CRO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION MINISTER COMMENTS ON 'JORAS CASE'

PULA, Dec 18 (Hina) - Ivan Jakovcic, Croatia's European Integration Minister and president of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), on Monday held a news conference in Pula, where he commented on a recent diplomatic dispute between Croatia and Slovenia, involving Jozko Joras, a resident of Milna, a village on the Croatian side of the Croatian-Slovene border, who negated Croatia's sovereignty over the village. Early this month, Joras refused to pay customs duties for a washing machine he bought in Slovenia. Croatian authorities fined him for a customs offence which he refuses to pay because he does not recognise Croatia's sovereignty over Milna. Jakovcic distributed to reporters copies of an article published by the Slovene 'Dnevnik' paper announcing that Slovene police forces would, together with the Slovene land-survey service, take down number plates from houses in Milna, which Jakovcic believes deserves condemnation. "This act is reprehensible and instead of a political response I will call on local authorities in the Croatian, Slovene and Italian parts of Istria to complete talks about trans-border cooperation. Patience and tolerance are preconditions of every democratic society which should answer to extremism and provocations with all democratic methods available," he said. (hina) rml