SPLIT, Jan 15 (Hina) - Croatian presidential candidate Stipe Mesic on Saturday told a central pre-electoral rally in the southern port of Split the new government must at once fulfil the promises it gave the people and which helped it
win the voters' confidence at recent parliamentary elections. "As of the first day of taking over authority, they must tell the people what they will do and at once pass a development strategy. There can be no grace period of one or three months, because during pre-electoral campaigning they claimed they had all programmes ready," said Mesic. Croatia will never again cultivate the cult of personality and after the January 24 presidential elections, the president of state will be only "one of us," he asserted, emphasising parliament must be the highest institute of authority. Mesic was very critical of the former authorities, claiming they had turned nat
SPLIT, Jan 15 (Hina) - Croatian presidential candidate Stipe Mesic
on Saturday told a central pre-electoral rally in the southern port
of Split the new government must at once fulfil the promises it gave
the people and which helped it win the voters' confidence at recent
parliamentary elections.
"As of the first day of taking over authority, they must tell the
people what they will do and at once pass a development strategy.
There can be no grace period of one or three months, because during
pre-electoral campaigning they claimed they had all programmes
ready," said Mesic.
Croatia will never again cultivate the cult of personality and
after the January 24 presidential elections, the president of state
will be only "one of us," he asserted, emphasising parliament must
be the highest institute of authority.
Mesic was very critical of the former authorities, claiming they
had turned nationality into a profession. He said the formerly
ruling Croatian Democratic Union, which started as a movement and
led the people in the creation of the state, had become an interest
group of some 200.
"From Herzegovina (southern Bosnian region with a high Croat
population) they tell me - choose anyone but Stipe Mesic, and I tell
them that I love them as I love all other Croats, but we cannot work
for you and have you spend it," said Mesic. He added Croatia would
help all Croats in the Diaspora, but not in the way "some
Herzegovinians have got used to until now."
Mesic said the new government must at once survey the situation and
effect revision, establish what happened to the money sent by the
Diaspora and what happened to the money looted in the country.
"(Interior Minister) Penic says he knows that money 'has been
sucked out' of Croatia, so before he leaves I call on him to say
where the money is and how to retrieve it," Mesic said.
He asserted the army and the police must be entirely
depoliticised.
The state must serve its citizens, every citizen must have a job, an
education, and health care, everyone in this country must have a
chance, said Mesic.
We have been in war and won, and nobody has the right to minimise
this, he said. Croatia has no war heroes, primarily because others
assumed credit and became wealthy instead of those who with their
blood created Croatia, he added.
Nobody in Croatia should be considered an enemy because of
belonging to another political party or a different world view,
advocated the presidential candidate of the Croatian People's
Party/Croatian Peasants' Party/Liberal Party/Istrian Democratic
Assembly/Action of Social Democrats of Croatia coalition.
(hina) ha