RULING HDZ ASSESSES 'OPPOSITION SIX' DECLARATION NON-DEMOCRATIC

ZAGREB, Dec 2 (Hina) - The leading officials of Croatia's ruling party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), on Thursday held an extraordinary HDZ press conference in Zagreb. HDZ vice president Vladimir Seks said the party's bodies had not discussed changes to the Constitution. Seks said he personally believed a semipresidential system and a strong role of the President of the Republic were necessary in the time when Croatia was establishing its independence. A parliamentary system in which the government would be accountable exclusively to parliament, and the President of the Republic have powers as in most European countries, for example the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria, should be taken into consideration at the expiry of President Franjo Tudjman's mandate, Seks said. The HDZ officials also commented on a recent declaration by the Opposition Six coalition. The Opposition Six declaration on post-electoral cooperation, with announcements of forming in case of victory at impending parliamentary elections a government without the HDZ, is according to Seks non-democratic and could lead to all-round destabilisation. With the declaration, the Opposition Six is looking for an emergency exit and a way out of its own weakness, he asserted. Seks reminded that ever since the establishment of a democratic government, the HDZ had offered the opposition participation in executive authority as well as vice presidential seats in parliament. He also asserted Croatia did not need changes with old personnel structures. HDZ secretary-general Drago Krpina said the declaration was made of platitudes and indicated the Opposition Six did not have a programme to resolve any of Croatia's social or state issues. He asserted the only thing the Opposition Six wanted was to come to power as soon as possible. Joined in this aspiration are former communists, Krpina said, representatives of the Croatian Peasants' Party who he said were not authentic peasant party followers, divided liberals, autonomists and populists which, he pointed out, had almost no political force at all. To corroborate the claim about, according to Krpina, this "unnatural association", he reminded that Drazen Budisa, the president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party, had once said "that he doesn't want to cooperate with former communists." Now he "has jumped into their lap", and agreed to make one third of Social Democratic Party (SDP) lists, the HDZ secretary-general asserted. Commenting on the activities of some NGOs in Croatia, namely Voice 99, Gong, and the International Republican Institute, Vesna Skare- Ozbolt, another HDZ vice president, said these NGOs were increasingly more obvious in siding with the opposition. She reminded that in the last six months were being organised seminars and courses for political parties at which the HDZ was not invited, and asked Croatia's voters why a victory by the opposition headed by the SDP was so deeply craved for. HDZ vice president, and Croatian Foreign Minister, Mate Granic said the part of the Opposition Six declaration which refers to foreign affairs supported HDZ's foreign policy. He denied the existence of a Granic-Seks-Pasalic trio. Ivic Pasalic is another high-ranking HDZ official. All decisions in the HDZ Presidency are made by consensus, Granic asserted. Asked whether President Franjo Tudjman, who has been undergoing medical treatment for a month, will be the bearer of HDZ's lists of candidates, HDZ secretary-general Krpina said this previously reached decision had not been altered. (hina) ha mm