AMERICAN CROATS RAISE THEIR VOICE AGAINST U.S. PRESSURE ON CROATIA

CROATIA $ ZAGREB, Oct 1 (Hina) - The Croatian American Association President, Dr. Frank Brozovich, of Seattle, sent letters to U.S. President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and The New York Time editor-in-chief in the end of September emphasising that a campaign of "official criticism and negative media coverage" directed at Croatia could seriously affect the relations between the two countries. "The continuing barrage of official criticism and negative media coverage directed at the Republic of Croatia overestimates the United States' leverage and could seriously damage bilateral relations between the two states," Brozovich wrote. "On September 19, 1997, Croatia's Prime Minister, Zlatko Matesa, informed the U.S. Special Envoy to the War Crimes Tribunal that Croatia would not dispatch teams to hunt down suspected Bosnian Croat war criminals in Bosnia in return for a lifting of U.S.- inspired sanctions in the World Bank and IMF. Economic blackmail will not induce Croatia to undertake an effort that SFOR finds untenable," read the letter. According to Brozovich, the criticism, showed by Croatian government officials who "have built reputations as staunch proponents of modern liberalism and tolerance," against such kind of U.S. pressure "testifies to the limits, and diminishing utility, of current U.S. string-arm tactics." "Since signing the Dayton Accord, the Republic of Croatia has worked with the United States to comply with its provisions. Indeed, as anyone involved in the negotiations will attest, it was Croatia's actions on the battlefield and at the negotiating table that paved the way for an agreement. It is trues that Croatia, as well as the other signators to the treaty, have moved slowly on issues such as refugee repatriation and the arrest of suspected war criminal. (… ) If the U.S. wants Croatia to strengthen its compliance in these areas it should never have restricted the flow of the resources necessary to properly reintegrate Serbs who wish to return and it should take more strident measures to bring the Mr. Karadzic and Mr. Mladic to justice," read the letter. Brozovich added that European World Bank directors had disagreed with U.S. moves regarding loans to Croatia and that several European ministers had acknowledged Croatia's efforts to comply with the Dayton agreement. Emphasising that Croatia was publicly committed to meeting criteria for joining Europe's economic, political and military clubs and adding that Croatia's economy was rebounding while its international ties were considerably expanding, Brozovich warned that "American influence in Croatia can be marginalized." "The problems plaguing Bosnia are severe, with sufficient blame to lavish on all parties. The antagonisms left from years of war cannot be mandated to irrelevance. The U.S. would be wise to accept limitations inherent in any solution and work with the region's governments to ensure that the style of governance that takes root fosters Western values. The U.S. cannot force enemies to put aside their hatred, but it can create problems where none previously existed," read the letter at the end. (hina) jn mš 012308 MET oct 97