Hungarian American Coalition News, 1999 (8. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
1999 / 3. szám
THREE-WAY AUTONOMY: A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NATIONALITIES OF VOJVODINA The Hungarian minority in Serbia, numbering 350,000, resides primarily in Vojvodina, the northern province of Yugoslavia. This province (along with Kosovo) enjoyed autonomous status within Serbia until 1988. Serbs and Montenegrins comprise 53 percent of Vojvodina’s population; the Hungarian minority constitutes 17 percent. Other nationalities in Vojvodina include Croatians, Slovaks, Romanians, Ruthenians and Ukrainians. In the context of international efforts to secure peace in the Yugoslav region, the Hungarian minority in Vojvodina has put forward a detailed Agreement on the Political and Legal Framework (hereinafter “Agreement”) to reestablish Vojvodina’s autonomy. The following is a summary. THE STARTING POINT: Fundamental Democratic and Minority Rights for All Citizens The Agreement provides for the multiethnic and multicultural coexistence of Serbs, Montenegrins, and the other nationalities. The Agreement, in conformity with international norms, is based on full respect for the equality of all citizens. All citizens of Vojvodina, regardless of ethnic affiliation, may exercise their rights without restriction and have the right to be represented at all levels of government. The Agreement guarantees fundamental rights of minorities, including the public and official use of their languages in oral and written form; access to radio and television frequencies and control of same; financial assistance to found educational, scientific, cultural and religious associations; and education in the native language at all levels. As a rule, funding for these institutions and activities are guaranteed at a level commensurate with the tax contributions of the citizens who constitute the minority. The guiding principle of minority rights protection is that the nationalities living in Vojvodina make their own decisions in matters relating to the preservation of languages and cultures, and in other matters affecting their identity. To this end, the Agreement provides for institutions of self-government on three levels: Provincial Autonomy; Autonomy of the Hungarian District; and Personal Autonomy. PROVINCIAL AUTONOMY: Reestablishing Vojvodina as a Multi-Ethnic Entity The Agreement reestablishes and expands Vojvodina’s autonomy (which functioned between 1974 and 1988). Vojvodina’s provincial-level institutions include an executive authority, parliament, Supreme Court, and an Ombudsman for Minority Rights. The provincial government exercises broad jurisdiction over political, legal, economic and social entities and services within the province. The provincial government will levy taxes to fund these programs and services in conformity with the Agreement. The Agreement makes special provisions to protect and promote the rights of the national minorities in Vojvodina. For example, the provincial parliament has two houses: one Council of Citizens, elected directly by the general population, and one Council of National Communities, composed of representatives of each national minority. The languages of all the nationalities are recognized equally and used officially at all levels of administration, as appropriate and as regulated by law. AUTONOMY OF THE HUNGARIAN DISTRICT: Maintaining A Regional Identity Within Vojvodina, the “Hungarian District” comprises nine townships having a Hungarian majority, plus adjacent settlements having a Hungarian majority ': The Hungarian District government consists of two institutions: the House of Representatives, and the Executive Committee. Both are located in the city of Szabadka (Subotica). 1 Among Vojvodina’s minority nationalities, only the Hungarians are of sufficient number, and reside in settlements that are sufficiently ethnically homogenous, to make the concept of district-level autonomy viable. 4 • Hungarian American Coalition News • Special VOJVODINA ISSUE • October 1999
