CROATIAN PREMIER COMMENTS ON TRANSCRIPTS SENT TO TRIBUNAL

ZAGREB, July 2 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan on Tuesday disclosed to reporters the contents of transcripts which the government recently sent to the Hague-based international war crimes tribunal, and which include conversations between the late president Franjo Tudjman with the incumbent First Deputy Prime Minister, Drazen Budisa. #L# According to Racan, the first transcript, dated November 2, 1995, relates to a brief conversation between Budisa and Jozo Rados with Tudjman, at which senior officials of the then ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Ivic Pasalic, Franjo Greguric and Ivan Milas were present. The talks were held as a result of the "Zagreb city government crisis", and people from the then opposition have nothing to be ashamed of, Racan said. He said the government did not know why the tribunal needed that particular transcript, but that there was no reason to mystify anything. The second transcript, he said, was from a meeting held by Budisa, Tudjman, Savka Dabcevic-Kucar, Drago Stipac, Ivan Jakovcic, Milan Djukic and Racan on September 2, 1993. The talks were about the situation in Bosnia, Racan said, adding that he had nothing against the transcript which clearly conveyed the difference in views between the then opposition and president Tudjman. (hina) lml sb