SLAVONSKI BROD-POSAVINA COUNTY MARKS ITS DAY

SLAVONSKI BROD, May 2 (Hina) - Slavonski Brod-Posavina County on Friday marked its day - the day when the county's occupied western parts were liberated after four years in the 1995 military operation "Flash". A ceremony marking the anniversary, which was held at the county assembly, was also attended by President Stjepan Mesic. #L# Eight years after Operation "Flash", the county, which suffered extensive damage in the war, has started making progress in its development - unemployment growth has been stopped and conditions for economic progress have been created, it was said at today's session of the county assembly. At the beginning of the session, members of the assembly observed a minute of silence in tribute to late General Janko Bobetko and all killed in the Homeland War. Extending his congratulations on the occasion of the county's day, President Mesic stressed the importance of Croatia's meeting conditions for admission to the European Union as soon as possible. Along with economic development, the modernisation of the public sector and the judicial reform, another important task is cooperation with The Hague-based war crimes tribunal, he said. "Cooperation with the tribunal is not a punishment of Croatia or the equating of the victim and the aggressor, but the creation of conditions for Croatia's participation in the economic development and progress of the European Union. Therefore, cooperation with the tribunal is not an attempt to vilify our past, but the basis for Croatia's development and a better future," Mesic said. (hina) rml sb