ZAGREB, Jan 13 (Hina) - The recognition of Croatia's independence is one of the most important events of Croatia's whole history as national emancipation was a precondition for the political, social and every other form of
emancipation of the Croatian people, Foreign Minister Tonino Picula told Hina on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Croatia's statehood.
ZAGREB, Jan 13 (Hina) - The recognition of Croatia's independence
is one of the most important events of Croatia's whole history as
national emancipation was a precondition for the political, social
and every other form of emancipation of the Croatian people,
Foreign Minister Tonino Picula told Hina on the occasion of the
tenth anniversary of Croatia's statehood.#L#
Iceland was the first to recognise independent Croatia on Dec. 19,
1991, followed by the Holy See on Jan. 13, 1992. The most important
date was Jan. 15, 1992, when the member-states of the then European
Community recognised independent Croatia, primarily at Germany's
urging, and were followed by the rest of the world.
The period of Croatia's recognition was marked by two parallel
processes, said Picula. On the one hand there was the creation of
national states following the break-up of federations like the
Soviet Union and the ex-Yugoslavia, and on the other the fall of
communism and the creation of a wholly democratic New Europe.
"It isn't at all pretentious to say that Croatia's recognition was a
significant date for European history as well, as it occurred
during a break-up with totalitarianism and the eradication of non-
democratic forces in Central Europe, Europe's east and south-
east," said Picula.
He maintains the parallel processes of European integration and the
disintegration of the Soviet Union, the ex-Yugoslavia (SFRY) or
Czechoslovakia are not contradictory as those states were not
democratic and never asked its citizens if they wanted to remain in
such communities, unlike the European Community which was created
as a voluntary organisation of joined national states.
"Perhaps this Western view of the break-up of the SFRY, as well as
the obvious fact that there was a war, that Croatian towns were
being destroyed and the position of the Croatian Serb community
being manipulated with, led to an attempt to stop the war by
recognising the republics of the former state," said Picula.
Asked to comment on claims in recent years that Slovenia and Croatia
had been recognised as independent too soon, the minister said it
was due to the unfamiliarity with the situation of ten years ago and
the interests of certain political groups in some countries.
"Such interpretations rely on the fact that some former SFRY
countries still face serious internal problems and are almost in a
state of emergency, which leads some politicians to assume that the
entire region would be more stable of it were 'packaged' into some
form of community which would communicate better than now, if
necessary by force," said Picula.
"That is a big fallacy. Issues are solved within each individual
state, which calls for a lot of patience and money. For some issues
even that doesn't suffice and one simply has to wait until enough
time has passed," he added.
Speaking about the events which marked the first decade of the
Croatian state, the foreign minister mentioned Flash and Storm, the
1995 operations which won back the occupied areas and ended the war,
thus enabling Croatia, as an "integral state", to communicate with
the world more easily.
Equally important were the Jan. 3, 2000 elections, Picula said.
That ballot "convinced the world of the democracy, responsibility
and maturity of Croatia's constituents, who renounced the policy
which no longer offered prospects" and turned to the other, pro-
European pole of Croatian policy.
On the tenth anniversary of its statehood, Croatia is a country with
clear European prospects facing "the challenging period of having
to reaffirm its already established partnership with the EU" and
other international factors, said Picula.
"Helping neighbours is in Croatia's interest as it is the easiest
way of preventing their problems from spilling onto our territory,"
he added.
"We don't, however, want to reduce our policy only to the Balkans or
Europe's south-east, but to the Mediterranean... and to Central
Europe," the minister said, reiterating that "Croatia's path to
Brussels can also go by sea."
He maintains this calls for part of the Croatian public to finally
accept that Croatia's independence is an unalterable fact and
divest itself of fears for the future of independent Croatia, so
that Croatia can start acting as every other country in important
issues, such as regional cooperation and European integration.
"I understand these fears, complexes, even prejudices among part of
Croatia's population. Croatia has always been a small country...
but today it... has its right to national identity recognised,
which was never the case in the past," said the minister.
"After having waited so long for the right to be able to live in a
Croatian state, the fear of European integration, which will
allegedly annul this statehood, isn't illogical," he added.
Picula, however, maintains there is no cause for fear. The
Stabilisation and Association Agreement will enable Croatia to
join the EU voluntarily as "nobody can force Croatia to something
which the big majority of its citizens will not approve," he said.
Not one state making up the European Union has lost its cultural or
political sovereignty, Picula added, stating that, for example,
"the citizens of France don't feel that being a European and being a
Frenchman excludes one another."
"More of Europe in Croatia by no means implies less of Croatia in it
and can only mean more of Croatia in Europe," the chief of diplomacy
concluded.
(hina) ha