JEWISH OFFICIAL COMMENDS MESIC'S SPEECH

ZAGREB, Jan 29 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic's speech at the presentation of the Righteous Among the Nations awards in Zagreb on Tuesday may serve as a bright example to other European leaders, said the secretary-general of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ari Beker. In his address at the presentation of the highest Israeli award to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, President Mesic pointed to the importance of the fact that for the first time the ceremony was taking place in a school, the Zagreb Geodetic-Technical School. The young have to know the real truth about what happened in Croatian history, including during World War Two, said Mesic. They must know there are those of whose acts we must be ashamed, as well as the brave ones who we must be proud of and who made it possible for present-day Croatia to be a proud member of the democratic community of peoples and states, he added. According to Beker, President Mesic's speech was very potent and represents a bright example for other European countries. The incumbent Croatian government will be respected by Jews world- wide as we will inform them about this event, said Beker, adding he was sure people would listen carefully to what happened in Zagreb today. The WJC is the umbrella organisation of Jewish communities from all over the world and represents a sort of diplomatic hand of the Jewish people. (hina) ha sb