PASALIC FOUNDS "CROATIAN BLOC - MOVEMENT FOR A MODERN CROATIA"

ZAGREB, Sept 14 (Hina) - A former senior official of the Croatian Democratic Union party (HDZ), Ivic Pasalic, was on Saturday unanimously voted for the president of the Croatian Bloc -- Movement for a Modern Croatia, a new party which was founded at a founding assembly on Saturday with 291 members present. #L# The party's vice presidents are MP Milan Kovac, who also left the HDZ, Slavonski Brod deputy mayor and former regional HDZ leader, Jozo Meter, and a young businessman from Istria, Branimir Luksic, this being his first party duty. Of the six HDZ MPs for whom Pasalic said were to join the new party, Milan Kovac, Krunoslav Gasparic, Ivan Tafra and Ivo Bajica turned up, while Zdravka Busic did not. Representatives of the Croatian True Revival (HIP) party, with whom Pasalic had announced cooperation, also did not show up. Not one representative of any parliamentary party attended the assembly. Pasalic equalised today's founding of the new party with the founding of the HDZ under the leadership of the late Croatian president, Franjo Tudjman. The Croatian Bloc will inherit Tudjman's political legacy in defending national interests, state borders, war veterans and generals who are currently under microscope of the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, and will protect Croats in Bosnia as well as Croatian emigrants, Pasalic said. He believes the incumbent government is incapable and has betrayed national interests, only deals with political personnel, as does the HDZ who is busy delegating future political positions. Pasalic said that the HDZ wished to come to power, but the party was completely unprepared for solving pressing economic and social issues. Pasalic announced the first general assembly of the Croatian Bloc for October 27, when he intends to establish county and town branches of the party. (hina) lml