$ AY SVETI KRIZ ZACRETJE, 20 Dec (Hina) - The Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Friday opened the newly-constructed 15,7-km-long Zabok- Zacretje section of the future Zagreb-Macelj (on the border with Slovenia) highway.
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SVETI KRIZ ZACRETJE, 20 Dec (Hina) - The Croatian President Franjo
Tudjman on Friday opened the newly-constructed 15,7-km-long Zabok-
Zacretje section of the future Zagreb-Macelj (on the border with
Slovenia) highway. #L#
Croatian Roads company invested 416,2 million kuna (some US $
87 million) into the highway.
The opening of the section was attended by high state
officials, parliament members, representatives of local authorities
and numerous residents of Zacretje and surrounding villages.
Opening the road, President Tudjman said that this year's
opening of more than 50 km of highways and numerous other
facilities proved that Croatia's leadership had turned Croatia into
a huge construction site already during the Homeland war and
immediately after its completion.
'This leadership has taken over not only the establishment of
the independent, sovereign Croatian state, but its construction as
a modern and civilized country, a country of progress and welfare',
Tudjman said.
'Building Croatia for the Croatian man, we are opening it
towards and linking with Europe and the world', Tudjman said,
adding he was convinced that the neighbouring Slovenia would
realize that it was in its interest as well that the highway be
widened to Maribor and Europe, which was also interested in that.
'Working in the interest and for the well-being of the Croat
man living in Croatia, we also want to return Croat emigrants and
link with and integrate into western Europe and the world', Tudjman
said, stressing that the Croatian leadership would not allow
Croatia to be put back in Balkan or South-Eastern European
frameworks, as those frameworks were history for Croatia.
'We belong to Central Europe and that is where we will remain,
because we have given our contribution not only in victims and not
only by building and defending it, but also by contributing to it
through our culture. We want to build a Croatia under Croatian
authority, for Croatian people and future generations and rest
assured that we have created such a power, both by its democratic
order and by its armed force.
We have become a regional power and no one can defeat us
except for ourselves with our foolishness and immaturity, and lead
us again on the ways of the cross to Bleiburg and Jasenovac.
However, we will not allow that to happen', Tudjman said.
At the end of the ceremony, Tudjman thanked architects and
constructors, adding he was happy to have the opportunity to open
the road to traffic.
Croatian Premier Zlatko Matesa recalled a part of Tudjman's
address in which the Croatian president stressed the importance of
the speedy construction of roads in Croatia.
During this year, three large road routes had been opened in
Croatia and the construction of massive road infrastructure had
started, Matesa said.
Matesa announced the completion of a highway running from the
Hungarian border to the Croatian town of Cakovec, as well as the
construction of another section of the Zagreb-Rijeka highway,
Maslenica bridge with all access roads and the beginning of the
construction of another large bridge near Dubrovnik.
'Croatia is a state which is able to build such facilities in
financial, technical or any other way', Matesa said.
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