100TH ANNIVERSARY OF UKRAINIANS' ARRIVAL IN CROATIA MARKED

SLAVONSKI BROD, Sept 16 (Hina) - The central event of three-day celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Ukrainians in Croatia took place in the eastern town of Slavonski Brod on Saturday. The Slavonski Brod celebration was organised by the association of Ruthenians and Ukrainians of Croatia and a local society called "Ukrajina", under auspices of Croatian President Stjepan Mesic. According to figures which the association bases on the data from the latest census, there are about 6,000 Ruthenians and Ukrainians in Croatia. The village of Bukovlje near Slavonski Brod has the oldest Ukrainian Eastern-Rite church in Croatia. Celebration on the occasion of this anniversary have been held in the towns of Kaniza and Bebrina and other Ukrainian-populated villages and towns in Croatia. Representatives of this minority in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia and officials from Ukraine have attended these events. Present at the Slavonski Brod celebration was President Mesic's envoy, MP Furio Radin, who chairs the Sabor's national minorities committee, the Ukrainian Government's envoy - Science and Education Minister Vasiliy Grigorovic - and local authorities. On this occasion, an organiser and MP Boris Graljuk expressed satisfaction that this anniversary was being celebrated in most desirable democratic atmosphere for national minorities in Croatia confirmed by the positive legal regulations. (hina) ms