Anti-cyrillic protests

Serbian foreign ministry says incidents insult Serb minority in Croatia

05.09.2013 u 19:00

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The Serbian Foreign Ministry has pointed out to Croatian officials and European institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg the unacceptable behaviour of extreme groups in Croatia, saying that such incidents insult the culture of the Serb minority in Croatia, said a statement in Belgrade on Thursday.

In the wake of incidents in Croatia because of the placing of Latin and Cyrillic signs on state institutions in Vukovar, the ministry first reacted in talks with the Croatian Ambassador in Belgrade, Gordan Markotic, and notes have been forwarded to Zagreb, Brussels and Strasbourg, the statement said.

The ministry pointed out to everyone the unacceptable behaviour of extreme groups "which shamelessly insult the culture of the Serb minority in Croatia and act from the position of the Ustasha ideology," said the statement on the ministry's website.

No Serbian state official has reacted to the incidents so far. The ruling coalition's Serb Progressive Party on Wednesday asked the Croatian authorities to ensure peace and the respect of human rights for all Serbs in Croatia, condemning in the strongest terms "the rampage of Croatian chauvinists." It said that by smashing the bilingual signs, they had shown "the highest degree of hatred towards Serbs."