Open Letter on the Position and Status of Serbs in Croatia

Last updated

The Open Letter on the Position and Status of Serbs in Croatia was sent to the addresses of prominent Croatians and Serbians in September 2008. [1] [2] The letter spoke about the adverse social and economic circumstances in which Croatian Serbs had lived.

Contents

Content of the letter

The letter was a result of extensive studies about respect for minority rights in Croatia, which were initiated by the Serb Democratic Forum and other partner NGOs of the Forum, like UNHCR, University of Zagreb and other Serbian NGOs. [3] [4]

The study drew attention to problems such as long-term trials, verbal insults, physical attacks, and the devastation of buildings and religious objects belonging to the Serbian minority. [4] Some media, such as Jutarnji list , published criticisms of the implementation of the Erdut Agreement. [3] The study found that Nova TV and Večernji list are at the forefront of hate speech in the media. The study also addressed the phenomenon of nationalist singer Marko Perković. [5] [4]

According to the study, Serbs in Croatia are marginalized, their ethnic identity is stigmatized, and the blame is placed on them for the Independence War. It highlighted that the regions where Serbs have lived for centuries have been devastated and economically neglected. [4]

The letter said that there have been some developments in human and minority rights, but it warned of a lack of implementation of good legislation. [6] [1] The letter noted that Serbs in Croatia still do not have equal opportunities for socialization or the same level of human rights, ethnic or professional recognition, particularly in areas where they have returned to live recently. The letter stated that for positive change to occur it would be necessary for the majority population to perceive the minority population as having a richness of living environment[ clarification needed ] and not as presenting a threat to society. [1]

Reactions

The Serb Democratic Forum did not invite the Independent Democratic Serb Party to sign the open letter, taking the view that, as part of the government, they hold some responsibility for the marginalization of the Serbian minority. [2] This subsequently led to clashes between the Serb Democratic Forum, the Independent Democratic Serb Party and the Party of Danube Serbs. [3]

Prominent signatories [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Severina (singer)</span> Croatian singer

Severina Vučković, better known mononymously as Severina, is a Croatian singer-songwriter and actress. In 2006, the Croatian weekly Nacional listed her among the 100 most influential Croats, calling her "the only bona fide Croatian celebrity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thompson (band)</span> Croatian band

Thompson is a Croatian ethno hard rock band, founded by songwriter and lead vocalist Marko Perković ("Thompson"), who is often identified with the band itself. The lineup consists of Tomislav Mandarić, Ivan Ivanković, Duje Ivić, and Ivica Bilić Ike.

Đorđe Novković was a Croatian songwriter of Serbian descent who was known for his work in Yugoslavia and Croatia. Novković composed more than 2,500 songs and sold approximately 20 million records. He is also known as the father of popular Croatian singer Boris Novković.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serbs of Croatia</span> National minority in Croatia

The Serbs of Croatia or Croatian Serbs constitute the largest national minority in Croatia. The community is predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian by religion, as opposed to the Croats who are Catholic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victory Day (Croatia)</span> Public holiday in Croatia

Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders is a public holiday in Croatia that is celebrated annually on 5 August, commemorating the Croatian War of Independence. On that date in 1995 the Croatian Army took the city of Knin during Operation Storm, which effectively brought an end to Republic of Serbian Krajina proto-state. In 2008, the Croatian Parliament also assigned the name Day of Croatian Defenders to the holiday, which honors the current service members and veterans of the Armed Forces of Croatia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davor Domazet-Lošo</span> Croatian soldier, writer and politician

Davor Domazet-Lošo is a Croatian politician, conspiracy theorist, writer, and a retired admiral of the Croatian Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slobodan Šnajder</span> Croatian writer and publicist

Slobodan Šnajder is a Croatian writer and publicist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatia–Russia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Croatia and Russia established diplomatic relations on 25 May 1992. Croatia has an embassy in Moscow and honorary consulates in Kaliningrad, Novosibirsk, and Sochi. Russia has an embassy in Zagreb and honorary consulates in Pula and Split.

Dražen Lalić, DSc is a Croatian educator and academic at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Zagreb and one of the better known sociologists in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zagreb train disaster</span> Train accident in 1974

The Zagreb train disaster occurred on 30 August 1974 when an express train traveling from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to Dortmund, West Germany, derailed before entering Zagreb Main Station, killing 153 people. It was the worst rail accident in Yugoslavia's history to that date and remains one of the worst in Europe's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatia–Serbia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Independent Croatia and Serbia established diplomatic relations on 9 September 1996, following the end of the Croatian War of Independence. From 1918 to 1991, both countries were part of Yugoslavia. They now share 241 kilometers of common border. According to the 2011 Croatian census, there were 186,633 Serbs living in Croatia. According to the 2011 Serbian census, there were 57,900 Croats living in Serbia. Smaller lasting disputes include border disputes over the Island of Šarengrad and the Island of Vukovar. Serbian and Croatian are mutually intelligible standardized varieties of the Serbo-Croatian language and are official in Serbia and Croatia respectively.

