THATCHER: CROATIA'S PLACE IS IN THE COMMUNITY OF EUROPEAN STATES

( Editorial: --> 0966 ) ZAGREB, Sept 17 (Hina) - Croatia today is a democratic state whose place is in the community of European states, former British prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher said on Wednesday night during a lecture at Zagreb's Economics Faculty. During her presentation titled Freedom with Justice and Stability: Challenges of the 21st Century, Baroness Thatcher reiterated her stances on the need for the return of refugees, the arrest and trial of war criminals, and emphasised how she considered that Europe should open its doors to Croatia. Speaking about the 20th century, she said it was the century of global experiments, with two political systems opposed to each other At the end of this century it had become clear that three principles were important in international issues: democracy and human rights, strong defence and nationality and national states, and the application of all three principles was obvious in relation to the question of Croatia and its role in the world, the Baroness said. It is easy to understand why countries like Croatia sometimes feel that they are placed under the microscope in which only shortcomings are seen, while in other places greater disgraces are not seen, she said. The consequences of war on the territory of the former Yugoslavia are still evident in the problems of refugee return, and the problem of arresting war criminals and putting them on trial, the former British prime minister said. The greatest obstacle to the return of refugees is presented by the Bosnian Serbs, who should allow the return of the Muslims and Croats they expelled, Baroness Thatcher said. Emphasising the importance of arresting and prosecuting war criminals, she welcomed the full cooperation of Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, and added that the whole process was becoming ridiculous if those clearly guilty, such as Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, were not indicted because of their political positions. It is shameful that the accused former leaders of the Bosnian Serbs, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, are free while the mothers from Srebrenica (in eastern Bosnia) are crying for their sons, she said. Baroness Thatcher asked why more serious pressure was not put on Serbia to hand over Serbs accused of committing war crimes in the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar, as well as Milan Martic who had ordered the bombing of Zagreb. Speaking about the principle of importance of strong defence, she explained how peace was not threatened by the overall amount of weapons, but the real danger was when these weapons were placed in the wrong hands. Nationality and the national state are the most healthy supports for international stability, she continued. In this context, the European Union had a great role for Croatia, just in the same way Europe meant a lot to Croatia, she said. There is no reason threatening Croatia that it will lose trade concessions if it does not fulfil every list of demands, Baroness Thatcher said, adding that the international community should do everything in order to enable the growth of the Croatian economy and renew eastern Slavonia, because this would allow the return of refugees. A big step towards that aim would be the signing of an agreement on Croatia's joining the European Union with large concessions, she said, adding that she believed that the EU had been short-sighted in its relations with Croatia. Baroness Thatcher also emphasised the large strategic importance of Croatia, which today was a stable democratic national state, she said. Croatia was once the bulwark of Christianity and today should become the bulwark of freedom and lead in the rule of freedom and democracy in the whole region, the former British prime minister concluded. Baroness Thatcher was received on Wednesday night by Croatian Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa. (Hina) mbr /ha 171456 MET sep 98