Day one in Croatia's rebirth

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, FEB. 19. Mr. Stipe Mesic was on Friday sworn in as the President of Croatia. Often described as ``a jovial political maverick'', Mr. Mesic succeeds the late President Tudjman, who ruled Croatia with an iron first since its inception as an independent state, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia as it existed in the heyday of President Tito's rule. Mr. Mesic pledged to take Croatia into the European Union within the next five years, and as he put it: ``My wish is that Croatia becomes a fully-developed European country, with high level of democracy, protection for its citizens' rights, and prosperity.''

The U.S. Secretary of State, Ms. Madeleine Albright, who attended the ceremony, said the emergence of the democratic government was an important step forward for southeastern Europe as a whole, which the Serbian President, Mr. Milosevic, could also follow.

In the recent two months of Croatian politics, Croatia has been transformed into a democratic and dynamic state. Tudjman's Croatian Democrats Union has already fizzled out as a political force. Mr. Mesic proposes to undo the financial and political wrong-doings of the Tudjman regime. He has no inclination to be a mere `ceremonial' President, but rather proposes to accelerate reform and the liberalisation process.

Mr. Mesic is a born-again pragmatist who in his youth was an enthusiastic Communist and student leader. He was expelled from the party and even jailed in the early seventies for pleading for greater democracy, and is the founding member of Tudjman's party, but parted company in 1994 over his authoritarian ways and interference in Bosnia.

Analysts point out that it was rampant corruption and cronyism which finally tilted the electoral balance against Tudjman's party. There are many Croats in Bosnia - almost 17 per cent of the population - compared to over 50 per cent Muslims and a fast- declining Serb population, which at once numbered about one-third of the Bosnian population.

Tudjman had a special relationship with Bosnian Croats and was often accused of interfering in the internal affairs and politics of the country.

Mr. Mesic proposes to remain neutral. His main priority is the economic reconstruction of Croatia, and its attainment of full membership in the E.U.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Iran says a resounding yes to reform
Next     : A new outlook for global trade talks