Most of the 24.5 million kuna intended for nongovernmental organisations and national minorities was allocated to the Serb community (6.4 million).
Serb representative Milorad Pupovac warned about the problem of inflammatory language which he said had appeared in publications issued by associations receiving budgetary funds. Participants in today's session of the Council said that the paper of the Union of Hungarian Associations had already been criticised for this, as did the paper of the Democratic Community of Croatian Hungarians.
The Council decided that talks should be held with the presidents of both associations and that a session on criteria for the financing of minority associations be held by June.
The Council also adopted a report by the national television on a project on the education of minority reporters. The editor of the "Prizma" programme for national minorities, Daniela Drastata, said that Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) would employ seven young minority reporters as part-time staff.
Pupovac said that this was the first step, but that it was still far from minorities making television programmes on their own.
He also stated that some reports on the national television which were given prime time airing created distrust among minority communities and were written from rightist and sometimes fascist positions.
Council chairman Aleksandar Tolnauer said the Council had requested a meeting with the HRT leadership two years ago, but the meeting had still not been held.