ZAGREB, June 25 (Hina) - President Stjepan Mesic said on Tuesday he would discuss the appointment of heads of security services with Prime Minister Ivica Racan in the near future as the matter has not been solved despite the fact that
a new law on the matter has been passed three months ago.
ZAGREB, June 25 (Hina) - President Stjepan Mesic said on Tuesday he
would discuss the appointment of heads of security services with
Prime Minister Ivica Racan in the near future as the matter has not
been solved despite the fact that a new law on the matter has been
passed three months ago. #L#
Mesic answered a series of questions on Croatian Radio on the
occasion of Statehood Day.
He agreed with the journalist's claim that a "quiet conflict, which
becomes actual from time to time, has been smouldering" between him
and Racan since the January 2000 change of government. Mesic said
this was due to the fact that he was elected president against the
will of some in the incumbent authorities. The SDP (Social
Democrats) and the HSLS (Social Liberals) had their candidate, he
said.
"I was elected not by but contrary to their will. And it took a while
for us to eventually take our positions, to see who wanted what. I
wanted changes and they too said they were for changes. I wanted
changes as soon as possible, and they said they needed bigger
preparations, to prepare both the home and the foreign public,
which delayed some measures. In those cases we disagreed a little,"
said Mesic.
He reiterated he disagreed with the government's monetary policy.
It is not enough to have a firm currency rate, and it is alarming if
Croatian import amounts to US$9 billion and export to US$4.5
billion, he said, adding that this meant the model needed
changing.
The incumbent authorities have made certain steps forward, Mesic
said. "Croatia has become a security zone and a law-based state" and
many affairs which were "under the carpet" until recently are
"being closed, some less, some more successfully," he said.
However, he slammed the privatisation audit and poor detection of
corruption and crime.
Mesic said it was obvious something in the judiciary was not good
if, compared to European standards, Croatia had the highest number
of judges in proportion to the population, as well as the highest
number of unsolved cases.
The President said the personnel structure in the justice system
dated back to the pre-2000 Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) rule.
Some scandals from that time have been discovered but remain
unsolved, he claimed, adding that "the personnel structure cannot
include those failing to meet their work commitments."
As regards secret services, Mesic said the appointment of heads
must rely on the law which clearly establishes powers and
obligations. "The president of state and the prime minister make
and co-sign the decision on the appointment of security services'
heads, while the parliamentary committee only states its opinion,"
he said, adding that he had already sent the names of candidates to
Racan.
Mesic said Croatia had a uniform but insufficiently transparent
foreign policy. He reiterated that the initialling of a border deal
with Slovenia should have been preceded by more consultations with
experts and the political sphere, in order to reach a viable
solution. "We can't say that everything was well-prepared.
Evidently the Slovenes, who think they got more, now don't want
either arbitration or to renegotiate," he said.
As for the latest census, Mesic said the Central Bureau of
Statistics had still not forwarded the results to him and that what
he knew was from the media. About 80,000 citizens have not stated
their nationality, he said, but added Croats were not among them as
they no longer had a reason not to state their nationality.
Mesic explained the smaller share of Serbs in Croatia's population
with economic difficulties, which he said had caused Croats to
leave the country as well, and with the wrong policies of former
Croatian and Yugoslav Presidents Franjo Tudjman and Slobodan
Milosevic.
"All other national minorities, besides the Romany, have decreased
as well," said Mesic.
(hina) ha sb