VARAZDIN: INT. SEMINAR ON GLOBALISATION, SMALL NATIONS' IDENTITY

VARAZDIN, Nov 16 (Hina) - Vice-Premier and chairman of the Commission for Relations with Religious Communities, Goran Granic, opened an international symposium on globalisation and the identity of small peoples in Varazdin on Saturday. #L# "The idea of globalisation has been present under different names throughout the centuries, and it was mostly implemented with the use of force and ideologies, with disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, today's globalisation has no real content either, it is promoted exclusively as market expansion, as the economic need of the strong and wealthy," Granic said. "Even if globalisation opens markets and creates a single theatre for the exchange of people and money, social problems remain on the local level," Granic said, adding that "globalisation has not provided solutions to the question of how to integrate that aspect into the globalisation philosophy". Granic advocated a globalisation content which would benefit both the rich and the poor. Varazdin bishop Marko Culej said the purpose of the symposium was to present the values and benefits of globalisation, as well as warn of its drawbacks which small peoples fear. "The word globalisation provokes different reactions, from euphoric expectations to concern and anxiety, some glorify and some vilify it," Culej said. He added that unity among people was not only a political or economic issue, but that it depended on the human heart. "Spiritual and ethical values are important, without them real unity is not possible," Culej said. Parliament vice-president Zdravko Tomac said in his speech "Globalisation and the Republic of Croatia" that "the world is run by greedy people", and that attempts were made to confirm globalisation as a system which augments the wealth of the rich and aggravates the position of the poor. "Croatia has no other choice but to participate in the globalisation process, join the European Union and accept its standards and rules. We must try to join the society of the privileged, but that society must also know that if it refuses to understand the Third World and if differences between the rich and the poor keep growing, the Third World will wipe it away," Tomac said. Tomac said that Croatia of today lacked consensus on national identity. "Neither the letter U nor the red star can be the basis of Croatian identity. It must be built on the Homeland War, democracy and the rule-of-law," Tomac. The Varazdin symposium was organised by the Croatian branch of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, under the auspices of Varazdin County and the Varazdin diocese. Attending the seminar, along with others, are representatives of monotheistic religions in Croatia. (hina) rml sb