"During the 1991-1995 Homeland Defence War in Croatia, some 40,000 Croats were forced to leave Serbia, of them 25,000 left Srijem," the association writes in a letter to President Josipovic.
In Srijem (northern Serbia) where there was no war, a score of Croats were killed or went missing. Unfortunately nobody of the masterminds or perpetrators of those crimes has been brought to justice. Only Vojislav Seselj is standing trial for those crimes before the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal, the association said in the letter published on Saturday.
"We are saddened by the fact that the persecution of Croats from Serbia is falling into oblivion not only in Serbia and in international circles but also in Croatia,"
Every time when top officials of Croatia and Serbia held meetings we demanded that the issue of the problem of Croat refugees from Serbia be put on the agenda of their talks and we demand the same ahead of the official visit by Serbian President Tadic to Zagreb, the statement reads.
The association supports all efforts aimed at establishing good-neighbourly relations with all neighbours, including Serbia, but emphasises that good-neighbourly relations cannot be created through forgetting crimes but only through the admission to the crimes and apology, and through forgiveness from those affected by crimes, reads the letter.