Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday evening that putting up dual Latin and Cyrillic signs on public institutions in Vukovar was "a triumph of the Croatian will and a triumph of the Croatian state", stressing that putting up the signs represented the respect and application of the constitutional law on the rights of ethnic minorities and calling Vukovar a place where Croatia's reputation was being defended.
Milanovic told the RTL commercial television that the initiative of Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, who proposed a broad public debate so that a consensus concerning minority communities could be reached, was unnecessary.
Milanovic recalled that at least one kindergarten and one school in Vukovar had Cyrillic signs since 1998. Commenting on the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) initiative to amend the Vukovar Statute, Milanovic criticised the HDZ for being hypocritical.
"Did you know that people from the HDZ who are at the helm of schools are signing report cards in two languages and two scripts? It is not a problem for them. People must know that they are dealing with hypocrites," Milanovic said.
He reiterated that President Josipovic's initiative was unnecessary. "We don't need this initiative. It is done! We put up the signs, there were incidents, but luckily nobody was killed. I understand, it is difficult for some people, they lost their children and this will never be forgotten. But this is a triumph of the Croatian state," Milanovic said.
