Speaking at an extraordinary press conference, Matic said the refusal indicated that the Initiative was not interested in establishing dialogue but in causing a social crisis through legitimate means and coming to power "probably through undemocratic methods."
The minister said he had tried twice to organise a meeting between the prime minister and the Initiative to handle the issue of bilingualism in Vukovar, but that both attempts failed because of the Initiative.
He said a compromise solution could be found if there was a will.
Asked if the Initiative were pawns in the hands of the opposition Croatian Democratic Union party and its president Tomislav Karamarko, Matic said, "You said that. Thank you for saying it instead of me."