OSIJEK OSIJEK, April 27 (Hina) - Minorities have to be a bridge of cooperation among peoples and not a means for unhealthy aspirations, including the conquering of neighbouring countries' territories, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic
said in Osijek on Saturday, opening a two-day international conference called "Minorities as a Bridge of Transborder Cooperation".
OSIJEK, April 27 (Hina) - Minorities have to be a bridge of
cooperation among peoples and not a means for unhealthy
aspirations, including the conquering of neighbouring countries'
territories, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said in Osijek on
Saturday, opening a two-day international conference called
"Minorities as a Bridge of Transborder Cooperation". #L#
The conference, organised by the Vlado Gotovac Institute with
assistance from the German Foreign Ministry and the eastern town of
Osijek, has pooled more than 100 participants from Croatia,
Hungary, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, and the Czech Republic.
They will discuss the promotion and respect of minority rights as a
prerequisite for the further development of Croatia's relations
with the European Union (EU), the relationship between Europe's
regions and national minorities, and transborder cooperation.
Opening the conference, Mesic said national minorities in Europe's
past "had often been the cause of conflicts among peoples and
states." He added, however, "the minorities and their rights were
not the main cause of that, the imperialist and territorial
aspirations of national leaders were."
"Minorities were used for imperialist and separatist goals of their
states on a regular basis, and frequently sustained the biggest
losses for the realisation of unrealistic goals and delusions,
which this region was not spared either," said Mesic.
He added the notion of European community, which resulted in the
political fact called the EU, "offers a solution for minority
issues." "Due to bitter historical experiences and future
development interests (minorities) are vitally interested in the
unification of Europe and political principles on which the EU is
being built," said Mesic.
"That is why nowadays Serbs in Croatia and Croats in Vojvodina and
other Yugoslav areas must be a bridge of cooperation between our two
states. Hungarians have to be a bridge of cooperation between their
homeland and the states they live in. The same goes for all other
minorities," said the Croatian President. "The bitter historical
experience will generate stronger a commitment to affirm all the
positive principles of the UN and the EU," he added.
At the plenary session of the conference, European Integration
Minister Neven Mimica said Croatia was clearly committed to fully
implementing obligations concerning the protection of minority
rights. He announced the government was likely to forward a
constitutional bill on the rights of minorities into parliamentary
procedure by the end of June.
Mimica said Croatia would submit a request for full membership in
the EU next year. This request can make sense only if supported by
"sufficient evidence about our credibility, willingness and
ability to meet all EU standards and criteria," he added.
Mimica said the promotion of minority rights was a political
precondition necessary to maintain the current, favourable level
of relations with the EU. The treatment of minorities is "the real
indicator of every state's democratic maturity," he added.
"I believe the government and parliament will soon manage to remove
all obstacles to the full civic integration of national minorities
into society, thus confirming its understanding of the
significance of this issue," said Mimica.
The German ambassador to Croatia, Gebhardt Weiss, said Europe would
become a community of bigger and smaller minorities, while stronger
minority rights were a prerequisite for the new quality of free and
creative coexistence in Europe.
The conference was also addressed by Osijek mayor Zlatko Kramaric
and the president of the Vlado Gotovac Institute, Simone Gotovac.
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