The Croatian Culture Ministry has submitted the celebration of Saint Tryphon and the Kolo Svetog Tripuna for inclusion on UNESCO's protection list.
The celebrations were registered as Croatia’s cultural heritage and were part of Croatia's intangible heritage. The cult of St. Tryphon and the celebrations in his honour are tied to the tradition of the Croatian fraternity Bokeljska Mornarica for whose creation and preservation most of the credit goes to the Croatian people.
The recognition of the cultural and historical heritage, including the contribution of Boka Croats to the creation and preservation of Bokeljska Mornarica, held an important place in the exercise of the rights of Croats in Montenegro as an ethnic minority recognised by the Montenegrin Constitution.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs welcomes the contribution of associations of Montenegrin Croats to the preparation of Montenegro’s submission of Bokeljska Mornarica for inclusion on UNESCO’s list.
Taking into consideration the views and requests of Boka Croats, we have done everything to protect their rights and ensure the protection of Bokeljska Mornarica in all of its elements, both those it cultivates in Montenegro and those it cultivates in Croatia.
Croatia advocates an approach which best evaluates the comprehensive traditional heritage of Bokeljska Mornarica, both in Montenegro and Croatia, emphasizing that Bokeljska Mornarica is closely tied to St. Tryphon and that the most credit for creating and preserving the tradition of Boka seamen goes to the Croat people.
We believe that, in the spirit of friendly and good neighbourly relations and mutual respect, it is in the joint interest of Montenegro and Croatia to continue the dialogue during the evaluation of the nomination files and find a mutually acceptable solution whereby we will show that minorities and our treatment of their identity, tradition and culture are the firmest links in the building of our relations.