CROATIAN AND SERB PRESIDENTS STRIKE A NOTE OF

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000836 SIPDIS SIPDIS BELGRADE PLEASE PASS TO PODGORICA FOR EUR/SCE SAINZ/BELL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PREL HR SR SUBJECT: CROATIAN AND SERB PRESIDENTS STRIKE A NOTE OF RECONCILIATION IN TESLA BIRTHPLACE ¶1. Summary. In a dramatic July 10 ceremony symbolic of post-war reconciliation, the Serbian and Croatian presidents, together with the Croatian Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament, honored the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla, the late scientist and American citizen born in Croatia of Serb parents. Ambassador Bradtke also gave remarks. Over 1,000 visitors, including some 100 journalists, attended the ceremony, which was broadcast live on Croatian TV. End summary. ¶2. Croatian President Mesic and Serbian President Tadic spoke of post-war reconciliation at the opening ceremony of the Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, birthplace of scientist Nikola Tesla. Their comments were echoed in speeches by the Prime Minister, Speaker of the Parliament, and mayor of the nearby town of Gospic, site of some of the worst fighting during the war. A folk choir provided the cultural program, and bells from the nearby Orthodox church rang during the ceremony. Guests roamed the property, crowded into the technology-based exhibits and watched their children playing on the futuristic playground. ¶3. Tadic spoke of the obligation on the part of himself, President Mesic and Prime Ministers Sanader and Kostunica to offer their citizens a "new vision of Croatia and Serbia in Europe." Stating that Croatia and Serbia have much in common, he said "today at the beginning of the 21st century we don't accept hatred, violence, ethnic cleansing, or suffering by members of individual nationalities." Saying this ceremony was an opportunity to show Serb-Croat relations had "moved definitively into a normal pattern," Mesic said Tesla's pride in his Serbian birth and Croatian homeland and "devotion to the world" were the best roadmap for guiding Croatia and the region into the European Union. Ambassador Bradtke gave remarks in Croatian, quoting President Bush's letter to President Mesic for the occasion, in which he said "true greatness transcends national differences." ¶4. Though some in the media criticized the last-minute preparations for the event and wondered why the government waited so long to honor Tesla and his legacy, commentators agreed it was better late than never. Some in the audience complained privately that the speeches recycled cliches about reconciliation. Still, most papers highlighted the ceremony, and live coverage brought it into living rooms across the country. ¶5. The event comes on the heels of a Tesla scientific conference held in June in Zagreb, and is one of several scheduled for this "Year of Nikola Tesla," an extensive effort by the Croatian Government to symbolically overcome the past while demonstrating progress in reconciliation as Croatia is considered for membership in NATO and the European Union. The Embassy is co- sponsor and a member of the organizational committee, as are representatives from the Croatian Serb community. BRADTKE