SANADER RECEIVES DELEGATION OF ETHNIC CROATS FROM HUNGARY

ZAGREB, March 11 (Hina) - The Croatian president's chief of staff, Ivo Sanader, on Monday received a delegation of ethnic Croats from the Hungarian town of Pecs, a Presidential Office statement said. The delegation included the president of the Croatian local self-government authority in Pecs and member of the Town Council, Ivan Djurok, the director of the Croatian theatre in Pecs, Toni Vidanovic, the editor in chief of Croatian-languange programs on Hungarian television, Miso Balaz, and writer Tahi Mujicic. The delegation informed Sanader about cultural activities of the ethnic Croats in Pecs within the association "Csopor Horda". Describing the relations with Hungarian authorities as friendly, the delegation said that the well-organized Croatian community in Pecs had contributed to increased cultural cooperation between Croatia and Hungary since 1990. The opening of the Croatian consulate in Pecs was very favourably assessed and it was said that it should contribute to the strengthening of links between the ethnic Croats in Hungary and Croatia as their mother country. Congratulating the delegation on the results they had achieved in their work, Sanader expressed a wish for further development of friendly Croatian-Hungarian relations and promotion of Croatian cultural heritage in Hungary. Sanader expressed his full support to the acitivities of the Croatian community in Pecs, the statement concluded. (hina) vm 111624 MET mar 96