CRO PRESIDENT RECEIVES DELEGATION OF TEACHERS

ZAGREB, Oct 4 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Friday received a delegation of teachers in occasion of the World Teachers' Day, 5 October. On behalf of 50,000 employed teachers in Croatia, Tudjman was greeted by Education and Sports Minister Ljilja Vokic. Tudjman stressed the necessity of explaining to young Croatian generations historical facts which are important for the self- confidence and the future of the Croatian people. Young generations must be educated on the bases on which the independent and sovereign Croatian state was created, which is the reconciliation of all Croats, that is the realization that the Croatian history, in World War Two as well, could not have been different. "We do have to say that the Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945) was within the frame of the European quisling order, but also that it was not just a quisling entity, but also a desire of the Croatian people for their independence", Tudjman said, stressing that at that time the majority of Croats was committed to the anti-fascist movement. The Croatian anti-fascist movement was one of the strongest in Europe, not because Croats were committed to communism, but because that communist movement promised them complete freedom, the right to self-determination and equality, Tudjman said. The self-confidence and political maturity of a Croat must be the basis which would never again permit any wanderings and delusions, that is the return to some Yugoslav or Balkan frameworks, the Croatian President said. He recalled European representative Carl Bildt's statements that the European Union must find a strategy of regional association south of Slovenia and north of Greece and added that the EU was still concerned "with the idea how to integrate us into Europe through the Balkans." "Within such frames we would be in a worse position than we have been", he added. The Croatian President concluded by wishing the teachers success in future work in the interest of the Croatian homeland. (hina) ha jn 042019 MET oct 96