PRIME MINISTER SPEAKS ABOUT GOVERNMENT'S POLICY TOWARDS BOSNIA

ZAGREB, April 25 (Hina) - Prime Minister Ivica Racan on Wednesday dismissed allegations of secret agreements with the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia on Croatian government policy towards Bosnia and the Bosnian Croat people. Racan also dismissed statements to the effect that the government was protecting international community interests in Bosnia. "The government is not shaping the policy of Croats in Bosnia, but it will not allow extreme individuals in Bosnia to shape the policy of the Croatian government," he told parliament's 12th session. Several MPs of the Croatian Democratic Union, the strongest opposition party, asked why the government was in touch only with Bosnian officials who did not receive the support of the Croat electorate, and if this stance transpired from an agreement signed with international bodies and of which the Croatian public was not informed. By contacting Bosnian officials the government wishes to contribute to the solving of open issues to the benefit of Bosnia's three peoples and does not want this to be described as interference with Bosnian affairs, said Racan. Ante Kovacevic of the opposition's Croatian Christian Democratic Union asked about the "military, dynamite, tanks on Hercegovacka Banka operation." He referred to the Stabilisation Force's April 6 break-in into the Mostar-based bank. The prime minister said nobody should be too happy about such operations. Why they occurred and who made them happen is a more complex issue, he said, adding crime should be fought with means which are allowed in democratic societies and that this battle should be separated from the solving of Bosnia's political issues. According to the prime minister, questions should be raised as to how the funds Croatia forwarded to Bosnia were spent. There are strong indications of embezzlement, he said, assuming the obligation to give parliament an answer. (hina) ha sb