MAKING ARMY MORE EFFICIENT REQUIRES CHANGES - MESIC

ZAPREŠIĆ, Oct 14 (Hina) - For the army to be more efficient certain changes have to be made, including the guard of honour, Croatian President Stipe Mesic said on Saturday, commenting on an article in 'Vecernji list' daily saying about 500 members of the First Guard Corps will be fired or reassigned. Mesic was speaking after the official part of his visit to Zapresic, a town west of Zagreb, where he attended the 199th anniversary of Croatia's Viceroy Josip Jelacic. Mesic said the reorganisation of the army was a task to be dealt with by military bodies and he would therefore not interfere with that issue. Commenting on officers who should replace seven Croatian army generals whom he recently retired, Mesic said he would be able to say more about that on Monday, after he studied a letter by Defence Minister Jozo Rados. Speaking about candidates who will replace the ambassadors whose mandate expires at the end of October, Mesic said an agreement had been signed only for his advisor on foreign policy, Stanko Nick, who should be appointed ambassador to Hungary, whereas of other candidates he had no knowledge. Asked about a letter the Croat member of the Bosnian state presidency, Ante Jelavic, sent him today, seeking support for changes to the decision of the Provisional Election Commission on the election of deputies to the Croat-Muslim federation parliament, Mesic said he still had to read the letter and see what it was about. If a boycott of the election is announced, it can harm only those who boycott it, he said commenting on Jelavic's threat of boycott of the November 11 election. (hina) rml