VOJVODINA LEADERSHIP EYES GREATER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000950

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
BUDAPEST FOR POL - NICK GRIFFITH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SR HU

SUBJECT: VOJVODINA LEADERSHIP EYES GREATER
AUTONOMY


BELGRADE 00000950 001.9 OF 002



1. (U) Summary: Leaders in Vojvodina report
that interethnic relations among the national
communities living in the province are
currently peaceful, noting that there has been
no violence among ethnic groups in recent
months. Local leaders are more concerned with
pressuring the Serbian government to grant the
region greater autonomy, with an eye on looming
parliamentary elections and the possibility of
a new constitution being adopted. End Summary.

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"Eerily Quiet" in Vojvodina
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2. (U) In a meeting with Bojan Kostres, Speaker
of the Assembly of Vojvodina, and his advisor,
Aleksandar Kravic, Kostres claimed that
relations among ethnic groups are "very good
right now, but can easily be provoked."
Following tension in the spring of 2004, the
situation improved after a visit of the
Hungarian President to Belgrade and Novi Sad.
Croat Djordje Covic, Vice Secretary for
Legislation, Administration and National
Minorities, agreed, stating that relations are
quite peaceful at the moment. Pavel Domonji,
an ethnic Slovak who works with the Vojvodina
branch of the Helsinki Committee for Human
Rights in Serbia, noted that it is "eerily
quiet" in Vojvodina right now.

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The Push for Greater Autonomy
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3. (U) More importantly, both Kostres and Covic
urged the need for Vojvodina to return to the
pre-Milosevic era of substantial autonomy.
Kostres stressed that Vojvodina "wants to
continue to be a part of Serbia, but a distinct
part," in order to allow the multiethnic region
to have its own legislative, executive and
judicial powers, as well as control of its
economy. Currently, the police and the
judiciary are dominated by Serbs and run
centrally from Belgrade, but Kostres and Covic
would like these bodies to be more
representative of the diverse population in the
province and for the province to exercise not
exclusive but significant control over them.
Once greater autonomy is achieved, Kostres
noted that Vojvodina will serve as an example
for the entire region of how a multiethnic
region can effectively and efficiently exist.

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Relations with the Serbian Government
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4. (SBU) In their struggle for greater
autonomy, however, Kostres and Covic remain
skeptical that they will receive any
cooperation from Serbian Prime Minister
Vojislav Kostunica's government. In fact,
Kostres claimed that Kostunica is trying to
decrease Vojvodina's autonomy and is simply
disingenuous about granting the province any
further powers. Most importantly, Kostres
believes that the Serbian government wants to
control Vojvodina's resources and economy in
general, which has always been one of the
strongest in the country. Covic, too, noted
that Vojvodina has only received empty promises
from Kostunica's government. During these
meetings, both leaders were very aware of the
importance that international pressure can play
on the Serbian government and are hopeful that
U.S. support will influence the situation.


5. (U) Comment: With the possibility of
elections in the fall becoming ever more
likely, there has been increasing speculation
in the press - fuelled by occasional DS and DSS
statements - that a deal on a new constitution
is once again in the works. If so, democratic
parties would probably rather see the work done

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prior to elections, rather than risk handing
over the task to a Radical-led government. In
this atmosphere, leadership elements in
Vojvodina undoubtedly see an opportunity to
restore at least some of the competencies they
enjoyed under the pre-Milosevic autonomy
arrangement. As fall approaches we expect that
calls for autonomy will increase from some of
Vojvodina's political leadership. End comment.

POLT