CRO AMBASSADOR TO YUG SHOCKED BY BELGRADE MEDIA ACCUSATIONS

( Editorial: --> 0262 ) BELGRADE, April 29 (Hina) - The Croatian Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Zvonimir Markovic, on Tuesday rejected accusations by the Belgrade press that he made an "aggressive political assault on Yugoslavia" in his speech in the Montenegro town of Tivat. Markovic stated that he was shocked by the "harsh and serious qualifications" in commentaries broadcast on Tuesday on Radio Belgrade and published in the "Politika-ekspres" newspaper, tied to his speech last week in Tivat at the revival meeting of the Croatian cultural and art association, "Napredak". "We went to Tivat with the wish to give hope to people who went through their Calvary. We did not want to open any topics which would encourage bad blood. The objective was support and hope not hate and revenge or anything else," Ambassador Markovic told Hina on Tuesday evening. He stressed that in his speech there were no words which could be interpreted as a sign of endangering the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, nor does there exist an intent to discuss "the subject of relations between Belgrade and Podogorica (the Montenegro capital)". Radio Belgrade and "Politika-ekspres" interpreted Markovic's words as "endangering the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia", because he allegedly said that Boka Kotarska will be Croatia's. At the same time, strong criticism was sent to the Montenegro government because it did not react to that speech. (hina) jn mrb/as 291717 MET apr 98