Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman spoke today over the phone with the President of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina and member of Serbian Parliament, Tomislav Žigmanov, about the political and social state of affairs in Serbia in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the status of the Croatian community and the activities of key Croat institutions in Serbia. The minister wanted to know about the effects of the pandemic on the life and work of members of the Croatian community, expressing satisfaction with the appropriate actions on part of the Croat institutions as well as with the responsible behaviour of Serbia's Croats themselves.
Žigmanov informed Grlić Radman about the status of the Croatian community given the challenges of functioning in a state of emergency. He underscored that all pre-election activities of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina had been put on hold after the state of emergency had been declared on March 16, but that the umbrella institution - the Croatian National Council (HNV), performed its regular functions thanks to officials working from home. Despite the challenging conditions, the life of Croats in Serbia has not ground to a halt - all of the institutions in the areas of culture and information are still functioning, Žigmanov said, familiarizing Grlić Radman with the promotional and other activities related to enrolling the next generation of students in the Croatian language classes overseen by the HNV, as well as the teleworking of elementary and high school Croatian language classes.
Grlić Radman underlined the Croatian Government's strong support for the efforts of Serbia's Croats during the state of emergency. In addition, he emphasized that Croatia closely monitored the social status of the Croatian community, and that it would advocate its interests and push for the improvement of its status through bilateral and other foreign policy activities. Žigmanov underscored the sympathy of Serbia's Croats over the recent earthquake that had hit Zagreb and parts of Krapina-Zagorje County.