SUBOTICA SUBOTICA, Dec 29 (Hina) - Representatives of Vojvodina Croats on Monday condemned an incident which occurred in Tavankut, a Croat majority village near Subotica, on Sunday evening, when unidentified perpetrators toppled a
monument to Croatian 16th century peasant rebel leader Matija Gubec, and voiced fears that the success of the Radical Party at Sunday's parliamentary elections in Serbia could worsen the position of Croats in Serbia and Montenegro.
SUBOTICA, Dec 29 (Hina) - Representatives of Vojvodina Croats on Monday
condemned an incident which occurred in Tavankut, a Croat majority
village near Subotica, on Sunday evening, when unidentified
perpetrators toppled a monument to Croatian 16th century peasant rebel
leader Matija Gubec, and voiced fears that the success of the Radical
Party at Sunday's parliamentary elections in Serbia could worsen the
position of Croats in Serbia and Montenegro.#L#
The iron bust, located in a school yard, was toppled in the night
between Sunday and Monday. Police are investigating the case.
One of the leaders of the Croat National Council in Serbia and
Montenegro, Lazo Vojnic Hajduk, said
the incident was connected with the fact that the Serb Radical Party
had won the votes of almost one third of the Serbian electorate. After
visiting the site of the incident, he said the incident would cause
anxiety among local Croats and other members of the Croat community in
Vojvodina.
The incident, as well as attacks on the cars of the faithful who
celebrated Christmas in Subotica last week, bear witness to a certain
degree of danger for Croats in Serbia and Montenegro, he said.
The leaders of two Croat political organisations in Vojvodina do not
expect that the position of Vojvodina Croats would deteriorate
significantly.
"We do not expect that the position of Croats in Vojvodina and Serbia
will change considerably after the victory of the far right, but fears
could arise if the country becomes politically destabilised," the
president of the Democratic Alliance of Vojvodina Croats, Petar
Kuntic, said.
The head of the Croat People's Alliance, Franjo Vukov, confirmed the
existence of anxiety in the local Croat community, but added that
Croats should not fear being denied their minority rights.
Both party officials believe that the situation in Serbia will slow
down the normalisation of relations with Croatia.
The two parties participated in yesterday's elections as members of
the coalition "Together for Tolerance". The coalition, mostly made up
of parties representing national minorities, did not pass the election
threshold of five percent and will not have deputies in the
parliament.
(Hina) rml