MESIC: TIME FOR CROATIA TO OPEN TO THE WORLD

ORAHOVICA, Mar 8 (Hina) - I am well acquainted with the contents of documents recently found in Zagreb on the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1994, Croatian President Stipe Mesic said on Wednesday. Talking to the press in Orahovica, where he opened a wine fair, Mesic said the documents showed who was really responsible for the crimes, but added he could not speak about names at this point. Advocating the individualisation of guilt, President Mesic said the recently found documents need not have been hidden, since they would have facilitated investigations at The Hague war crimes tribunal. "I have nothing against protests over The Hague sentence of (Bosnian Croat) general (Tihomir) Blaskic which are legal and legitimate, but I object to the fact that a protest was organised in front of the American Embassy in Zagreb which has nothing to do with the sentence," Mesic said. "Besides," he added, "the protest was organised by those who signed agreements on co-operation with The Hague and who accompanied general Blaskic to The Hague, which indicates that some people still don't understand what happened in Croatia." President Mesic later met local county businessmen. He later told reporters he would use his official visits abroad to incite the world to invest in Croatian economy. "We were closing in for years, and now the time has come for Croatia to open to the world," he said. In the afternoon, Mesic visited Zovkov Gaj, a village near Orahovica whose 131 voters voted for him at recent presidential elections. Expressing his gratitude, Croatia's new president presented them with a national flag. (hina) ha mm