ZAGREB, June 16, 2019 - Croatian-Czech Society President Marijan Lipovac is one of this year's 16 recipients of the Gratias Agit award given by the Czech foreign affairs ministry for the international promotion of the Czech Republic.

This prestigious award was bestowed on Lipovac at a ceremony organised by Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek in Prague this past Friday.

"The Gratias Agit has been awarded by the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the promotion of the good name of the Czech Republic abroad ever since 1997 in appreciation of prominent personalities and organizations developing activities in nongovernmental fields," the Czech Foreign Ministry says. Since 1997 the ministry has since honoured over 300 individuals and institutions.

Lipovac has deserved the award for being an initiator of many activities of the society at whose helm he is and for organising panel discussions and other events on the promotion of the relations between Croatia and Czech Republic. He is also the author of a book about the Croats in Czechia.

In January this year, that book titled "Češki Hrvati - hrvatski tragovi u Češkoj ("Czech Croats - Croat traces in Czechia " written by Lipovac and Franjo Vondracek, was presented in the Czech Centre in Zagreb.

The book gives an overview about some hundred people from Croatia who have lived and been active in Czechia, and also describes prominent Croats who attended tertiary education in Prague in the past.

More news about relations between Croatia and the Czech Republic can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 14, 2019 - After Thursday's meeting between Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, MP Veljko Kajtazi and a delegation of the Kali Sara Roma association, Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Darko Horvat said that the Roma ethnic minority cannot be integrated without the participation of local and regional government and that they were not meeting all their obligations.

Integrating the Roma ethnic minority into normal co-existence without local and regional government representatives simply will not occur, Horvat said after the meeting in the government attended by ministers and state secretaries.

Strategic documents and action plans clearly highlight who is responsible for which tasks and what rights and obligations belong to whom, but it was concluded that part of the obligations that local governments have taken upon themselves are not being fulfilled nor implemented at the set pace, Horvat said.

He said that during the meeting the government presented what it was doing in an effort to integrate the Roma ethnic minority as transparently and quickly as possible, and also to what measure local government was participating in that.

It was concluded that the operational programme for national minorities is being implemented as planned and that each year participation from the state budget to resolve the problems of the Roma community and other ethnic minorities has increased. The Roma community is being integrated more and more in processes into the local community and into the implementation of the operational programme at the national level, he said.

MP Veljko Kajtazi said that he received full support from the prime minister and that he advised him that local and regional governments that have adopted their action plans for the Roma minority do not have sufficient funds to implement those plans.

Kajtazi said that they had asked that the operational programme for their minority be strengthened, particularly with regard to education, housing, and the work of the committee overseeing the National Strategy.

He added that he expects 70% to 80% of the operational programme to have been implemented by 2020.

More news about the Roma can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, June 13, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at the start of his cabinet's meeting in Zagreb on Thursday that he strongly condemned a recent assault on seasonal workers of the Serb background in the town of Supetar on the island of Brač, calling on relevant authorities to be agile and resolute when addressing such unacceptable and barbarian incidents.

Calling for the application of tight sanctions against such occurrences which he labelled as unacceptable, Plenković said that he believed that "we have to do more both by preventive and repressive measures against such incidents".

He called for working on changing the climate in society which is obviously reaching a point of polarisation and intolerance, which is absolutely unacceptable, Plenković said.

Split police said on Tuesday evening they arrested two men aged 22 and 19 who were involved in the physical assault on seasonal workers in Supetar, while they are still looking for the other perpetrators. The hate crime took place around 4 a.m. on June 9. The two men are suspected of attacking five persons aged 21 to 26 on ethnic grounds together with other as yet unidentified persons. A Supetar fireman was injured while defending the victims, three young men from the Slavonia region and a girl from the town of Varaždin, who sustained light injuries. Before the arrest, the 22-year-old perpetrator was given a restraining order not to come within 150 m of the fireman, while the 19-year-old was reported for breaking the law on public order and the law on the prevention of discrimination.

