TRAVEL REPORT The Hon. Michael Atkinson MP Attorney-General ...

Tuesday, 17 August, 2004Mr Vojislav VukcevicMinister for the DiasporaMr Peter NagyBiographyVojislav Vukcevic was born in 1939 in Osijek . He received his PhD from theFaculty of Law, Novi Sad University, in 1974 . He was a president of the courtin Beli Manastir, and worked as a dean and professor at the Faculty of Law,Osijek University, until the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic ofYugoslavia . Vukcevic has been a secretary-general of the Serbian RenewalMovement since 1994 . He was a deputy in the parliament and minister forrelations with Serbs outside Serbia in the transitional government . He ismarried and has two children .Meeting SummaryThe Attorney-General explained the extent of the Serbian Diaspora in SouthAustralia and the success of the Serbians . In particular, he drew attention tothe significant involvement of Serbian miners in the development of the opalmining industry in Coober Pedy . He detailed the role of the South AustralianMinistry for Multicultural Affairs, and outlined the support and specific grantsoffered by the South Australian Government to fund Serbian and other culturalactivities of the Diaspora .The Minister for the Diaspora, Mr Vojislav Vukcevic, was pleased to hear thatthe Serbian community was well respected and able to practice cultural andlinguistic activities . He was interested in finding out how they had integratedinto the broader society and if they had distinguished themselves .The delegation was unaware of Serbian-Australians having enteredParliament, but a number of them have become distinguished in privatebusiness and the professions, the Jurkovic family was one example .A general discussion regarding the Diaspora ensued and the issue ofcooperation and working together . Contents of the work for the SerbianMinistry depend mainly on Diaspora . They have been asked to tell theMinistry what they want and how they can be assisted ; the Ministry existsbecause of them and is at their disposal .From talks with representatives of the Diaspora, the Ministry has identifiedwhat are the primary interests and needs of the Diaspora : The law oncitizenship issues and army service for those born abroad was causingdifficulty . The existing citizenship law is very restrictive for those who left butreforms are beginning to be put in place . At present it is very rigid -thesocialists were of the view that those who left should be excluded foreverbecause they were of no value to the regime . Political changes in Serbiahave also resulted in a change of attitude towards the Diaspora . However,the legal system is still rigid as a consequence of the previous regime and itTravel Report, Hon . Michael Atkinson, MP . and Ms. Vini Ciccarello M.P., August, 2004 99