PM SAYS NEW HAGUE WAR CRIMES INDICTMENTS ARE POSSIBLE

MASLENICA, June 26 (Hina) - Prime Minister Ivica Racan said on Wednesday the government knew the Hague war crimes tribunal was conducting investigations and that new indictments against Croats were possible, but added he did not have the sources of "Globus" weekly, which claimed today the tribunal was preparing six new indictments against Croats. #L# Talking to reporters at a Zagreb-Split motorway construction site near Zadar, Racan said the government would act on a Zagreb Municipal Court decision to submit documentation requested by the defence team of Ante Gotovina, a Croatian general indicted by the UN tribunal who is at large. Commenting on President Stjepan Mesic's complaints about stalling in the appointment of heads of security services, Racan said the President, unlike himself, did not have to consult with anyone. "I have to consult with the (ruling) coalition partners, so my signature is not as simple as Mesic's," he said. As for early elections, the PM said he was against them. He maintained the government should complete its term of office, but explained this called for a unanimous stand of all five ruling parties. In connection with the Social Liberals' claim that the incumbent authorities were unable to resolve any of the crucial national issues, Racan said: "It is ludicrous that I should learn about it from the media. If it is true, then it constitutes a very big self- criticism." Asked what Croatia had gained by abandoning the building of ships for Iran, the PM said the United States was willing to compensate Zagreb for the non-delivery of patrol boats. "There is a very concrete project, an offer which is being considered, but it has nothing to do with NATO," he explained. (hina) ha sb