Plenković underscored today that "there is no place for such incidents in this present-day modern Croatia that has fulfilled all national strategic tasks and that wants to be an inclusive society that is tolerant and honours its traditional values".

Plenković also called on stakeholders in the society and political parties to contribute to efforts to create an attentive climate.

On Monday, the government issued a press release in which the premier said that his cabinet unequivocally opposes all forms of violence and intolerance toward members of ethnic minorities and condemns in the strongest terms the recent hooligan violence in Supetar on the island of Brač, wishing the victims of that hooliganism a speedy and full recovery.

More news about the status of Serbs in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 11, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday sent his condolences to the family of Radoje Petković, the vice president of the Serb minority in Kastav, who succumbed to injuries he sustained in a brutal attack near Rijeka in April and the premier also condemned Sunday's incident involving attacks by hooligans in Supetar on the island of Brač.

After being brutally attacked in April outside a cafe bar in Viškovo, Petković has been in a coma over the past few weeks in Rijeka hospital.

"I harshly condemn this act of violence and intolerance directed toward members of national minorities, something we will continue to fight against with all available mechanisms that state institutions have at their disposal so that violence can be prevented, the perpetrators are punished and the public is made aware of zero tolerance for violence," Plenković said.

Unequivocally opposing all forms of violence and intolerance toward members of ethnic minorities the Croatian government condemns in the strongest terms the recent hooligan violence in Supetar on the island of Brač and wishes the victims of that hooliganism a speedy and full recovery, the premier said.

During a football tournament in Supetar on Sunday, several perpetrators attacked a few seasonal workers - three young men from Slavonia and a girl from Varaždin. The motive for the attack was national intolerance because someone from the group of attackers yelled, "Where are the Serbs?"

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Monday condemned the violent incident that occurred on Sunday in Supetar on the island of Brač, saying that Croatia is a safe country with good people who shy away from individuals who harm the image of their country with their unacceptable behaviour.

"I condemn any type of violence including this case in Supetar on the island of Brač. That conduct is unacceptable. Croatia is a safe country of good people who shy away from individuals who with their behaviour harm the image of their country," the president tweeted on her account.

More news about the status of Serbs in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 4, 2019 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović on Tuesday held a meeting with county and municipal heads and ethnic Roma representatives in Međimurje County following a recent rally at which about 1,000 people gathered to raise public awareness of what they labelled irresponsible, dangerous and criminal behaviour in their community, pointing the finger at state institutions which, they said, had failed with regard to the local Roma community.

"Only when we define the problem together with all its aspects, we can seek right solutions," said Božinović today and insisted that education is the key to making efforts aimed at Roma integration successful.

If a mere four out of 318 secondary school students (of the Roma background) manage to finish school, then something is seriously wrong, he explained. By dropping out of the school young people are disadvantaged on the labour market and that needs to be solved, Božinović said. Occupations which Roma members traditionally pursue are not competitive in the 21st century, he said.

During his visit to Čakovec he said that additional staff would be added to the local law enforcement authorities, and also promised stepping up inter-departmental coordination and cooperation with the county and municipalities concerned. Thus, a higher number of community police officers is expected.

County Prefect Matija Posavec said he expected the local social welfare services to be sufficiently staffed so that they can check how welfare vouchers are spent. Posavec expects the education and justice ministries to be more engaged in solving the problems.

The deputy head of Pribislavec municipality from the Roma minority, Željko Balog, reiterated his criticism of the work of ethnic Roma parliamentary deputy, Veljko Kajtazi in the parliament. He said that Kajtazi cannot represent Međimurje Roma as he does not understand them.

The parliamentary deputy of the Roma ethnic minority, Veljko Kajtazi on Tuesday said that he was surprised that ministers were going to visit Međimurje and the Roma community in Pribislavec without being accompanied by him, as he represents the minority and when asked why he was supporting the government, Kajtazi said, "now we'll see about that."

