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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Kostunica, Doris Pack discuss tolerance in ethnic communities

Belgrade, 31 January 2005

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica met today with European parliament representatives led by head of the Delegation for Southeastern Europe Doris Pack.

Kostunica pointed to the importance of developing tolerance among different ethnic groups, recalling that the Law on Minorities was passed, that the Ethnic Minority Council was set up, and that Serbia-Montenegro and Hungary ratified an agreement on the protection of ethnic minorities.

The Prime Minister noted that a series of talks with representatives of Hungarian political parties in Vojvodina took place recently, as well as with representatives of the religious community and the Hungarian media.

Kostunica pledged respect for human and minority rights and for the development of inter-ethnic trust. He noted that the government, and the Ministry of Education and Sport primarily, will focus its attention on educational programmes to improve tolerance among the youth, which is also an important factor in the prevention of inter-ethic incidents.

Doris Pack said that on her visit to Vojvodina, she got the impression that the incidents that occurred in the northern province of Serbia were not ethnically motivated, but rather were criminal acts. She stressed that the European parliament never labelled the incidents in Vojvodina “atrocities”, which she said had been misinterpreted in the media.