CROATIAN PRESIDENT STJEPAN MESIC AWARDED BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

 

 

Washington, DC, August 10, 2002- The President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic, visited Washington, D.C.  from August 9-10, 2002 to receive an award by the American Bar Association/Central and Eastern European Initiative  (ABA/CEELI) for the promotion of democracy and rule of law in Central and Eastern Europe.

 

The award ceremony, one of the largest events of the annual ABA meeting, was held on Saturday, in the presence of more than 600 people. In his speech President Mesic expressed gratitude for the award granted to him, particularly to his hosts, the ABA Executive Director David Tolbert and President Homer Moyer. The focus of his address was the notion of democracy and rule of law in Croatia as well as in other transitional countries, the values he has been promoting persistently for the past two years of his presidency.

 

"I do not see this award exclusively as a personal honor. I see it as a recognition conferred to the policies implemented in the Republic of Croatia since the elections in 2000", said the President in the introductory note, adding that "Democracy is more than just a preference – it is a way of life. To make that way of life a reality, certain conditions have to be met. Among them, the rule of law is the fundamental prerequisite".

 

In his review of the democratic reforms Croatia has been implementing, President Mesic said, "all transitional countries, Croatia included, have taken the same burden with them on their path to democracy, a mentality that associates governmental authority with privilege. It is thus essential for all transitional governments to assure the rule of law, where such phenomena as crime, corruption and unfair privileges are sanctioned and not treated as an expression of politics, a case very common among transitional countries".

 

Determining the rule of law as the conditio sine qua non for the development of democracy, and that cooperation both among transitional countries as well as between transitional and established democratic countries is of utmost importance for the continuation and betterment of that process, said Mesic. "Lending a helping hand to transitional countries so that they could conclude their transition processes as quickly and as successfully as possible, is vital even when democratic countries are also working on behalf of their own interests", said the President.

 

In his concluding remarks President Mesic stressed, "I am aware that the process of democratization of Croatia is not yet complete, but the course we have charted is clear, just as our commitment is clear".

 

The speaker following President Mesic was Honorable Patricia M. Wald, former judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague, Netherlands.

 

Stjepan Mesic became the second President of the Republic of Croatia since the country’s international recognition in 1992, succeeding the late Franjo Tudjman by winning the presidential election in 2000.

 

The ABA/CEELI award is given each year to the leader of one of the countries in Central and East Europe. Past ABA/CEELI award recipients have included President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic, Michal Kovac of the Slovak Republic, and Kiro Gligorov of Macedonia..