PRKACIN:RELATIONS BETWEEN CROATIA AND ICTY SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED

VINKOVCI, Jan 19 (Hina) - Ante Prkacin, the candidate of the New Croatia party for the coming presidential election, on Wednesday held a news conference in eastern town of Vinkovci to present his programme. He advocated the revision of relations between Croatia and the Hague-based International War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Prkacin assessed that Croatian prisoners currently detained by the Hague-based Tribunal "are the biggest captives of Tudjman's policy, which the international community showed as failed and negative." Prkacin told reporters that for Croatia it would be very important that the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) candidate should not win the presidential ballot. He also advocated that new authorities can be slower but exposed to greater control in their work. He blamed politics for the difficult situation in the country. Commenting on pre-election appearances of other presidential candidates, Prkacin dedicated most time on the campaign of Ante Djapic, claiming that Djapic exploited the hardship of some categories of the Croatian society to his own benefit. Prkacin described some parts of Djapic's programme as "utterly insane" as his "opposition to the return of Serbs to Croatia. New Croatia believes that everybody has the right to their own home, but this party opposes the Law on Amnesty, Prkacin added. (hina) ms