He was speaking at the opening of a two-day seminar on the advancement of the work of national minorities' councils and representatives which was organised by the government's Office for National Minorities in cooperation with the Council for National Minorities and the financial support of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission to Croatia.
Vilallonga said Croatia deserved an applause because for a state which was not big, good care for 22 national minorities required outstanding effort and a lot of money.
"The government sees minorities as a treasure and wishes to create conditions for their full participation in all levels of decision-making through genuine dialogue with their members on a partnership basis," said Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.
She underlined that about 4,000 minority representatives were included in the decision-making process through their councils, and that the government had increased funds for national minority associations 32 per cent in the last two years, to 29.7 million kuna.
The chairman of the parliamentary committee on human and minority rights, Furio Radin, said the main hurdle to the good functioning of minority councils was the election law, namely the fact that minorities cannot vote as minorities and as all other voters, which he added was established in the constitutional law on minorities' rights.
"Our job is revolutionary and we should act accordingly," said Serb minority MP Milorad Pupovac. He added the state mechanism should follow the realisation of the minority policy and make sure that before the next elections minority councils had the elementary conditions for work, such as premises, minimum funds and communications.
(EUR1 = 7.3 kuna)