SERB PEOPLE'S COUNCIL GIVES RECEPTION AHEAD OF ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS

ZAGREB, Jan 5 (Hina) - The Serb People's Council (SNV) on Friday gave a reception on the occasion of the Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated on Jan. 7 according to the Julian Calendar. In attendance were representatives of the Croatian Serb community, Croatia's authorities, religious communities, ambassadors accredited to Croatia and cultural and public dignitaries. In his opening address, SNV president Milorad Pupovac voiced hope that after ten difficult years, suffering and mistakes, there was still strength and faith in a common life and the possibility to overcome difficulties in Croatia. Pupovac said he expected the government would be able to establish an efficient authority, and that the Serb community expected higher efficiency than last year. Building a democratic and civil society is the only chance for Croatia, as it is for the Serb community in Croatia, said Goran Granic, president of the government's commission for relations with religious communities. He said the government had shown that the Constitution and the laws had to be respected, that they were not nationality-coloured and included the right of every citizen, regardless of nationality and religion. We have to establish goals and standards in resolving Croat-Serb relations in Croatia, said Granic, adding the international community could not be the one to solve them. Parliamentary deputy speaker Zdravko Tomac said everybody was entitled to national singularity, culture and religion and their preservation. "Croatia's strength is to be a multi-religious, multi-national and multi-cultural state," he said. (hina) ha