PRESIDENTS MESIC, CIAMPI VISIT PULA

PULA, Oct 10 (Hina) - Continuing their visit to the northern Adriatic Istria County, Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and his host, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, met members of the Italian minority in Pula on Wednesday. Ciampi said he was familiar with the requests of the Italian minority in Croatia, from those on establishing and nurturing ties with Italy to the strengthening of the Italian cultural identity and improvement of other minority rights. These requests are in the spirit of Europe and the Italian government will support their realisation, he said. The need to make Europe a united community of peoples and nations, where democracy and human and minority rights and solidarity will be exercised in a faster and easier way, has become stronger after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Ciampi said. He added the Italian minority in Croatia was a treasure of the two countries and a fundamental element of Croatian-Italian friendship. Present at the meeting was also the president of the Italian Union and Istria County deputy prefect Giuseppe Rota, who said Istria County was an example of harmonious coexistence, with mutually integrated interests of the majority Croat people and the Italian minority. "Istria County has been recognising the specific identity of this area for years and its statute - first condemned by the former HDZ authority and now finally facing recognition - introduces bilingualism in the county administration as the confirmation of what is already being practised," Rota said. (hina) rml