30TH ANNIVERSARY OF CROATIAN LANGUAGE DECLARATION MARKED

ZAGREB, March 13 (Hina) - The Croatian cultural and publishing society Matica Hrvatska and the Croatian Writers' Association held a formal session on Thursday to mark the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Declaration on the Name and Status of the Standard Croatian Language. Matica Hrvatska president Josip Bratulic said in his opening remarks that the Declaration had contributed to the preservation of the identity of the Croatian language within the Croatian borders and in other areas populated by Croats. Writers' Association president Ante Stamac said that the Association was proud that the Declaration had been made public in its offices at the time when it had been headed by the current president of the Croatian Parliament, Vlatko Pavletic. Stamac described the Declaration as "an initial step on the road to the establishment of the Croatian state." Matica Hrvatska issued a reprint of the Declaration for this occasion. The Declaration stressed among other things that "it is the inalienable right of any nation to call its language by its own name." (hina) vm mm 131626 MET mar 97