Why does Serbia demand a declaration on Vojvodina?

Amid months of student protests, authorities in Serbia are announcing the adoption of a "people's declaration" for Vojvodina, an autonomous province in northern Serbia.

This step is said to be taken in response to alleged separatist initiatives in the protests.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on February 7 that, in recent weeks, initiatives to grant Vojvodina greater autonomy have resurfaced.

On his Instagram account, Vučić said that with some messages "they demand that Vojvodina become a republic, with some they demand that the Vojvodina language be spoken, and with some others they want Vojvodina to separate from Serbia."

He did not specify who sends such messages.

Other officials from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party have also claimed that "separatist demands" are part of the protests in Serbia.

The Serbian presidency did not respond to Radio Free Europe's questions about these initiatives, nor about the exact reasons for adopting the aforementioned declaration.

REL also contacted Milenko Jovanov, head of the Serbian Progressive Party parliamentary group, but he did not respond either.

Aleksandar Popov, from the non-governmental Center for Regionalism in Novi Sad, tells Radio Free Europe that the Serbian government's claims about Vojvodina's separatism are part of a "divide and rule" strategy.

"None of the public figures, neither from the opposition, nor from the people targeted by the pro-regime media, have so far mentioned even the 'V' for Vojvodina when it comes to the changes that are needed," says Popov.

The student protests, according to him, have shown unity and speak only about the main demands, "which are for the institutions to start working."

Students - who have been blocking faculties in Serbia for months, due to the death of 15 people from the collapse of a shelter at the Novi Sad Railway Station - demand the publication of full documentation for the reconstruction of this station, the punishment of those who attacked students in the protests after the tragedy, the suspension of procedures against arrested protesters, as well as a 20 percent budget increase for higher education.

Since that tragedy, several protests have been held in Serbia, in which other citizens have also participated. However, in them, the organizers have not said that the secession of Vojvodina is their demand.

Vučić said on February 7 that he would oppose "separatism" through democratic and political means.

"Vojvodina is Serbia. Forever. There is no surrender or retreat before those who want to destroy our country," Vucic wrote in an Instagram post.

Outgoing Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević told Pink Television on February 2 that the opposition wants the secession of Vojvodina and sees the protests as an opportunity for its plans.

The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, told Pink Television on January 12 that the demands of students organizing blockades at faculties are political, and that the organizers of these blockades are not "autonomists", but "separatists" and want Vojvodina to secede from Serbia.

Some opposition representatives have said that these claims are unfounded and that the students in the blockade are not cooperating with the opposition on their actions.

Radio Free Europe did not receive a response to these claims from the students who have blocked the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad.

In January, graffiti "Republika Vojvodina LSV" appeared in various parts of Novi Sad, the Serbian news agency Beta reported at the time.

The opposition party, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV), distanced itself from this.

Beta Agency reported that another banner with the inscription "Republic of Vojvodina" was hung on the Varadin Bridge in Novi Sad on January 23, and that its display was secured by the municipal police.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty received no response from either the municipal police or the city of Novi Sad regarding these allegations.

According to Popov, the declaration on Vojvodina "has no legal status, just like the declaration adopted in the All-Serbian Assembly."

At this assembly, which was a joint session of the governments of Serbia and Republika Srpska, held in Belgrade on June 8, 2024, the Declaration on the Protection of National and Political Rights and the Common Future of the Serbian People was adopted - a 49-point document.

This document was adopted in July by the Serbian Parliament and, among other things, states that the Serbian people represent a single entity.

Popov says that the declaration on Vojvodina would have legal weight if a "referendum on the abolition of Vojvodina's autonomy" were held.

"All existing legal and constitutional procedures for establishing or abolishing existing autonomies should be implemented," he emphasizes.

Popov believes that the separatism thesis "has no basis in reality," but that its purpose is "to repair the damage caused by all the wrong moves the government has made."

"The consequences could be catastrophic if [the government's] plan to create divisions between the people of Vojvodina and the rest of the population in Serbia succeeds," says Popov.

The Serbian constitution states that this country has two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo, although the latter has been an independent state since 2008, but Serbia does not recognize it.

Under the Constitution, the proposal to create new provinces or to abolish or merge existing autonomous provinces is confirmed by citizens through a referendum.

The autonomous province in Serbia has its own institutions and revenues, manages property, has symbols and determines how they are used./ REL