"I'm surprised that all the ministers are going to Međimurje, to the Roma community without a Member of Parliament, we could say that was sad," Kajtazi told reporters ahead of a meeting of ruling coalition partners when asked for his opinion of Interior Minister Davor Božinović's visit to Međimurje just three days after a protest was held there.

He said that it was true that after President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović had relocated her office to Međimurje County, she sent a memorandum about the situation and the problems surrounding the minority however the government has still not responded.

"That's correct, but I also know that 90% of the population in Međimurje voted for the president. I recall that; however, I cannot remember the president having invited the Member of Parliament to come to Međimurje," Kajtazi said.

More news about the Roma in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 4, 2019 - While Croatia is in the middle of the campaign for the May European Parliament elections, another election in Croatia on Sunday, when members of 14 registered ethnic minorities, almost 255,000 voters, will elect national minority councils.

Members of 14 ethnic minorities are eligible to elect 352 members of minority councils and 109 representatives. Councils will be elected in 19 counties, the City of Zagreb, 68 towns and 108 municipalities. Representatives are elected in 19 counties, the City of Zagreb, 34 towns and one municipality.

Councils representing an ethnic minority are set up in local communities in which the pertaining minority makes up at least 1.5% of the local population, or if there are more than 200 members of an ethic minority in a municipality or town or more than 500 members in an area of a county.

The president of the ethnic minority council, Aleksanadar Tolnauer, has called on all ethnic minorities in Croatia to go to the polls on Sunday, stressing that it was exceptionally important for their voice to be heard.

More news about the status of ethnic minorities can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 29, 2019 - As many as 255,000 people in Croatia are eligible to vote in elections for the local councils and individual representatives of ethnic minorities, scheduled for 5 May.

Members of 14 ethnic minorities are eligible to elect 515 councils, whereas members of 20 minorities can elect 144 individual representatives.

Councils representing an ethnic minority are set up in local communities in which the pertaining minority makes up at least 1.5% of the local population, or if there are more than 200 members of an ethic minority in a municipality or town or more than 500 members in an area of a county.

Municipal councils representing ethnic minorities include 10 representatives, town-level councils of this kind consist of 15 representatives and county-level councils include 25 members.

Twenty counties, 68 cities and towns and 108 municipalities will organise elections for ethnic minority councils, and 6,882 candidates are running in them.

On the other hand, 20 minorities will elect their individual representatives in 20 counties, 34 cities and towns and in one municipality, and a total of 242 candidates are in the race.

More election news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 9, 2019 - A better education for Roma children, integration and preservation of the Roma culture were key messages of a ceremony marking World Roma Day, held at Zagreb's Croatian National Theatre on Monday evening, with President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović attending.

"There is no reason why Roma children and youth should not be included in the education system from kindergarten to university," Grabar-Kitarović said, pointing to the need to improve the status of the Roma community in Croatia.

The event marking World Roma Day was organised by the Croatian Roma association "Kali Sara" and Roma minority MP Veljko Kajtazi. Among the guests were Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of Roma from a number of European countries and Canada.

President Grabar-Kitarović called on Roma to send their children regularly to school, noting that the state had to make sure every Roma child had textbooks and other necessary equipment so that they could complete their secondary education and enrol in a faculty if they wished.

"That is the best way to integrate Roma children and youth in our society. That first step facilitates the employment and full integration of Roma in the Croatian society," said the president. She also underlined the importance of preserving the Roma language and culture.

Addressing the event, Kajtazi, too, underlined the education of Roma children as a priority. "We are doing our best for the Roma community to get education, but there are still obstacles and Roma children are often sent to three-year secondary schools. That is not our future, our future is four-year secondary education - regular high schools and technical occupations for Roma children," he said.

Speaking of positive changes over recent years, Kajtazi mentioned the legalisation of 1,200 houses, improved infrastructure in some Roma settlements, the introduction of water supply infrastructure and the construction of playgrounds.

For those improvements, the annual awards of the Kali Sara Roma association were presented to the mayor of the eastern community of Belišće, Dinko Burić, and Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić.

