On Saturday, June 21 the Croatian Cultural Centre in Auckland and the Croatian Embassy in Canberra organized a celebration of the Croatian Statehood Day. The celebration was attended by member of the NZ parliament and the prime minister"s special envoy, Mr Alfred Ngara, who, in his greeting speech, congratulated Croatia and stressed the excellent friendly relations between New Zealand and Croatia. He said that the New Zealand Government was particularly pleased with a successful official visit of the Croatian Prime Minister in March this year. Ambassador Kušen in his welcoming speech paid a tribute to all who contributed to the realization of the millennium-old dream of a free, independent and democratic Croatia and called for stronger unity between Croatia and Croatian Diaspora in building a prosperous country. The Folkloric Ensamble King Tomislav from Auckland performed an excellent cultural program under the artistic direction of Mr Goran Kacurov. A very special acknowledgement was given also to a performance of a group of Samoans with a repertoire of Croatian songs. In Auckand and Wellington, a Holy Mass for the Homeland, led by Fr. Miroslav Jelic, head of the Croatian Catholic Centre in Canberra was held for the very first time.
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