BOSNIAK COMMUNITY URGES MEMBERS TO DECLARE THEMSELVES AS BOSNIAK DURING CRO CENSUS

ZAGREB, April 3 (Hina) - The Bosniak national community of Croatia on Tuesday called on persons of the Bosniak (Moslem) descent to freely declare their ethnic origins and religion during the current national census in Croatia. This community stresses that this census is very important for Croatian Bosniaks. "For the first time, we, as a population in the Republic of Croatia, can declare ourselves as Bosniaks. Thereby, the name Bosniak ("Bosnjak") enters official documents of the Republic of Croatia," read a statement. "The census is also the unique occasion for Bosniaks to confirm their position as the second largest national minority (according to the 1991 census) and thus get back their acquired rights in the Republic of Croatia," the statement added. This statement was forwarded to 12,500 addresses in the country. The former Croatian authorities erased the name of Moslem minority from the preamble of the Constitution, and continuously ignored the name 'Bosniak' with the explanation that they were not an indigenous minority in Croatia. With the change in authorities, there was a change in treatment of Bosniaks, the statement added. The Bosniak minority is explicitly cited in the Constitutional law on human rights and freedoms and on the rights of ethnic and national communities and minorities in Croatia. "We can be only partially satisfied with it, and our associations still insist that the name Bosniak re-enter the preamble of the Constitution," the statement said. (hina) ms