PREMIER'S VISIT TO BLEIBURG SIGN OF 'BUCKLING UNDER, NOT KNEELING'

ZAGREB, May 24 (Hina)- The president of the Croatian Association of Political Prisoners (HDPZ) Jure Knezovic on Friday stated that Prime Minister Ivica Racan's visit to Bleiburg was a move of "buckling under and not kneeling". #L# There is no indication in the government's move that would indicate that the act was sincere, Knezovic said during a meeting with Deputy Sabor President Zdravko Tomac. The Association's delegation reiterated its regret that Tomac was not allowed to speak at the Bleiburg commemoration. Bleiburg is a symbol of a painful truth of one of the largest holocausts in the history of the Croatian nation and if you truly came to express your regret for those innocent people killed by Tito's communist party then that was a proper move, Knezovic said. Tomac thanked the Association for the public letter forwarded to him following the commemoration and stressed that it was necessary to mutually accept tolerance. The majority of the people at Bleiburg came to pay tribute to the victims without any intention of creating an incident, Tomac said, stressing that it would have been worthwhile for him to have been given an opportunity to say his speech. In support of his claim that the government had not shown that Prime Minister Racan was sincere, Knezovic noted that last year a law was adopted which abolished rights previously recognised to former political prisoners and that the government had rejected to fund a project submitted by the Association to care for elderly and ill former political prisoners and that not one kuna was granted to the Association for its activities. At the same time SUBNOR - an association of former Partisan soldiers - was granted 90,000 kuna (US$11,000), Knezovic claimed. He said that the government had rejected to help fund the publishing of a Lexicon of Former Political Prisoners and that the Association no longer received support for its monthly. (hina) sp