PEASANTS HAND OUT 35 TONS OF FOOD TO ZAGREB CITIZENS

ZAGREB, April 5 (Hina) - The Croatian Peasants' and Fishermen's Protest Committee on Friday continued the protest against the government's liberal politics of importing food products: the peasants handed out potatoes, eggs and flour to Zagreb citizens. The Committee began the protest on March 27 by organizing blockades of roads and border crossings. The handing out of food was also a kind of Easter present to Zagreb pensioners, workers and others, the Committee leaders said. With such a campaign, the peasants expressed their solidarity with the citizens in their difficult situation. By handing out the food, the Committee and the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS) want to reiterate the difficult position of household economies and to urge citizens to support the peasants' demands for protection of domestic food products. Thirty tons of potatoes, 5 tons of flour and 6 thousand eggs, valued at 50 thousand kunas was handed out at three locations in the city. "This long queue is only an example of the situation in Croatia," Member of Parliament Petar Jurisic said. Jurisic added that the campaign would continue as long as their food continues to spoil and until the government meets the peasants' demands. The president of the HSS, Zlatko Tomicic, supporting the campaign in front of the Zagreb cathedral, said that the peasants received no answer from the government as regards their demands after they had blocked the border crossings. "We will be patient for a while and then we will initiate several other campaigns, probably by the end of April," Tomicic said. (hina) lm jn 051749 MET apr 96