Declaration on cooperation between Serbs from Croatia and Croats from Serbia
On the occasion of the signing of the Declaration on the Cooperation of Serbs from Croatia and Croats from Serbia , in Zagreb on 6 January 2023 , president of the parliamentary friendship group with Croatia and one of the organizers of the traditional meetings on “Serbian-Croatian relations” Janko Veselinović, stated that he was pleased by the fact that the Declaration on Cooperation was signed in Zagreb, which was already initialed at the end of August last year, on traditional international meeting “Serbian-Croatian relations” in Golubić near Obrovac, Croatia.
Exactly, as in August 2022. At a meeting in Golubić (Obrovac), the declaration was signed by: Milorad Pupovac, president of the Serbian National Council from Croatia, and Tomislav Žigmanov , president of the Democratic Union of Croats in Vojvodina, who is also the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue of the Republic of Serbia.
Statement by Janko Veselinović on the occasion of signing the declaration on cooperation
“I am glad that the initiative from the meeting in Golubić received the understanding of the political leadership in Serbia and Croatia. The Golubić declaration thus became the basis of a possible reconciliation of two peoples and two states”, said Janko Veselinović .
“The declaration was initialed during the traditional international gathering dedicated to Serbian-Croatian relations. That meeting is held in Golubić, which is a returning Serbian town in Dalmatia. That village was severely devastated during the operation “Storm” in August 1995. years.
For the past 15 years, the gathering has traditionally been organized by: the Center for History, Democracy and Reconciliation (CHDR) from Novi Sad and the Association for History, Cooperation and Reconciliation from Golubić (Obrovac).
Janko Veselinović said that, in addition to Milorad Pupovac, Serbian Minister Tomislav Žigmanov also played a significant role in signing the declaration.
“It won’t be easy for him because I don’t know the true intentions of either the Serbian or Croatian governments. So far, they have not shown much desire to normalize relations. The war conflicts of the 1990s were and are still being used as political fuel to the detriment of the two nations,” said Veselinović. “However, I will be a moderate optimist. I will believe that they will follow the majority mood of the two peoples, whose relations are much higher than those of political representatives”, he said on that occasion.
Statement by Darka Gavrilović on the occasion of signing the declaration on cooperation
The President of CHDR’s Board of Directors, Darko Gavrilović , told Beta Agency that he would like declarations like this to be signed by all politicians “every day, until it dawns on them that politics should only be conducted with the aim of achieving peace and mutual cooperation.”
The meaning of this Declaration is that love and understanding must overcome the need for strife and evil in politics, which culminate in wars. Only by maintaining connection with others do we protect our rights. The declaration is symbolic, the work in the people is real. Now the signatories have work to do.” Gavrilovic added.
