ZAGREB UNIVERSITY MARKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF 'CROATIAN SPRING'

ZAGREB, Dec 21 (Hina) - Zagreb University on Friday marked the 30th anniversary of the 1970's "Croatian Spring" movement, paying respect to the courageous generation of Croatian university students who participated in the movement. Chancellor Branko Jeren said that Zagreb University, as one of the leading institutions of higher education in Croatia, had in its 330 year-long history always promoted the cultural and ethical values of the Croatian people. Ivan Supek, Zagreb University Chancellor at the time, said one of the goals of the movement was the liberation of the university from the guardianship of the communist party. "The idea which brought us together was freedom, we advocated the idea of Croatian state," said Drazen Budisa, a participant in the movement and president of the then Student Assembly of Zagreb. The then students' representative at the Chancellor's Office, Ivan Zvonimir Cicak, said the movement had been governed by the idea of rights and marked a clear break with what today is called controlled democracy. (hina) rml