RACAN TO "GLOBUS" WEEKLY: CROATIA IS PULLING OUT OF RECESSION

ZAGREB, May 16 (Hina) - Croatia has pulled out of a recession and is about to experience a production increase and the opening of new jobs, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan said in an interview with the latest issue of the Globus weekly, in which he commented on relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina and advocated the abolition of the Bosnian Serb entity as it is today. Citing data on an increase in the employment rate in the first four months of this year in some developed counties and the City of Zagreb and a decrease in the number of persons who were nominally employed but were not receiving salaries, Racan said those data supported his claim that the problem of unemployment and fictitious employment had started being solved. The growth rate is higher than planned. Last year, the growth rate was 3.7 percent and this year I am confident it will exceed four percent, he said. Racan expressed confidence that his government would not fall and that it had already achieved some of its strategic goals as well as that it needed four years to accomplish the main goals. Racan did not believe the government would lose the support of the parliamentary majority and be forced to call an early election. The prime minister also addressed Croatia's latest stand toward Bosnia-Herzegovina. "We want a stable Bosnia-Herzegovina and equal solutions on its entire territory, the equality of all three peoples and all citizens," Racan said, stressing the need to change the character of both BH entities. He stressed that "the Republic of Srpska, the way it is now, most definitely must be abolished because that is a precondition for Bosnia-Herzegovina's stability." Recalling one of his recent statements, Racan reiterated that he was not advocating the revision of the Dayton agreement but was also not willing to treat it as a dogma. "If the preservation of the Dayton agreement means the preservation of a divided Bosnia- Herzegovina, the preservation of a troubled Bosnia with two entities and two states which regulate the rights and equality of their nations and citizens through different institutions and in different ways, I find it unacceptable," Racan said, adding the current situation in Bosnia was in nobody's interest. "We do not want Croatia to have special relations with one entity, i.e. with Mostar, and Serbia to have special relations with the other entity, i.e. Banja Luka. Such a situation would actually mean the petrifying of a divided Bosnia-Herzegovina which cannot become a real state," the premier said stressing Croatia wanted to have special relations with the entire Bosnia-Herzegovina and expected Belgrade to adopt a similar stand. Commenting on relations between the Church and the Government and authorities in general, Racan said parts of the Church were demonstrating lack of tolerance unlike the Government. "Those segments of the Church which directly supported undemocratic attacks on this authority, which contested democratic political institutions, are obviously in conflict with their own believers," Racan said, stressing it was of extreme importance for religious communities, not only the Catholic Church, not to have radical political views. (hina) sb rml