Paunovic:Ugljanin's statement - worst kind of politicization

BELGRADE - The statement by Chairman of the Bosniak National Council (BNV) Sulejman Ugljanin that "Serbia is a chauvinist country" is a dangerous, heated and primarily false statement, said Suzana Paunovic, director of the Office for Human and Minority Rights, adding that this is the worst kind of politicization of the National Council.

"This is the political abuse of not only the office of the chairman, but also the entire national council," Paunovic told Tanjug.

Although there has been much discussion about the need for depoliticization of the national councils, this is still a common practice for certain councils, she underlined, adding that Ugrljanin's statement and the way in which the BNV operates at the moment are the worst kind of politicization of a national council.

"The question that can be posed to both the BNV and the acting chairman is what results the council has achieved since 2003 bearing in mind that the institution was chaired by mainly one party," Paunovic said.

The statements such as the one of Ugljanin are dangerous because they create tensions that we do not need at this point, she said.

At a recent rally in Novi Pazar, Ugljanin said: "We want to turn this chauvinist country called Serbia into a democratic and modern European state".

The rally was organized by the BNV under the slogan "For legal security, equality before the law and European future".

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