VICE-ADMIRAL: CROATIAN ARMY IS PREPARED FOR PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE

( Editorial: --> 9782 ) ZAGREB, June 8 (Hina) - The Croatian Army is prepared for NATO's "Partnership for Peace" programme and even more than that, Croatian Armed Forces deputy chief of staff Vice-Admiral Davor Domazet told Monday's afternoon session of the international symposium "Armed Forces and Society". The two-day symposium includes representatives of countries included in Euro-Atlantic integration processes and Croatian experts who will exchange views on the future of those processes and their expansion. The conference continued this afternoon in Zagreb with presentations by representatives of the Croatian National Parliament, high ranking officers of the Croatian Army and Defence Ministry, and German government officials. It was confirmed that a legislative solution to relations between the army and state in Croatia was mostly compatible with western European systems and that Croatia was prepared to continue contributing to stability in south-eastern Europe. Through a multi-media presentation enriched with an illustrated schematic analysis of operation "Storm", Vice-Admiral Domazet confirmed the loyalty and capability of the Croatian Army to enter Western military integration and said the isolation of Croatia from those associations would not bring long-term stability to Europe. Support Croatia's entry into the European Union, the Western European Union, Partnership for Peace and NATO, Deputy Defence Minister Kresimir Cosic said Croatia was an important military player in the region and could provide NATO an ally and military forces in missions eliminating military hot spots in south-eastern Europe. Recalling efforts which Croatia had made in democratising its army and its relations towards civil society, Cosic said how "Croatia possessed a military infrastructure of interest for the deployment of NATO forces" and "strategically good logistical bases for use by NATO forces". Parliamentary state secretary and German MP Klaus Rose spoke about German defence strategies, whose aims he said were stability of the whole of Europe based on democracy, respect for human rights, peace and social justice. In this case, the expansion of NATO and the EU to the east means delivering stability to countries applying for membership, who we need to help, Rose said. Also addressing the afternoon session of the symposium was the chairman of the Croatian National Parliament's Committee for Internal Policy and National Security, Ivan Milas. He pointed out the complementarity of Croatia and western, especially German, legislative solutions to the position of the army in society. Following the end of today's part of the symposium, Milas prepared a reception for participants. Tomorrow's final day will discuss the role of officer and reserve corps in democratic armies. The symposium "Armed Forces and Society" is organised by the Croatian Defence Ministry, the Croatian Officer Corps, the Croatian National Oath Foundation, the German Hanns Seidel Stiftung Foundation and the International Working Group of Central European Officer and Reservist Associations. (Hina) lml mbr 082239 MET jun 98