PRESIDENT TUDJMAN OPENS FOURTH HDZ CONVENTION

ZAGREB, Feb 21 (Hina) - President of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Franjo Tudjman, delivered an introductory speech at the party's 4th General Convention on Saturday, which focused on the "Historical Role and Programme Tasks of the HDZ in the Coming Period." After nine long centuries, the independent Croatian state was created and democratic order was established under the guidance of the Croatian Democratic Union, Tudjman said. Recalling that this historical achievement was attained amidst the Serbian aggression and the hostility of the international community toward Croatia's independence, Tudjman said it was necessary to explain to the Croatian people the nature of the problem facing it. Seeking an answer to the question why a Croatian state had not been created before, despite the demands of the Croatian people, President Tudjman quoted the unfavourable geo-political relationships and the interplay of international lines of force. He stressed the fact that nothing had changed in the world powers' attitude toward Croatia since World War I and the Versailles Treaty, regardless of who held the power in those countries. We need to draw a lesson from all which opposed the creation of the Croatian state, Tudjman said, adding that the disorientation and mistakes of certain Croatian politicians in the past had also contributed to this state of affairs. Tudjman analysed the role of important political ideas which had appeared throughout Croatian history and which had marked the past centuries. He looked back at the Party of Rights movement established by Ante Starcevic in 1861 which had advocated full national freedom and independence. Tudjman said this movement had been split. In conflict with different universalist political movements, the Party of Rights adopted a "narrow and radical nationalism, which we, unfortunately, had been witnessing until today, that is, until yesterday," he said. He commented on the role of the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), a very important party between the two world wars, whose president, Stjepan Radic, had been mortally wounded at the Assembly of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by a Serb Radical Party member in Belgrade in 1928. Tudjman said one needed to ask oneself why that party had practically disappeared from the political scene after 1994. This question needed to be answered in order to prevent mistakes from being repeated to the detriment of the Croatian people. The answer lay in the fact that the HSS had not shaken off Yugoslav and federal goals from its establishment to 1990. It had been imbued with the idea of pacifism, but hardly any countries had created their states in that way, Tudjman said. Speaking about the current political scene in Croatia, Tudjman asked why this unresourcefulness was present even today, and why certain circles were intent on forming blocks against nation- building interests and ideas. One of the more important aspects that the HDZ leadership took into account when pondering the party's programme was that we needed to know which parts of our history we must not emulate and which we should use as a foundation to build on, said Tudjman, adding that the party recognised the merits of that faction of the left-wing movement which first voiced a demand for the independence of the Croatian state. Those Croatian communists and revolutionaries advocated the break-up of Yugoslavia as the dungeon of the Croatian nation. We also have good cause to be proud of the Croatian anti- fascist movement which was one of the biggest in Europe. Other achievements of the left-wing movement included ZAVNOH (the Croatian Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation) of 1943 and the organisation of the first multi-party elections in 1990. ZAVNOH established Croatia as a federal unit within the former Yugoslavia, thereby confirming a link of continuity with the past on the one hand and the present-day Republic of Croatia on the other. At the first HDZ convention, we stressed that the NDH (Independent State of Croatia which existed from 1941 to 1945) was not only a fascist entity but also an expression of the yearnings of the Croatian people for a state of its own. Having said that, we condemned the fascist regime then as we condemn it now. We will not allow the Croatian people to be brought into disrepute in the eyes of the world by allegations that the entire Croatian people had embraced fascism, Tudjman said, adding that Croatia had the strongest anti-fascist movement on the soil of the then occupied Yugoslavia. Speaking about the left-wing movement, Tudjman drew attention to a negative bias which had been present in Soviet-dominated Yugoslav communism since its beginnings onward. Under the influence of this negative bias, the movement tended to support Yugoslavia as a federation, or maybe even a confederation, rather than an independent Croatia. On the whole, the proponents of this school of thought served Serbhood and Yugoslavhood rather than the idea of an independent (Croatian) state, Tudjman said, adding that unfortunately, the anti-fascist movement had been instrumentalised to serve communist ends. In this context, Tudjman referred to the suffering of Croatian Home Guards and civilians at Bleiburg, Austria, in 1945 and in communist jails. Yet, the representatives of this leadership now dare to preach about democracy. They are responsible for persecutions, even murders of Croatian intellectuals, priests and ordinary citizens. Mindful of the policy of reconciliation, we did not call them to account for this, but I must say that we shall not forget what role they played. They did not even bother to acknowledge the role they played with even one sentence, Tudjman noted. We need to remind them that they defended the policy of