President Tadić visits town of Novi Pazar

Serbian President Boris Tadic is today visiting the town of Novi Pazar in Serbia's Raska District (Sandzak region). He arrived there accompanied by two Bosniak ministers in the Serbian government, Rasim Ljajic and Sulejman Ugljanin. President Tadic visits town of Novi Pazar Local officials say that this represents the state's more serious approach to the problems there. Tadic first visited a local church, where he was welcomed by the newly appointed bishop of the Raska-Prizren eparchy, Teodosije. A local folklore society also welcomed the president and performed a song entitled, "This is Serbia". Tadic will also tour a bypass being built near the town and one Muslim (Bosniak) and one Serb family that live in the villages of the nearby Pester Plateau. Although local political representatives are divided on many issues, they agree in the hope that the president's trip today will signal the state's more serious approach to the problems in the region. Tadic in Novi Pazar today (Beta) "State will help" Boris Tadic said on Monday that the state will do absolutely everything to improve the economic situation in the Sandzak region, despite the economic difficulties it is faced with. During his tour of the works on the bypass road around the city of Novi Pazar (southwest Serbia), Tadic said that the state is aware of how hard it is to live in this region as the citizens are caught in persistent poverty. “I know that many enterprises, which used to do good business here, are now closed, but the Serbian government is even in this difficult situation ready to allocate substantial investments for the region,” Tadic said. He said that it was decided that the motorway toward Montenegro should go through Pester, a karst plateau in the region, and that a pipeline which is to connect the region to the rest of Serbia should be completed over the next three years. The Serbian president told reporters that Bosniaks' right to have their own culture and language cannot be called into question and that religious rights are defined by law. “At the time of passing the bill on religious rights, none of the existing religious communities had any objection to it, and I will make sure that everybody in Serbia have their religious and ethnic freedoms guaranteed. This part of the country cannot differ from any other in that respect,” Tadic underlined.

President Tadić visits town of Novi Pazar

Local officials say that this represents the state's more serious approach to the problems there.

Tadić first visited a local church, where he was welcomed by the newly appointed bishop of the Raška-Prizren eparchy, Teodosije.

A local folklore society also welcomed the president and performed a song entitled, "This is Serbia".

Tadić will also tour a bypass being built near the town and one Muslim (Bosniak) and one Serb family that live in the villages of the nearby Pešter Plateau.

Although local political representatives are divided on many issues, they agree in the hope that the president's trip today will signal the state's more serious approach to the problems in the region.

"State will help"

Boris Tadić said on Monday that the state will do absolutely everything to improve the economic situation in the Sandžak region, despite the economic difficulties it is faced with.

During his tour of the works on the bypass road around the city of Novi Pazar (southwest Serbia), Tadić said that the state is aware of how hard it is to live in this region as the citizens are caught in persistent poverty.

“I know that many enterprises, which used to do good business here, are now closed, but the Serbian government is even in this difficult situation ready to allocate substantial investments for the region,” Tadić said.

He said that it was decided that the motorway toward Montenegro should go through Pešter, a karst plateau in the region, and that a pipeline which is to connect the region to the rest of Serbia should be completed over the next three years.

The Serbian president told reporters that Bosniaks' right to have their own culture and language cannot be called into question and that religious rights are defined by law.

“At the time of passing the bill on religious rights, none of the existing religious communities had any objection to it, and I will make sure that everybody in Serbia have their religious and ethnic freedoms guaranteed. This part of the country cannot differ from any other in that respect,” Tadić underlined.