ZAGREB, March 29 (Hina) - President Stipe Mesic on Thursday wrote to the religious weekly Glas Koncila, responding to an editorial wondering if bragging about the Croat identity was unwelcome in Croatia, which was a reaction to an
interview Mesic granted Vjesnik daily on March 25. Bragging about the Croat identity is an expression which very clearly defines those people who by declaring their Croathood are attempting to cover up their indolence, negligence and lack of respect for their homeland, Mesic says in his response. Those who love and respect Croatia work and act for themselves, their families and their homeland, and are not and cannot be xenophobic. They do not shout pro-Croatia slogans but work for Croatia, he adds. Mesic says that bragging about one's Croat identity does not represent advocating the Croatian national interest, the Croatian national identity, or the well-being of the Croatian people, but delib
ZAGREB, March 29 (Hina) - President Stipe Mesic on Thursday wrote to
the religious weekly Glas Koncila, responding to an editorial
wondering if bragging about the Croat identity was unwelcome in
Croatia, which was a reaction to an interview Mesic granted Vjesnik
daily on March 25.
Bragging about the Croat identity is an expression which very
clearly defines those people who by declaring their Croathood are
attempting to cover up their indolence, negligence and lack of
respect for their homeland, Mesic says in his response. Those who
love and respect Croatia work and act for themselves, their
families and their homeland, and are not and cannot be xenophobic.
They do not shout pro-Croatia slogans but work for Croatia, he
adds.
Mesic says that bragging about one's Croat identity does not
represent advocating the Croatian national interest, the Croatian
national identity, or the well-being of the Croatian people, but
deliberate manipulation.
According to the President, the loudest in shouting slogans are
those who have done nothing for Croatia, but by bragging about their
Croatian identity are covering up the plundering and crime they
committed, not in the name of Croatian identity, but in the name of
their Croatian pocket.
Those hailing from the ranks of educated and spiritual people who
accept this rhetoric bear even greater accountability for the
uttered word, Mesic says, pointing out this rhetoric stands for a
deliberate and ill-intentioned manipulation of the feelings of the
people which has suffered too much.
In his response to the religious weekly, the President says he
"otherwise agree(s) with your stance that the mind-set which is a
direct product of a totalitarian order provides fertile ground for
all forms of radicalism, division, and intolerance, and that it is
up to everyone, you (Glas Koncila) included, to use their breadth
and tolerance to help the development of a normal, democratic and
pluralist society."
In the latest issue editorial, the weekly comments on Mesic's
statement that he "object(s) to an exaggerated expression of the
Croatian national feeling."
Glas Koncila deems it is evident that "the President's statement
confirmed the existence of a mind-set inherited from the communist
era."
This religious weekly is published by the Zagreb, Split, Sarajevo,
Rijeka, and Zadar archdioceses.
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