Intl. democracy day marked in Serbia

Serbia marks International Day of Democracy, which the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed last year. A special meeting of the Serbian parliament was held today to mark the occasion. President Boris Tadic spoke at the session. Intl. democracy day marked in Serbia He said that Serbia is a free, democratic country today, with institutions, laws and political practices which have been "standardized for the contemporary democratic world". Serbia is abiding by the rules of democratic behavior, which were made by the UN, the Council of Europe and other international institutions, he continued. Tadic said that "unfortunately, there are our co-patriots and Serbian citizens in Kosovo who are not protected by theses rules and who Serbia must care about". Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic also spoke to say that there are great challenges and taks ahead of the country, and that the greatest will be the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty. Cvetkovic said that in the fight to preserve Kosovo, Serbia chose a peaceful path, negotiations and diplomatic and legal fights, "which prove her democracy". “We want international law to be respected in this region as well and we will fight for our rights in the United Nations,” the prime minister told gathered lawmakers, adding that he expects the UN General Assembly and International Court of Justice “to give the right evaluation of the illegal proclamation of Kosovo’s independence”. He stressed that the goal of his cabinet when it comes to Kosovo is shift the emphasis from political to legal, which, according to him, would be a great achievement. Cvetkovic said that in the history of Serbia, there was always an effort being made towards democratic development, but that the country did not always choose the right way. “Now the conditions have been met for Serbia to stop wandering in the past, dealing with myths, legends and false dilemmas. It is time to learn from past experience and for Serbia to begin building a modern state which will have clear goals and ways to reach them,” he said, adding that Serbia should become "a synonym of the word democracy". The Serb Radical Party (SRS) MPS showed up in parliament today wearing black shirts printed images of their leader Vojislav Seselj, reading “Stop the tyranny of The Hague”. At the end of the session, they chanted, “Kosovo is Serbia”. Officials from the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), New Serbia (NS) and the recently formed Forward Serbia MP group were not in attendance at today’s session. NS deputy whip Miroslav Merkicevic said later on Monday that the decision not to show up came because the ruling coalition had not agreed that some of the opposition representatives could address the meeting. "At consultations on Friday I requested, on behalf of New Serbia, that someone from the opposition speak at the special parliament session and the ruling coalition did not agree. They thus demonstrated how they see democracy," Merkicevic told Tanjug in a statement. He said that the opposition "did not want to make an issue out of this, but did not attend the session as a sign of protest". Tadic, Cvetkovic attend the session today (Tanjug)

Intl. democracy day marked in Serbia

He said that Serbia is a free, democratic country today, with institutions, laws and political practices which have been "standardized for the contemporary democratic world".

Serbia is abiding by the rules of democratic behavior, which were made by the UN, the Council of Europe and other international institutions, he continued.

Tadić said that "unfortunately, there are our co-patriots and Serbian citizens in Kosovo who are not protected by theses rules and who Serbia must care about".

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković also spoke to say that there are great challenges and taks ahead of the country, and that the greatest will be the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Cvetković said that in the fight to preserve Kosovo, Serbia chose a peaceful path, negotiations and diplomatic and legal fights, "which prove her democracy".

“We want international law to be respected in this region as well and we will fight for our rights in the United Nations,” the prime minister told gathered lawmakers, adding that he expects the UN General Assembly and International Court of Justice “to give the right evaluation of the illegal proclamation of Kosovo’s independence”.

He stressed that the goal of his cabinet when it comes to Kosovo is shift the emphasis from political to legal, which, according to him, would be a great achievement.

Cvetković said that in the history of Serbia, there was always an effort being made towards democratic development, but that the country did not always choose the right way.

“Now the conditions have been met for Serbia to stop wandering in the past, dealing with myths, legends and false dilemmas. It is time to learn from past experience and for Serbia to begin building a modern state which will have clear goals and ways to reach them,” he said, adding that Serbia should become "a synonym of the word democracy".

The Serb Radical Party (SRS) MPS showed up in parliament today wearing black shirts printed images of their leader Vojislav Šešelj, reading “Stop the tyranny of The Hague”.

At the end of the session, they chanted, “Kosovo is Serbia”.

Officials from the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), New Serbia (NS) and the recently formed Forward Serbia MP group were not in attendance at today’s session.

NS deputy whip Miroslav Merkićević said later on Monday that the decision not to show up came because the ruling coalition had not agreed that some of the opposition representatives could address the meeting.

"At consultations on Friday I requested, on behalf of New Serbia, that someone from the opposition speak at the special parliament session and the ruling coalition did not agree. They thus demonstrated how they see democracy," Merkićević told Tanjug in a statement.

He said that the opposition "did not want to make an issue out of this, but did not attend the session as a sign of protest".