Statute changes in Vukovar "discriminatory"

The decision by the Vukovar town council to ban official use of the Serbian language sent a bad message to the Serb minority there, says a Serbian official.

Izvor: Tanjug

Wednesday, 06.11.2013.

12:02

Default images

BELGRADE The decision by the Vukovar town council to ban official use of the Serbian language sent a bad message to the Serb minority there, says a Serbian official. Head of the Government Office for the Diaspora Slavka Draskovic has appealed to the Vukovar leaders and Croatian government not to support the decision, because if they did, it would mean they supported discrimination, the office stated. Statute changes in Vukovar "discriminatory" The Croatian constitution and law are clear on the official use of two languages, she pointed out, adding he believed the mayor of Vukovar and Croatian government would not confirm the decision, so that it would not enter into force. She stated concern about the Serb minority's position and safety in Vukovar, but also added she hoped Croatia, as a member of the EU, would uphold the EU standards and its own law. "Denying the right to their own language to the Serb community is not the solution to the escalated tension in Vukovar. On the contrary, the act increases the feeling of insecurity among the Serbs in the town," Draskovic stressed. A group known as "the Headquarters for the Protection of Croatian Vukovar" has been campaigning against bilingual signs in the town for months, despite the fact that the Serbs are entitled to using their language in public institutions according to the constitution, since the latest census showed that they make up 35 percent of the local population. After constant protests and use of force to remove the signs, the gruop succeeded in preventing the official use of the Serbian Cyrillic script, since the town council on November 4 adopted the organization's proposal to amend the statute, saying that the official language in the town is Croatian and the script Latin. Bilingual signs in Vukovar are broken during a protest in September (Beta/Hina, file) Tanjug

Statute changes in Vukovar "discriminatory"

The Croatian constitution and law are clear on the official use of two languages, she pointed out, adding he believed the mayor of Vukovar and Croatian government would not confirm the decision, so that it would not enter into force.

She stated concern about the Serb minority's position and safety in Vukovar, but also added she hoped Croatia, as a member of the EU, would uphold the EU standards and its own law.

"Denying the right to their own language to the Serb community is not the solution to the escalated tension in Vukovar. On the contrary, the act increases the feeling of insecurity among the Serbs in the town," Drašković stressed.

A group known as "the Headquarters for the Protection of Croatian Vukovar" has been campaigning against bilingual signs in the town for months, despite the fact that the Serbs are entitled to using their language in public institutions according to the constitution, since the latest census showed that they make up 35 percent of the local population.

After constant protests and use of force to remove the signs, the gruop succeeded in preventing the official use of the Serbian Cyrillic script, since the town council on November 4 adopted the organization's proposal to amend the statute, saying that the official language in the town is Croatian and the script Latin.

Komentari 71

Pogledaj komentare

71 Komentari

Možda vas zanima

Podeli: