ITALIAN MINORITY MP ON REACTIONS TO HIS STATEMENT ABOUT ETHNIC CLEANSING OF SERBS

ZAGREB, March 1 (Hina) - The Italian minority's parliamentary representative, Furio Radin, issued a statement on Monday in connection with what he labels "fierce reactions as well as absurd accusations" made in the wake of his "brief statement in the parliamentary debate on the national budget".#L# "I said in parliament, within the context of historical comparison with the fate of other minorities, that in the first half of the '90s Serbs in Croatia were subjected to ethnic cleansing. In the continuation (of the debate) I very clearly pointed out that I neither said nor thought that Croatia was responsible for that. I only wanted to stress that about 300,000 citizens of Serb nationality were missing from those territories. Ultimately, I add this now, that is why today we are talking about the return of Serbs, which is also the official policy of this government," Radin says in the statement. He adds that it clearly transpires from the above that he spoke strictly from the point of view of human rights and that he did not raise the question of accountability at all. "Moreover, that does not encroach upon the fact of who was the aggressor in Croatia, since it is indisputable that that was Slobodan Milosevic with (Milan) Martic's assistance, nor does it encroach upon (parliament's) Homeland War Declaration." Radin says he distances himself in particular from accusations levelled by Croatian Party of Rights leader Anto Djapic "of alleged anti-Croatian activity and attempts to reassess the Homeland War, since my statement, as well as my whole political activity to date, show the exact opposite". Radin says he vehemently objects to having his words so crudely manipulated and exploited for current political ends, and that he does not intend to argue the matter further. (Hina) ha sb