ZAGREB, Oct 11 (Hina) - The transfer of powers from the President of the Republic to the Government or Prime Minister does not change anything for Croatia, but balance should be reached in which all divisions of authority will be
correctives to each other, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said on Wednesday. "Therefore the President of the Republic should take part, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the creation of the foreign policy," Mesic said addressing the sixth generation of students of a one-year-long course at the diplomatic academy within the Foreign Ministry in Zagreb. A new association of countries in a broader area of the Balkans is impossible, Mesic said during his lecture adding that such an idea could be exclusively the result of contemplation of some individuals "who either do not know the facts or do not understand what is going on here." "Even if we wanted to set up a
ZAGREB, Oct 11 (Hina) - The transfer of powers from the President of
the Republic to the Government or Prime Minister does not change
anything for Croatia, but balance should be reached in which all
divisions of authority will be correctives to each other, Croatian
President Stjepan Mesic said on Wednesday.
"Therefore the President of the Republic should take part, together
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the creation of the foreign
policy," Mesic said addressing the sixth generation of students of
a one-year-long course at the diplomatic academy within the Foreign
Ministry in Zagreb.
A new association of countries in a broader area of the Balkans is
impossible, Mesic said during his lecture adding that such an idea
could be exclusively the result of contemplation of some
individuals "who either do not know the facts or do not understand
what is going on here."
"Even if we wanted to set up a new Yugoslavia we couldn't find
anybody in the entire world who would help us do that, because who
would be willing to create for the third time a state which would
break up each time with more bloodshed," President Mesic wondered.
Croatia's political goals are of two kinds, Mesic said explaining
that one set of those goals refers to the furtherance of ties with
the West and the other to settling open issues with neighbours.
As regards Slovenia, the biggest problem is the border line in the
Bay of Piran; in Bosnia-Herzegovina we should help Croats, treating
them as a constitutional people in that country.
Space is being opened for the improvement of relations with
Montenegro provided that "Montenegrins compensate for the damage,
apologise for crimes and prosecute those liable (for crimes)."
Regarding Serbia, Croatia should not harbour illusions that all has
been settled with Milosevic's departure; a precondition (for a real
change) is the discontinuation of the current aggressive policy.
It is a fact that it is still not known which course events in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will take, as Vojislav Kostunica
(the newly-elected president) is a Serb nationalist but also a
legalist, and all will depend on whether and to what degree he will
manage to free himself from Milosevic's policy.
Mesic spoke of the necessity for Croatian industry to recover and
production to increase. This requires the initial capital from
abroad, and Croatia can obtain it only if it is a safe zone and if it
changes the current model of management over companies, the
Croatian head of state told participants in the diplomatic
academy.
(hina) jn ms