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