FM Grlić Radman: Croatia expects reciprocity from Serbia in terms of minority rights

Croatia is not happy with the status of the Croat minority in Serbia and expects it to respect the agreement on the reciprocal protection of minorities and their fixed representation in bodies of representation, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said in a comment on Sunday's elections in Serbia

Croatia is not happy with the status of the Croat minority in Serbia and expects it to respect the agreement on the reciprocal protection of minorities and their fixed representation in bodies of representation, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said in a comment on Sunday's elections in Serbia.

"We are not satisfied with the status of the Croat minority in Serbia, we express regret and absolutely call on the Serbian side to honour the international agreement on the mutual protection of minorities and their fixed representation in bodies of representation, which Croatia has made possible for its minorities, and we will continue insisting on that," Grlić Radman said in a comment on parliamentary elections in Serbia and wishing the ethnic Croat community success.

Grlić Radman said "Croatia is the best example of minority protection, each minority here is represented in the parliament and the Serb minority also has fixed representation."

Twenty-one slates are running for 250 parliamentary seats in Sunday's elections in Serbia, with the SNS party of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić considered as the favourite.

Asked about the European People's Party (EPP) support for Vučić, whose party is a member of that European political group, Grlić Radman said the support expressed was support in principle.

"I see it as a call-in principle for peace and stability, for reforms and for the fight against corruption. Such messages should serve as encouragement but they do not represent support for the current situation in Serbia. The situation in Serbia, the development of civil society, and the media situation can definitely be better and that is actually a call on responsible politicians to take care of those processes, which are a guarantee of the country's European journey," said the minister.

The SNS is a member of the EPP just like the HDZ even though the ruling Croatian party opposed the SNS's admission.

Youth EPP (YEPP) on Friday commended the Serbian authorities for an efficient fight against the coronavirus pandemic as well as for measures taken to protect the national economy.

YEPP vice-president Karlo Ressler of the HDZ distanced himself from YEPP's support extended to Vučić ahead of the parliamentary elections, saying that he was "strongly against" YEPP's statement.

"On top of all the historical reasons from the time of the aggression on Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, we also cannot support either the style of rule or the way the coronavirus crisis was managed, which is the best proof of the huge difference between the Croatian and Serbian leaderships," Ressler said on Twitter.

Grlić Radman said today that shedding light on the fate of 1,892 Croatians gone missing in the Homeland War was a condition for Croatia's support for Serbia's accession to the EU.

Text: Hina 

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