World Roma Day is marked on April 8 to commemorate the day when in 1971 the first world Roma congress was held in London.

Kajtazi said that that was one of the most important events in the history of Roma, marking a turnaround in how Roma were perceived in Europe and the rest of the world.

More news about Roma in Croaia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, April 1, 2019 - Elections for councils and individual representatives representing national minorities in local communities throughout Croatia will be held on 5 May, in compliance with a recent decision made by the government, however, they seem to be overshadowed by preparations for the elections for the European Parliament, set for 26 May.

In Croatia, members of 14 ethnic minorities are eligible to elect 515 councils, whereas members of 20 minorities can elect 144 individual representatives.

Councils representing an ethnic minority are set up in local communities in which the pertaining minority makes up at least 1.5% of the local population, or if there are more than 200 members of an ethic minority in a municipality or town or more than 500 members in the area of a county. Municipal councils representing ethnic minorities include 10 representatives, city-level councils of this kind consist of 15 representatives and county-level councils include 25 members.

When it comes to the county level, 20 have such councils and their aggregate number is 74 and only Krapina-Zagorje County does not have a sufficient percentage of minorities to have such a representative body. On the other hand, there are eight councils in Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties each.

The capital city of Zagreb has a total of nine (9) ethnic minority councils representing ethnic Albanians, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Czechs, Hungarians, Macedonians, Roma, Slovenians and Serbs.

As many as 171 cities and 270 municipalities are expected to organise elections for councils representing ethnic minorities' interests.

If there are at least 100 ethnic minority members living in a local community but not enough for the election of a council, that minority is then eligible to elect its single representative.

Thus, 20 minorities elect their respective 144 representatives in all 21 counties (89 on aggregate) and 54 in cities. Such an election is going to be organised only in one municipality, and that is Matulji where ethnic Italians will elect their single representative.

In the previous elections for ethnic minority councils and representatives which took place in Croatia in May 2015, there were 280,000 eligible voters who were entitled to elect 288 councils and 25,000 eligible voters who could elect individual ethnic representatives.

Elections for ethnic minorities' councils or representatives were introduced in 2003. All the four previous elections of this kind were marked by a low turnout.

More news about the status of national minorities in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 13, 2019 - Commenting on the Independent Democratic Serb Party's (SDSS) view of the situation in the ruling coalition, which that party made public recently, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that it had been his ambition since 2016 to try and reduce polarisation in Croatia and that he wanted each member of national minorities in Croatia to feel well.

Speaking to reporters on the margins of an event marking the 25th anniversary of the cooperation and partnership between Croatia and the World Bank, Plenković said that all outstanding issues would be discussed at a meeting to be held with SDSS leader Milorad Pupovac.

He added that his plan since 2016 had been to reduce polarisation in the Croatian society.

"Polarisation at the time was excessive for a society such as ours. I am working on reducing polarisation in my own way, gradually, but I don't have the impression that there is always understanding for what we do," said Plenković.

He said that at the time when he formed his government, he wanted all minority representatives in the parliament to be a part of the parliamentary majority. "That was my ambition because I think that it's good and healthy for our society. My hand is extended to all of them, I want them to live as befits the state of civilisation in 2019," he said.

He said that both this and last year the government had significantly increased funding to address minority groups' economic issues, housing construction and infrastructure issues.

"I want every Roma, Italian, Serb, Bosniak, Albanian, Czech, Hungarian and Slovak to feel well in Croatia. I want a society whose majority, because it is a majority, has the breadth, freedom and commitment to respect everyone living with us," he said, adding that not everyone on the political scene supported such a policy.

SDSS leader Pupovac has said on several occasions that his party is considering leaving the ruling coalition and last week he said that this had to do with hate speech that was being encouraged by the ruling structures.

At a party meeting held on Monday the SDSS decided that it would not leave the ruling coalition, authorising Pupovac and the party's parliamentary group to discuss the situation with the coalition partners.

More news about national minorities in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.