Minority wants act that declared them to be Croats annulled

The Alliance of the Backa Bunjevci has asked the Assembly of Vojovodina, Serbia's northern province, to "at last" declare an act passed in 1945 null and void.

The act, that was issued in the form of an order, states that all members of the Bunjevci ethnic minority in Serbia - regardless of how they declare themselves - are to be considered Croats.

"Even today, those who represent the Croat minority in the Republic of Serbia - and who remain silent in the face of the of the return of Ustashism in Croatia - represent us Bunjevci as Croats, taking away our language, culture, and traditions, refer to us as 'Bunjevci Croats' - while the state watches this in silence," a statement said on Tuesday.

The Alliance stressed that, ahead of the elections for new National Councils, they have the right to ask for this issue to finally be resolved - "or have the state tell us openly that it doesn't want to resolve it, for the sake of some 'trade' with the Croats, at the expense of us Bunjevci."

The statement noted that it has been two years since the official request was submitted to the Vojovodina Assembly, and six months since the provincial government officially supported passing a declaration that would annul the 1945 act - "but nothing has been done."