The aggravating circumstance is that Croats were recognised as a national minority in Vojvodina only four years ago, Stanicic said after talks with Vukovar-Srijem County prefect Bozo Galic on transborder cooperation between Croatia and SCG.
Stanicic said the position of the Croat community in Vojvodina was particularly hampered by the fact that it had no right to use Croatian in schools or the right to information, and by the artificial division into of the community into Croats and Bunjevci.
He added the best way to protect Croats in Vojvodina and Serbs in Croatia was regional cooperation and reciprocity in minority protection on both sides of the border, namely the river Danube.
Prefect Galic said Vukovar-Srijem County and Croats in Vojvodina had good cultural cooperation and that country authorities were trying to develop economic cooperation as well.
The president of the Croat National Council in Vojvodina, Josip Zvonimir Pekanovic, called on Croatian companies to take part in the privatisation of companies and in development projects in Vojvodina.
Also present at the talks were the Croatian consul general in Subotica, Davor Vidis, and the president of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, Petar Kuntic.