If there is no desire to abide by the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities, then the law should be changed, President Ivo Josipovic said on Sunday commenting on protests against the introduction of the Serb Cyrillic alphabet in official use in Vukovar.
"I expect political parties in Croatia, especially those that have participated in government, to explain to citizens why it is important to respect the Constitutional Law, but if there is no desire to respect it, then it has to be changed," Josipovic told the press in Munich where he was attending a security conference.
"Croatia deals with the rights of national minorities as envisaged by the Constitutional Law. The introduction of minority languages and scripts is part of the platform of both the previous government, which involved the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serb Party), and the present government," he added.
About 20,000 people protested in Vukovar on Saturday against the introduction of the Cyrillic script in the town. The protesters urged the government to listen to the voice of the people of Vukovar and not to introduce bilingualism as provided for under the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities. Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic was asked "not to test and provoke the war veterans from Vukovar."
