TUDJMAN RESPONDS TO OPEN LETTER BY OPPOSITION ALLIANCE

ZAGREB, Feb 16 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Friday responded to a letter by the alliance of seven opposition parties concerning the political situation in Zagreb after the 29 October 1995 elections for the Zagreb city and county assemblies. Tudjman said that their letter of February 1 was not only directed at the residents of Zagreb and the overall Croatian public but also at the international comunity. "The domestic public is aware that representatives of your parties are making various steps to win over interested foreign circles to undertake joint efforts aimed at discrediting, destabilizing and replacing the democratically elected government of the independent and sovereign Republic of Croatia," Tudjman said in a letter. Claims by the opposition parties in their open letter - that the Croatian government had prevented the city and county assemblies from being constituted, that it had broken the law by preventing the takeover of power by the newly-elected mayor of Zagreb and head of Zagreb County, which resulted in the unlawful government of the city and county - obviously served that goal. Tudjman said that the opposition alliance based its untrue allegations on the arbitrary and erroneous interpretation of the law, stressing that the existing democratic government protected law and order and normal life of citizens. "Concerning the confirmation of the Mayor of Zagreb and the constitution of the City and County Assemblies, this government has consistently complied with the Constitution and the law to ensure the normal functioning of the constitutional and legal system. "This government could not have allowed it to be undermined by the alliance of parties ranging from the far right to the far left, which you have formed with the aim of ousting, at all costs, this democratic government which brought about the creation and ensured the defence of the independent, sovereign and democratic Croatian state. "By abusing the democratic system, your parties, jointly and individually, are using violence against democracy, rejecting cooperation with the democratic party which not only led Croatia to independence and democracy but which also won a majority in elections for the Croatian Parliament and in local elections in Zagreb (it gained almost twice as many votes as the second strongest opposition party). "By joining the politically incompatible parties, you want to bring about the overthrow of the present government in the capital Zagreb and elsewhere in Croatia, which would, of course, have far- reaching consequences for the internal development of Croatia and its international position." "Gentlemen, signatories of the Open Letter, you and your parties may rest assured, and all honourable citizens of Zagreb and the entire conscious Croatian public may be confident, that as head of state and within the framework of my constitutional duties and obligations, I will take such decisions, according to the overall experience of creating independent Croatia, which will preserve the stability of the democratic system and contribute to its further development, and strengthen the international position of the Croatian state. This should also be the primary concern of all opposition parties and not only of the majority party which takes the direct responsibility," Tudjman said at the end of the letter. (hina) vm as jn 161907 MET feb 96