Another bilingual sign smashed in Vukovar

VUKOVAR - Another bilingual sign, containing Croatian and Serbian text, placed on the building of the Croatian Employment Service in Vukovar has been smashed, and the police are searching for the culprits.

The local police officials have said that the sign has been destroyed or stolen a number of times since September 2, 2013, when signs that include text in Serbian Cyrillic were first placed on government buildings.

According to the police, 26 cases of destruction and damage done to such signs have been recorded so far. Some incidents consisted of destroying multiple signs, so estimates say that more than 35 signs have been targeted, accoridng to the news agency Hina.

The destruction of bilingual signs started during nation-wide protests organized by the Headquarters for the Protection of Croatian Vukovar, a right-wing organization.

The organization demanded a referendum that would limit the right of the national minorities to use their native language, and the Croatian authorities intend to change the Constitution to prevent such a referendum.

Photo Tanjug, T. Valic, illustration