OHRID FORUM IS EVIDENT SUCCESS OHRID, Aug 30 (Hina) - It is evident that the regional forum on dialogue among civilisations, organised by UNESCO, the Macedonian government, the Appeal of Conscience foundation, and an envoy of the UN
Secretary-general has succeeded, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic has said, commenting on the conference which was held in Ohrid, Macedonia, on Friday and Saturday.
OHRID, Aug 30 (Hina) - It is evident that the regional forum on
dialogue among civilisations, organised by UNESCO, the Macedonian
government, the Appeal of Conscience foundation, and an envoy of
the UN Secretary-general has succeeded, Croatian President Stjepan
Mesic has said, commenting on the conference which was held in
Ohrid, Macedonia, on Friday and Saturday. #L#
Mesic told Croatian reporters on Saturday that the forum relayed
the message that all questions could be settled in an atmosphere of
tolerance, which required dialogue. He believes that all
participants in the conference spoke along those lines.
"The success of this meeting is evident today, but I believe that it
will be reaffirmed in the future," Mesic said.
The forum's message, Mesic believes, will help discuss current
European topics in a more peaceful atmosphere: European
association, speeding up the process of European integration of
countries in transition, human rights and refugee returns, and the
functioning of the rule of law.
At the margins of the meeting, Mesic met Macedonian President Boris
Trajkovski, UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura, Slovene
President Janez Drnovsek, and Arthur Schneier, director of the
Appeal of Conscience foundation, which promotes protection of
religious freedoms and human rights world-wide.
Mesic also met Ali Fahad al Hajri, Qatar's Ambassador to Italy and
non-resident Ambassador to ex-Yugoslav countries, with whom he
agreed that Qatar business people should pay a visit to Croatia by
the end of this year.
The Ohrid forum was also attended by the presidents of Albania,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia and Montenegro.
It included parallel panel discussions attended by prominent
figures, such as Albanian writer Ismail Kadare.
Also attending were Elisabeth Rehn, former human rights rapporteur
for the former Yugoslavia and now an envoy of the Stability Pact,
her former successor to the post of human rights rapporteur Jiri
Dienstbier, Budimir Loncar, former Yugoslav foreign minister and
current advisor to the Appeal of Conscience foundation, and Ivo
Banac, Croatia's Minister of Environmental Protection and Zoning.
(hina) rml