The signatories expressed their discontent with the fact that attempts to divide the Croatian community in the Backa region were being made with the explicit support of Serbian government bodies, as evidenced in the latest plan to introduce the Bunjevci dialect in schools in Vojvodina province.
"We appeal to you as the highest political and cultural representatives of the Republic of Croatia, which is the mother country of the Bunjevci and all other Croats, to take the appropriate political steps to protect the integrity of the Croatian people and the Croatian language in Vojvodina so as to put a stop to unscientific, politically anachronistic and anti-civilisational attempts by the provincial administration and the authorities of the Republic of Serbia (...) to create an artificial language for the purpose of assimilating the Croats in northern Backa," the letter said.
"We believe that Croatian-Serbian conflicts belong to the past, that the Croatian minority in Serbia and the Serbian minority in Croatia are integral parts of their domicile societies and states, and that the protection of the Croatian minority in Serbia does not only contribute to the political and social stability of Serbia but also to the development of good neighbourly relations between Croatia and Serbia," the latter added.
Among the signatories were the president of the Croatian National Council, Branko Horvat, the president of the Democratic League of the Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV) and member of the Serbian Assembly, Petar Kuntic, media editors, priests from the Subotica diocese and active members of Croatian institutions and organisations in Vojvodina.
The letter was prompted by the announcement that the Bunjevci dialect would be taught in primary schools as of next year.