Speaking to reporters, President Mesic said that Italians had settled the area in difficult times, and that they had integrated into Croatian society and preserved their culture and tradition.
Commenting on bilingual signs, a problem in Daruvar which has a Czech minority that has filed a constitutional complaint demanding bilingual signs, Mesic said that he would like to see this problem settled through talks, but that a court should be addressed if there was no other solution. "I believe that bilingualism should not bother anyone. I am for helping national minorities, even if all conditions have not been met, so that they could feel present and integrated in society," Mesic said.
"What we give to ethnic minorities in Croatia we have the right to demand for Croats living outside Croatia," he added.
Asked what other practical measures Croatia could take, Mesic said that Croatia's legislation on minority rights met the highest European standards. "But the question is if those regulations are implemented efficiently and how much ethnic minorities are being helped. I believe that the government can be a little more generous in that regard," Mesic said.
Asked about divisions in the Italian community in Slavonia, Italian minority MP Furio Radin said that there were three Italian communities in that region and that efforts were being made so that they could act together. This is not a big problem and it can be overcome, he added.
During the visit to Plostine, President Mesic also visited an ethnographic collection and a photo exhibition and attended a special session of the "Liberta" association of Italians, which celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The session was also attended, among others, by Pozega-Slavonia County Prefect Zdravko Ronko, Italian Ambassador to Croatia Alessandro Grafini, and the chairman of the National Minorities Council, Aleksandar Tolnauer.