ZAGREB, 4 Oct (Hina) - Aide to Croatian Foreign Minister, Hido Biscevic, on Friday received Veljko Knezevic, charge d'affaires in the Yugoslav embassy in Zagreb. Biscevic handed Knezevic a protest note concerning a statement by the
Serbian Vice Premier Ratko Markovic. On October 1 this year, Markovic visited Subotica, where he gave a statement denying Backa Croats (known as 'Bunjevci') their Croatian origins.
ZAGREB, 4 Oct (Hina) - Aide to Croatian Foreign Minister, Hido
Biscevic, on Friday received Veljko Knezevic, charge d'affaires
in the Yugoslav embassy in Zagreb. Biscevic handed Knezevic a
protest note concerning a statement by the Serbian Vice Premier
Ratko Markovic. On October 1 this year, Markovic visited
Subotica, where he gave a statement denying Backa Croats (known
as 'Bunjevci') their Croatian origins. #L#
Ratko Markovic claimed that " Bunjevci are neither Croats
nor Serbs, but only Bunjevci," adding that they "will get a
status of a people in Serbia." He also said the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia is a "motherland" of Bunjevci who live
in Hungary.
According to a statement, issued by the Foreign Ministry,
Biscevic said that such statements and actions opposed the
spirit of the Normalisation Agreement signed between Croatia
and Yugoslavia on 23 August. Such statements also opposed the
real situation and efforts aimed at the normalisation of
relations between the two states.
Recalling similar statements on the non-existence
of Croats in Yugoslavia given by the Yugoslav Human
Rights Minister Margit Savovic, Biscevic said his
country expected Yugoslavia to soon answer to
Croatia's proposal on the protection of minorities in
line with the Normalisation Agreement, the statement
said.
On October 3 the national organization of Croats
in Hungary responded to Markovic's statement.
In the protest response Hungarian Croats said the
Bunjevci are Croats and the were of the same origin as
Croats who live in Lika, Croatian Primorje and
Dalmatia (areas in Croatia). Bunjevci speak Croatian,
use the Latin script and belong to Roman Catholic
Church, their statement said.
Bunjevci in Hungary have their own minority self-
government, named as the National Organization of
Croats, and need no care from Serbia, according to the
response of Hungarian Croats.
The General Encyclopedia, published by in 1977 in
the former Yugoslavia by the Yugoslav Lexicographic
Institute says 'Bunjevci' is a name for inhabitants of
"some Croatian settlements" in Dalmatia, Lika and
Primorje (Croatian areas) as well as in Vojvodina, the
town of Subotica and the Backa Danubian area (northern
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at present).
The Encyclopedia says that all Bunjevci were
descended from the hinterland of central Dalmatia
(Croatia). They were named after houses "Bunje" where
they used to live in the past. The houses had been
built of stone without mortar, and had been
characteristic of Mediterranean.
The first great movement of Croats-Bunjevci to
Vojvodina and Hungary was in 1627, when people left
about 2,000 houses in Lika (central Croatia) after a
mutiny against a Turkish bey.
The Encyclopedia also describes in detail
Bunjevci's migrations, and adds that in Backa Croats-
Bunjevci were exposed successively to pressure of
Hungarians and since 1918 of Serbians to melt into
those nations.
In 1991 Serbia's authorities made fresh attempts
to 'erase' Croats from Serbia, by devising a new
nation "Bunjevci" a separate from Croats, for that
year's census. In 1995 Serbia's authorities helped
establish an organization called "the Bunjevci
Revival Organization".
After the recent talks with that organization the
Serbian Vice Premier Markovic gave the provocative
statement.
(hina) jn mš
041928 MET oct 96