Croatia proud at becoming UN Security Council member

Published: October 17, 2007

ZAGREB, Croatia: Croatia on Wednesday relished its election into the U.N. Security Council, and officials said it proved that a country considered a trouble spot just 15 years ago could now be accepted as part of the West.

"It is the highest moment in Croatia's international position since its international recognition" in 1992, Sanader said. Croatia won a seat Tuesday on the powerful U.N. body as non-permanent member, along with Libya, Vietnam, Burkina Faso and Costa Rica. Their two-year term starts on Jan. 1. The 15-member body has only five permanent members.

"It is a great honor and a great obligation," Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said. "It is an honor for Croatia to turn from a crisis area to co-participant in deciding about other crisis spots in the world in such a short period of time." Croatia was on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council and a topic of several of its resolutions since 1991, when it fought a war with its rebel Serbs, who opposed its independence from the former Yugoslavia.

The country was recognized in 1992, but the war only ended in 1995. Croatia has moved closer to achieving its goal of joining the West - it is negotiating membership in the European Union and could be invited next year to join NATO.

President Stipe Mesic also said the election was an "exceptional recognition of Croatia and its foreign policy."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/17/europe/EU-GEN-Croatia-UN.php

Formated for CROWN by Nenad Bach
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