Party shows two faces. Is it a sort of political illusion when it is said that Vojvodina’s Democrats and the Democrats from Belgrade and proper Serbia – have totally different attitude towards Vojvodina’s autonomy? In general, what’s your opinion about the attitude of DP as regards Vojvodina’s autonomy?

- This party, in my opinion, in a great deal brings or has brought into question its democratic and civic or, let’s say, “Djindjić’s” identity! I don’t now recognize this party any more! DP is somehow a bulky party, a clumsy political mechanism thrown into winning power and political control, any power at any level. It must control the presidential power, the power in the Government, in ministries, in Province’s secretariats, the judges of the Constitutional Court, ambassadors, rectors, directors of public toilets, every one is only in the search for power, they have just one will – the will to power. Individuals in it are only after high functions, careers, positions … When you have such a political motivation, then no wonder that in this party ethics and political moral have sunk to low level, if all of them are ready after the model of the first among them to “sell faith for supper” in every moment and for bagatelle. Vojvodina is deceived at the most by this same DP and one has only to remember what the officials of that party used to speak before the constitutional referendum, one has only to remember that “stylistic acrobatics” that for years they have been exercising on the theme of autonomy of Vojvodina etc. My impression is that DP works more and more systematically against the autonomy of Vojvodina then those parties that are not openly against the autonomy of Vojvodina. When they use it in full, when they fully devastate the autonomy of Vojvodina, they will throw it away as a used condom and start looking for a new regional victim!

- When the issue of Vojvodina’s autonomy is being discussed, very often it raises the question of minority parties or political elites of Vojvodina’s minorities. In such cases it can be often seen that there exists a controversy, that publicly they advocate one and that in practice they are sometimes closer to some other political option?

- It sounds paradoxical, but the minority parties, in my opinion, as if “hide” their attitude towards the autonomy of Vojvodina. Every discussion initiated on this topic by Vojvodina’s parties of the civic provenience and the “non party-member intellectuals”, the minority parties label as the “Serbian-Serbian” issue and don’t take part in it. As if they live on Mars and not in Vojvodina. As if it is of no any concern to them! They have their own small autonomies, like ghettos, and within them they temporary feel better and more secure, but from which, in a long run, can crawls out only ethnical Lilliputians and the arrogant ethnical leaders – not free men! Autonomy is – freedom! And when things are so non-transparent, you don’t know anything about the party but you know too much about the leader. In such ethnical parties the party program equals the party leader. And naturally, in such miniscule political enclaves there is no elite, there is no average either, there is no dialogue between them, so Vojvodina’s political parties haven’t sit down to speak about the destiny of Vojvodina which however – however, concerns all us in the area. In the light of experiences we have so far, hardly that one can count on Vojvodina’s minorities to increase the autonomy of Vojvodina, I would like to be wrong in my forecasts

- Though the referendum on the new Constitution of Serbia has been a fiasco in Vojvodina it hasn’t had any political consequences. Why?

- The Constitution of Serbia didn’t pass, and there no any doubt about it, in Vojvodina at the constitutional referendum. Vojvodina said NO to the present Constitution of Serbia, that so-called “Mitrov’s Day Constitution” or “Koštunica’s Constitution” on both the first and on the second referendum days alike! The referendum was an unheard-of, senseless avalanche of lies! In that united “falsification of constitution and reality”, norm and life, in which leaders were the parties from the same party cradle, in spite to the orchestrated pressure from all sides, from all media, via SMS and the Internet, the pressure that was more and more strong from hour to hour, in spite to dramatic calls by almost all political leaders, the Government, the President, in spite of the announced global apocalypse if the referendum proved fiasco, in spite to that unique “referendum marathon”, Vojvodina didn’t accept the referendum-served Constitution of Serbia!

- Inhabitants of Vojvodina however didn’t politically capitalize on this catastrophic fiasco of the Serbian Constitution. I however don’t rule out of question that, as the reaction to this fact, perhaps in Vojvodina will be formed a sort of the “constitutional movement” that will as the Pannonian and rural “Sinn Féin” (We Ourselves) contribute to bringing a modern and democratic constitution in this country in which “we shall not be born and die with Kosovo in head”, as one our indisputable political mythomaniac said.

Nedim Sejdinović (Interview published On November 10th, 2007, by Novi Sad’s “Gradjanski list”/Civic Newspaper/)