- Published: 18.12.2023.
Croats in Serbia should have guaranteed seat in Serbian parliament
Žigmanov, leader of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina and outgoing minister for human and minority rights, did not make it into parliament in Sunday's snap polls.
"We are not content with the status of the Croats in Serbia," Grlić Radman said on Monday, commenting on the election performance of the Croat candidate, who ran in a coalition with Bosniak parties.
Grlić Radman said that this is a matter of "structural inequality".
"If Croatia guarantees three seats in the Croatian parliament for the Serb minority, we expect the same rights for the Croat minority in Serbia," he said, adding that the Croats should have "a guaranteed seat" in the Serbian parliament.
Commenting on the election results, which again showed an overwhelming victory for the Serbian Progressive Party of President Aleksandar Vučić, the Croatian foreign minister said that the election did not make the political situation in Serbia any easier and that Vučić still faced a lot of issues that needed to be addressed.
Grlić Radman expressed the hope that after the formation of the new government he would meet with his new Serbian counterpart to see how to address problems between the two countries, notably the legacy of Croatia's 1991-1995 Homeland War.
He said that the cooperation between Croatia and Serbia had never been so poor as it was today, adding that the reason for this was the lack of willingness on the part of the Serbian government to face the past and take the necessary steps to improve good-neighbourly relations.
Text: Hina/MVEP