brotherhood and unity, while at the same time allowing Serbian imperialists to seize power in Croatia. They need to be reminded of the fact that they dubbed us "the party of dangerous intentions" in 1990 and accused us in Parliament of creating a party-led army. What is this Croatian left-wing movement, on what does it base its policy if it has forgotten everything positive that the Croatian left has achieved in the past? What left movement is this, which at the time of the Zagreb crisis helped create an alliance which stretched from the extreme left wing to the extreme right wing, including those advocating Yugoslav unitarianism and those hankering after the former Yugoslavia? with the sole aim of overthrowing HDZ and destabilising Croatia, so as to offer foreign circles a brand of social democracy as an alternative to the HDZ, "which will not make trouble for Europe the way HDZ does?" All that, Tudjman said, confirms the rightness of our programme aimed at strengthening the Croatian state and opposing those whose interests are not congruent with the wholeness of the Croatian state and whose obedience to the wrong guidance and instructions from certain foreign centres would jeopardise the security of the state. HDZ needs to be aware that our programme and our way is justified and purposeful, as we were aware, at a certain point, that we needed to open our ranks to all those who were in favour of an independent and democratic Croatian state. This is not our weakness but our strength, Tudjman said. Referring to yesterday's protest rally in Zagreb, Tudjman said those who had been responsible for malicious provocations in 1991 as well as those who had testified or sent others to testify before The Hague Tribunal against the Croats who had fought for the crea tion of the Croatian state and the Croatian interests were present at the rally. I knew that the rally would not gather 50,000 people, but that there would be 15 to 20,000 people at the most and that they should not be overestimated. However, they should not be underestimated either, Tudjman said, stressing that it was important that the majority of the Croatian people had sensed that HDZ was the expression of their yearnings. Stressing the need to be aware of everything that is going on, Tudjman said that politics, both on the international plane and between parties, were based on impermanence - there were no permanent alliances or foes. Looking back at what has been achieved, Tudjman said the national goals had been fully attained. Meanwhile, nearly two thirds of business and social ventures were near completion. Speaking of the obstacles on this road, President Tudjman pointed out that the nation suffered from insufficient self-respect which went hand in hand with an idolatrous attitude toward everything that is foreign. Tudjman quoted the great Croatian author Miroslav Krleza, who said that "Croats, once they obtain freedom, know no better but to go looking for another master." This is what needs changing in people's awareness, because only a self-reliant state is a guarantee of the freedom and prosperity of the individual and society at large." The task of the Fourth General Convention of HDZ, as the chief party in the creation of the Croatian state, is the strengthening of economic stability, that is strengthening the foundations with which HDZ started. With our own consciousness and intelligence we created what we have and with what we can progress. As in the days of creating the Croatian state and today, we are confronted with attempts to destabilise HDZ on an international and domestic political scale, said Tudjman emphasising that he repeats and will keep repeating this so that misunderstandings and mistakes do not occur. Tudjman asked that national interests should not be clouded with endeavours which are not in the interests of the Croatian people. The domestic situation in Croatia will depend on our own maturity and knowledge, before all else, that in our own ranks we do not allow disunity, not in order to retain power but because of the future and interests of the Croatian people and state, said Tudjman. Highlighting that HDZ is open to cooperation with kindred parties, Tudjman said constructive criticism should be accepted. In accordance with assessments that reconciliation is necessary, we have allowed the widest democracy in political life - that does not mean uncultured and anarchistic irresponsibility - because of domestic, political horse-trading and international prompting that HDZ power should be overthrown. Leading figures of these visions are supporters of yugo-communism and unitarism, said Tudjman. HDZ will continue with its policy of reconcilation and establishment of trust with our neighbours as well. As necessary as the reconciliation of all Croats is the normalisation of relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia because we do not want a war, said Tudjman, adding that HDZ has to be the guarantor of a reconciliatory policy towards citizens of Serb nationality in Croatia. Saying that HDZ opponents are especially vocal in regards to HDZ's policy towards Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tudjman said that in the international community circles they are coming to the realisation that Croatian policies were realistic and constructive. We made possible the Serb-Muslim agreement on the distribution of Croatian areas in Bosnia-Herzegovina and accepted the Washington and Dayton agreements because only the linking of the Croat-Muslim Fedeartion with Croatia will guarantee the survival of Croats in Bosnia- Herzegovina. We were given a historical role and entrusted the task of securing strategic aims and interests of the Croatian state, which we will not neglect, said Tudjman, adding that Croatia desires European integration and rejects any idea of connecting with the Balkans. 212240 MET feb 98