PAULO COELHO VISITS CROATIAN WRITERS' SOCIETY

ZAGREB, Feb 7 (Hina) - A renowned Brazilian writer, Paulo Coelho, who is paying a three-day visit to Croatia at the invitation of V.B.Z. publishing house from Zagreb, visited the Croatian Writers' Society (DHK) in Zagreb on Monday evening. Coelho was welcomed by Culture Minister Antun Vujic and DHK president Slavko Mihalic. Mihalic said the Society was welcoming the great writer in the year in which it was marking its 100th anniversary. The Culture Minister said he belonged to the same generation as Coelho, adding the Brazilian writer was visiting Croatia at the beginning of new democratic and cultural changes. The state should serve the culture and not manage it, Vujic said, adding the new authorities would try to make culture more open. Vujic presented Coelho with a bilingual book "Croatia/Brazil - Cultural and Historical Ties" by Nikica Talo. Coelho thanked Vujic and Mihalic for their cordial welcome, expressing satisfaction with the fact he was visiting the Writers' Society, which promoted culture and its role in society. It is exactly writers who are the flame of freedom and who convey the idea of belonging to art to future generations, he said. The Brazilian writer also spoke about the possibility of establishing cultural cooperation, of which his visit was a first step. (hina) rml