If the Serbian authorities give their consent, the Croat community will be able to celebrate four national holidays - March 19, St. Joseph's Day, October 16, the birthday of Croatian Vice-Roy Josip Jelacic, October 19, the birthday of Subotica Bishop Ivan Antunovic, and December 15, the day when the Croatian National Council (HNV) in Serbia and Montenegro was established, it is said in a decision the HNV adopted at a session in Subotica on Saturday.
The HNV also decided to send the Serbian government a proposal that members of umbrella minority associations be elected at the upcoming elections according to an elector system instead of at direct elections.
Members of this umbrella association of the Croat national minority condemned assaults and reports which appeared in some Serbian media in the second half of last year which portrayed Croats in a negative context, urging the authorities to take appropriate measures.