FORTHCOMING CONVENTION WILL CONFIRM HDZ'S READINESS - VALENT

( Editorial: --> 1729 ) ZAGREB, Feb 13 (Hina) - All assumptions have been created for a successful holding of the fourth general convention of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which will show that the HDZ is ready for all challenges which follow and confirm that the HDZ is the strongest people's party in Croatia, HDZ secretary general Ivan Valent said on Friday. He announced the governing party's convention will be held on 21 and 22 February in Zagreb. Valent said internal party elections had been successfully held, in 3,150 organisations. We are satisfied with the structure of the newly elected people, one-third of whom are totally new, and we have about 15 per cent young people and about 10 per cent women, Valent said. HDZ deputy secretary general Drago Krpina reported that the convention's agenda would be divided into four sections: political, normative, electoral and a programme section. Valent will talk on organisational-policy issues and Gojko Susak, Vladimir Seks and Hrvoje Sarinic on historical-policy issues. Reports on social-economic matters will be delivered by Zlatko Matesa, Zlatko Canjuga and Jure Radic. Ivic Pasalic and Drago Krpina will talk on domestic politics, while reports on ideological-political activity will be delivered by Vlatko Pavletic, Andrija Hebrang, Mario Kapulica, Jadranka Kosor and Ljerka Mintas-Hodak. Mate Granic, Franjo Greguric and Ivan Aralica will talk about foreign policy. The convention's normative section is expected to change the party statute and the election section will choose the new leadership of the party, while the programme section is expected to deliver the programme declaration of the fourth general convention, although the current party programme will not change, Krpina said. Talking about the most important changes to the statute, Ivic Pasalic announced the establishment of a National Council of the HDZ, whose task would be to harmonise the work of the main party bodies. Pasalic assessed this as "very important". (Hina) jn mb 131810 MET feb 98