ZAGREB, June 5 (Hina) - The Serb People's Council (SNV) will not recognise the latest census, whose unofficial results show that Serbs today make up 4.05 percent of the overall Croatian population, if the government does not answer
where eight percent or 400,000 citizens of Serb nationality have disappeared.
ZAGREB, June 5 (Hina) - The Serb People's Council (SNV) will not
recognise the latest census, whose unofficial results show that
Serbs today make up 4.05 percent of the overall Croatian
population, if the government does not answer where eight percent
or 400,000 citizens of Serb nationality have disappeared. #L#
Speaking at a news conference after a session of the SNV presidency
on Wednesday, SNV president Milorad Pupovac said that he had
forwarded letters with the SNV's demands to Prime Minister Ivica
Racan and President Stjepan Mesic, as well as to international
representatives.
Pupovac said the unofficially released data on 4.05 percent of
Serbs was "damaging for Croatia's demographic image and
unrealistic".
Among other things, the SNV requests the official presentation of
data on the number of Croatian citizens who were not included in the
census because they have lived outside of the country for more than
a year, as well as data on the share of refugees in that number.
According to SNV data, more than 130,000 citizens of Serb
nationality, who live in exile in Yugoslavia, have Croatian
identification papers, Pupovac said.
The SNV also demands that data on the number of citizens who
declined to state their nationality include information on areas
where such cases were registered. Namely, Pupovac believes that the
atmosphere in Croatia still does not enable Serbs to declare their
nationality without fear.
Pupovac also warned about the lack of transparency in the drawing up
of a constitutional law on national minorities, saying the fact
that minority representatives were not included in the discussion
on the law bore witness to the lack of democracy in the process.
(hina) rml sb