BUDISA SAYS "GLOBUS" RUNS FABRICATIONS IN EDITORIAL

ZAGREB, June 13 (Hina) - President of the Croatian Social and Liberal Party (HSLS) Drazen Budisa today dismissed the writing by the "Globus" weekly, stressing the editorial contains fabrications, such as that he refused to meet his coalition partner Ivica Racan, and that the diplomatic corps in Croatia is exerting pressure on the HSLS. "In Davor Butkovic's editorial headlined 'Diplomatic corps in Zagreb trying to convince the HSLS not to play games with early elections' contained several fabrications, Budisa said in a statement forwarded to Hina. Budisa stressed that he spoke with Prime Minister Racan on May 27 for full five hours, while the editorial claims Budisa no longer wants to speak to Racan except at sessions of the five ruling coalition parties. Budisa further said "there have been no political pressures or advice from diplomatic circles whatsoever on the party". In his editorial Butkovic wrote it is "significant that, apparently at an informal level, the Zagreb diplomatic corps initiated an action to convince the HSLS to stay in the coalition no matter what, and to avoid early parliamentary elections, which most ambassadors to Croatia deem a catastrophic option". (hina) lml sb