CROATIA'S MUSLIMS WANT TO BE REFERRED TO AS BOSNIAKS IN VOTER REGISTERS

ZAGREB, May 10 (Hina) - The Bosniak National Association in Croatia (BNZH) issued a statement on Monday saying it had sent letters to the Croatian parliament, government and President Stjepan Mesic requesting that the rights of ethnic Bosniaks be regulated in accordance with the Constitutional Law on National Minorities' Rights.#L# The association insists that citizens who identified themselves as Muslims at the last population census be referred to in the voter register as Bosniaks. It says that at the 2001 census, 19,677 citizens of Croatia described their ethnic background using the previous name for Bosniaks, i.e. Muslims. This category, however, is not recognised by the Constitutional Law on National Minorities' Rights. Besides, a great number of 20,755 citizens who declared themselves as Bosniaks are still registered on voters' lists as Muslims. Consequently, this has prevented them from proposing and electing their representatives in councils of ethnic minorities and in the Croatian parliament, the association said. The association added that the fulfilment of this request would remove all misunderstandings and problems that ethnic Bosniaks were encountering not only in election processes but also in other areas of life. (Hina) ms