PROMINENT HDZ CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT REPORTS

ZAGREB, Feb 24 (Hina) - The Central Committee of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party on Saturday heard reports from some of its prominent members after opening remarks by HDZ president Franjo Tudjman. The first item of the agenda of the two-day session was the HDZ's role in the creation of the Croatian state and the Homeland War. Speaking of the international position of Croatia, Mate Granic said that the well-thought-out state policy reached its culmination last year, citing strategic partnership with the United States and significant results in relations with neighbouring countries, particularly Bosnia-Herzegovina. In this respect, Granic praised the president of the Republic and the HDZ, Franjo Tudjman, for his diplomatic efforts. Croatia would never agree to any new games regarding the reintegration of the Croatian Danubian region, he said, expressing confidence that the reintegration would be carried out in a peaceful way. HDZ vice-president Gojko Susak spoke about the establishment of the Croatian armed forces during the Homeland War in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Susak stressed the importance for the armed forces to be founded on democratic principles and values and placed under civilian control. Susak dedicated a substantial part of his report to military cooperation between the Croatian Defence Ministry and defence ministries of other countries, particularly of the United States. He said that Croatia may be admitted to NATO's Partnership for Peace program as early as May if the implementation of the peace agreement in the Danubian region proceeded according to schedule. "If the peaceful reintegration of the Danubian region fails, you can rest assured that it will be successfully carried out by the Croatian Army," Susak stressed. His report also focused on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina over the past few years. Thanks to good assessment by the leadership of the HDZ in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Croat Community of Herzeg-Bosnia was established "as an institutional form of defence of the Croat population in Bosnia-Herzegovina," he said. Susak emphasized that at this moment "an uncontrolled armament of the Bosnian Army poses the greatest threat to the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement and the stability of the (Croat- Moslem) Federation." "A fast armament without civilian control is a risk because the Bosnian Army is under strong influence of commanders who see the Federation only as a transition to creating a unitary (Moslem- dominated) Bosnia-Herzegovina," he said. Susak supported an idea that arms supplies and military equipment which would soon start arriving in the Federation should be placed under joint Croat-Moslem control. Hidajet Biscevic and the president of HDZ Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bozo Rajic, spoke about the HDZ's policy towards Bosnia- Herzegovina. Rajic said that the Bosnian Croats attached great importance to the HDZ's position on the Bosnian Croats as a constituent nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and "its geopolitical unity with Croatia and the West." Speaking of the creation of Herzeg-Bosnia, Rajic rejected accusations that its purpose was to break away from Bosnia- Herzegovina. By decision on its establishment it was determined that Herzeg-Bosnia would respect the democratically elected government of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina as long as it was an independent country, he added. "Herzeg-Bosnia was not and could not have been the cause of the conflict with Moslems because it did not call into question Bosnia-Herzegovina but only its internal organization. The causes of the conflict solely lay in different demands regarding the internal setup of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the position of its constituent nations," Rajic said. Biscevic said that "despite too frequent metaphors about the complexity of the Bosnian crisis, it is not hard to sum up that it is in Croatia's interest to have a stable and peaceful neighbour in Bosnia-Herzegovina and that that stability is largely dependent on guarantees of equal rights for the Croat population in the Federation which will be permanently linked to the Republic of Croatia." Borislav Skegro's report focused on the introduction of a market economy and economic stabilization during the war. The HDZ inherited a large-scale unemployment and the economy on the verge of collapse from the former Communist system, Skegro said. He said that the process of ownership transformation had been completed, that the privatization process was entering its final stage and that a completely new legislative framework for a market economy had been made in line with European laws. Skegro said that Croatia could be proud of its stable and convertible currency and very low inflation. (hina) vm jn 241906 MET feb 96