Slobodan Lang was a Croatian physician, professor, diplomat, Member of Parliament, politician and Adviser for Humanitarian Issues of the first Croatian president, Franjo Tuđman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drago Hedl</span> Croatian journalist

Drago Hedl is a Croatian investigative journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kantakuzina Katarina Branković Serbian Orthodox Secondary School</span> Private school in Zagreb, Croatia

The Kantakuzina Katarina Branković Serbian Orthodox Secondary School, abbreviated as SPOG, is a coeducational gymnasium of the Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana located in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the only non-seminary high school of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the former Yugoslavia.

Melita Švob is a Croatian Jewish biologist, scientist, and historian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tvrtko Jakovina</span> Croatian historian

Tvrtko Jakovina is a Croatian historian. Jakovina is a full time professor at the Department of History at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darko Hudelist</span> Journalist, publicist and researcher of contemporary history

Darko Hudelist is a Croatian journalist, non-fiction writer and researcher of contemporary history.

The 2009 flu pandemic in Croatia or 2009 swine flu in Croatia was a pandemic event in Croatia during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hrvoje Klasić</span> Croatian historian

Hrvoje Klasić is a Croatian historian. Since 2003, Klasić is a professor at the Department of History at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb. His work focuses on contemporary Croatian and world history. Klasić is a critic of attempts at rehabilitation of the World War II fascist Ustasha movement in the country. He is ambassador for the European Association of History Educators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Milošević</span> Croatian politician

Boris Milošević is a Croatian lawyer and politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia between 2020 and 2022. He is a member of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS). He previously served as the president of the Serb National Council from July 2019 until July 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Margelov Institut". Margel-institute.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  2. 1 2 Portal Jutarnji.hr. "SDF za bolji položaj Srba u Hrvatskoj". Jutarnji.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Portal Jutarnji.hr (20 September 2008). "Zašto se svađaju Srbi". Jutarnji.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Studija o položaju Srba u Hrvatskoj: Nova TV i Večernji list prednjače u "srbofobiji"". Index.hr. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  5. "Srbima u Hrvatskoj smetaju pravosuđe i Thompson > Slobodna Dalmacija > Hrvatska". Slobodnadalmacija.hr. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  6. "Džakula: Srbi služe samo za dobivanje glasova". Slobodnadalmacija.hr. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  7. "Croatian Academy of Science and Art – Ivo Banac". Info.hazu.hr. 17 May 1990. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  8. "Ivo Banac: Scientist details". Tkojetko.irb.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  9. "Sead Berberović: Scientist details". Tkojetko.irb.hr. 15 March 1953. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  10. "The Margel Institute". Margel-institute.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  11. "snv – TJEDNIK NOVOSTI – 487 – INTERVJU: ADVOKAT SLOBODAN BUDAK". Snv.hr. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  12. "Ivan Zvonimir Čičak novi predsjednik HHO-a". Dnevnik.hr. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  13. "HDP – hrvatsko društvo pisaca". Hdpisaca.org. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  14. "Autori". Fraktura.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  15. "Davor Gjenero". Balkans.aljazeera.net. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  16. "Drago Hedl – Biografija autora RFE". Slobodnaevropa.org. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  17. "Drago Hedl: International Center for Journalists". ICFJ. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  18. "SALAMON JAZBEC – Jasenovac nije mit". Pecatmagazin.com. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  19. "Članovi Savjeta". Uzuvrh.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  20. "Ugovor između Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Evanđeoske (Pentekostne) crkve u Republici Hrvatskoj, Kršćanske adventističke crkve u Republici Hrvatskoj i Saveza baptističkih crkava u Republici Hrvatskoj o pitanjima od zajedničkog interesa". Poslovniforum.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  21. "Dražen Lalić: details". Tkojetko.irb.hr. 15 June 1960. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  22. "Dražen Lalić profile". Ffst.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  23. "Prof. dr. sc. Svetozar Livada – ISTRAŽIVAČKI PROJEKAT – Jadovno 1941". Jadovno.com. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  24. "Predrag Matvejevic webpage". Giardini.sm. 5 November 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  25. "Jovan Mirić profile". Korenicani.com. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  26. "Art Foto Novković". Artfotonovkovic.com. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  27. "Aleksandar Saša Novković – foto izložba". Culturenet.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  28. Kruno Kartus. "Duh ratnog zločinca Glavaša okovao je Osijek". Tportal.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  29. "Autor". tportal.hr. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  30. "Drago Pilsel napustio Amnesty International: Kako HČSP-ovac može biti kandidat za Upravni odbor?!". Index.hr. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  31. "Žarko Puhovski". Biografije.org. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  32. Mislav Šimatović (12 February 2008). "Banka za novu srpsku elitu u Hrvatskoj" [A bank for new Serb elite in Croatia] (in Croatian). Nacional (weekly). Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  33. "Intervju: Slobodan Snajder". Vreme.com. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  34. "Lordan Zafranović režiser i scenarist". Lordanzafranovic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  35. "Autori". Fraktura.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  36. Croatia (19 January 2010). "Životna ispovijest vlasnika Profila Daniela Žderića – Život — Globus – nacionalni tjednik". Globus.jutarnji.hr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.