ZAGREB, February 16, 2018 – The Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV) said on Friday that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s two-day visit to Croatia earlier this week was “highly positive”, underscoring the readiness of both countries to tackle all outstanding issues.
The DSHV said in a statement that the messages heard during the visit were encouraging. It welcomed “the mutually expressed readiness to deal with all outstanding issues that are burdening relations between Croatia and Serbia, including the position of the Croat minority in Serbia and the Serb minority in Croatia.”
The statement said that, despite misunderstanding and opposition from sections of the public and political parties in both countries, the visit was excellently organised. It commended Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović for her “courage and hospitality”.
The DSHV said that the visit took place at a right time and was probably crucial in “the latest resetting of overall Croatian-Serbian relations.” In the DSHV’s opinion, the fact that its chairman and member of the Serbian Parliament Tomislav Žigmanov was included in the Serbian delegation, symbolically recognised the importance of the political representative of the Croat community, not only in Serbia but also in relations between the two countries.
During bilateral meetings in Zagreb, Žigmanov presented problems faced by the ethnic Croats in Serbia, including the issue of guaranteed seats and proportional representation in state administration, the exercise of minority rights, undeveloped municipal infrastructure and the restitution of property.
The DSHV also welcomed the invitation from President Vučić to Žigmanov to a meeting to discuss efforts to resolve the problems and improve the social status of Croats in Serbia.
