This follows leaked reports from the latest census which put the number of ethnic Serbs in Croatia at just over 4% - down from 12% since the previous census was conducted in 1991 before the war between Croatia and Serbia.
A Serb deputy in the Croatian Parliament, Milan Djukic, said the figures would force Zagreb to concede that there had been ethnic cleansing during the war.
He also said that the Croatian Government would also have to face the unfair way in which it resolved the status of Serbs.
More than 300,000 ethnic Serbs fled Croatia during the war with Serbia in 1991-1995, and only a few have returned home so far.
Fears
The census figures were leaked to the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List, and - although being off the record - they are enough to worry Croatia's Serb minority.
If true, the census
shows just 4.05% of the country's population classes themselves as ethnic Serbs.
A law still in the Croatian constitution - although currently being suspended
- states that for a group of people to have minority rights in Croatia, they
must make up at least 8% of the population.
Already, the leader of the main Serbian party in Croatia, Milorad Pupovac,
has insisted that Serbs living in Croatia should be given proportional
representation in the parliament to ensure they do not lose political influence.
Obstacles
However, BBC correspondent Matthew Price says that it is unlikely that Serbs
will be forced from parliament.
Croatia is keen like the rest of the Balkans, to join the European Union, so
the country must respect the rights of minority groups within its borders.
Experts say it is no surprise that the Serb population in Croatia has dropped
so significantly.
About 200,000 Serbs fled Croatia, when the Croatian army launched a massive
offensive - Operation Storm into the traditional Serb region of Krajina in 1995.
Experts also say that many people of mixed Serbo-Croatian marriages now
prefer to register themselves as Croats, which may be another reason for a sharp
drop of their numbers since the last census.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_2004000/2004045.stm
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