SABOR SPEAKER: BUDISA HAS DEPARTED FROM COALITION CRITERIA

ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Hina) - Croatia's parliament speaker and president of the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), Zlatko Tomcic, said on Thursday the president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Drazen Budisa, 'has made a departure from the criteria' of the country's six-party ruling coalition. "There is a rule in politics... that successful functioning of a coalition requires strong foundations to which all abide. This time Budisa has departed from those criteria," Tomcic said in an interview with Friday's issue of the Jutarnji List daily. Several days ago, in the midst of speculations as to in what capacity general Petar Stipetic has been summonsed to testify before the Hague war crimes tribunal, without Premier Ivica Racan and President Stjepan Mesic making a precise statement about the matter, Budisa told the Vecernji List daily that he knew Petar Stipetic had been summonsed as a suspect. Asked whether there was a tacit or formal agreement among the coalition about what to tell and what not to tell the public, the Sabor speaker said there was an agreement that this was a government task as well as an agreement on how the government should act. "Obviously damage has been done and the agreement has been violated," Tomcic said when asked what kind of damage Budisa had actually made by revealing the contents of the Hague request. He added that Premier Racan and President Mesic did not make a mistake by not making public all they knew about the Stipetic case. Tomcic said a model of restoring harmony in relations among the coalition parties had to be found. Prior to last night's meeting of the coalition partners, Premier Racan said all partners unanimously supported the government's policy toward the Hague war crimes tribunal and there were no strategic differences among them. Racan said Budisa had "his own reasons" to make the statement about Stipetic but he, as Premier, could not afford to comment on such statements. In the Jutarnji List interview, Tomcic said that should it prove necessary, he would not avoid calling an extraordinary parliament session to discuss the cooperation with the Hague tribunal. "There is no (alternative to the cooperation with the Hague tribunal) but there is no alternative to the protection of the dignity of the Homeland War either. This leads to only one possible conclusion: there is a need for continual, open and unambiguous cooperation as well as for the presentation of evidence in every case." (hina) rml