BELGRADE, Jan 8 (Hina) - The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HOPS) has protested over the radicalisation of the treatment of ethnic minorities in Serbia, particularly of ethnic Croats.
BELGRADE, Jan 8 (Hina) - The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in
Serbia (HOPS) has protested over the radicalisation of the treatment
of ethnic minorities in Serbia, particularly of ethnic Croats.#L#
The HOPS issued a statement on Thursday recalling that the bust of
Matija Gubec, the leader of a 16th century peasant revolt in Croatia,
was torn down in the village of Tavankut near the northern city of
Subotica on Christmas Eve and that a large number of Catholic graves
had been previously desecrated in Novi Sad.
"This kind of message sent to the Croat minority in Serbia is
detrimental to the process of normalisation of the position of the
Serb minority in Croatia, which has improved considerably," the
statement said.
According to the human rights organisation, the recent early
parliamentary elections "exposed the real image of Serbia and the
atmosphere in society characterised by the trend of self-isolation".
It recalled that because of the high, five-percent minimum of the
vote necessary for winning a seat in the parliament, representatives
of ethnic minorities did not pass this threshold. Besides, there is no
political will to solve the issue of the ethnic minorities'
representation. As a result, Serbia "does not treat its minorities as
equal citizens, although they account for over 30 percent of the
entire population," read the statement.
"To insist on the finalisation of a project of an ethnically cleansed
Serbian state pushes Serbia farther away from its proclaimed goal of
reaching European standards. Unfortunately, there is an impression
that some circles support exactly this orientation," the HOPS said.
(Hina) ms sb