FOUR OPPOSITION PARTIES CONDEMN RACAN'S STATEMENT IN LONDON

ZAGREB, Sept 30 (Hina) - Four Croatian parliamentary opposition parties on Tuesday condemned Prime Minister Ivica Racan for allegedly asking Britain for "leniency towards the present government to prevent the opposition from winning the forthcoming parliamentary elections." #L# Addressing a press conference on behalf of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) and the Democratic Centre (DC), Josko Kontic said that "Racan did not behave as a statesman in London, but as an informer and political beggar who, by informing on parties, also informed on Croatian citizens who support those parties." Kontic recalled that Racan used to be at the very top of the former Communist government and that as such he was not competent to define democratic standards in Croatia. Vladimir Seks, chairman of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) club of deputies, accused the prime minister of asking the British government to directly interfere in the election campaign and the results of elections in Croatia. Seks described Racan's statement as "a desperate move of a future political loser", saying that change of government in Croatia would be decided exclusively by Croatian citizens in elections. "Any government elected in a democratic country is a democratic government," said Tonci Tadic of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP). Tadic said he was shocked by Racan's statement. On Monday evening, Racan visited Chatham House, Britain's leading foreign policy forum, where he spoke of cooperation between Zagreb and the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. "Perhaps our government will suffer criticism or punishment, so we will have to face a government that will not have a democratic view that justice should be done," Racan said in response to a journalist's question regarding the case of fugitive Croatian Army general Ante Gotovina. (hina) vm sb