TOMCIC CRITICISES STATEMENT BY ONE OF YUGOSLAVIA'S LEADERS

ZAGREB, Nov 7 (Hina) - Croatian parliamentary speaker Zlatko Tomcic on Tuesday criticised a member of Yugoslavia's ruling coalition whose statement implied territorial aspirations towards Croatia. "I have to express deep concern over statements coming from the ranks of the ruling coalition in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which are an encroachment upon Croatian territory," he said opening the Network of Parliamentarians for Southeast Europe, a conference organised in Zagreb by the East-West Institute. Tomcic was referring to a recent statement by Zoran Djindjic, who said that as a sign of good will, Croatia should cede Prevlaka, a tip on its southern-most border, to the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro. The Zagreb conference gathered parliamentarians from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania, and members of the European Parliament and the East-West Institute. The initiative to set up the Network of Parliamentarians for Southeast Europe was launched to follow the implementation of Stability Pact for Southeast Europe objectives, especially those of its first working table, for democracy and human rights. Tomcic told the conference he hoped the recent democratic changes in post-election Yugoslavia would lead to democratisation and stabilisation there and in the entire region, and make it possible to settle the issue of succession to the former Yugoslav federation. (hina) ha jn