CROATIA'S PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL ENDS TWO-DAY SESSION

ZAGREB, 26 May (Hina) - The Presidential Council on Sunday concluded a two-day session on Croatia's international position with a closing speech by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. Following are highlights from his address: "After the international community failed to preserve Yugoslavia and prevent the establishment of Croatia's independence, it spared no effort to weaken and influence Croatia's external and internal policies, using various means, including the so-called 'Krajina' along with the Z-4 plan, demands for a transregional status of Istria and attempts to destabilize the democratically elected Croatian government. Those efforts culminated in the Zagreb crisis which still has not been brought to an end", President Tudjman said. "Croatia's future depends exclusively on us. We have to adopt a critical attitude towards our own actions so that we could successfully build Croatia and its democracy in all areas". Croatia's attitude towards Europe had to be critical but Croatia should not be obedient all the time and at all costs, since discord and competition in securing political and economic interests reigned in Europe itself, Tudjman added. It was of utmost importance for Croatia to strive after integration in the areas of technology, economy and science, President Tudjman said and added: "We have established a democratic order in Croatia....without revenging ourselves on representatives of the Yugo-Communist system, but we must not and will not, in the name of our whole history and victims who gave their lives for that history, let those who represented the old system jeopardize Croatia's freedom and democracy, with the assistance of some circles abroad, which cannot get used to the idea of a sovereign Croatia and which have their own plans with this region". Croatia had not unilaterally established economic and security links with the United States or any other country in Europe, but it wanted to establish well-balanced cooperation with all states, particularly with the European Union. "As a whole, we can be satisfied with unanimity on important strategic issues," Tudjman said in summing up the discussion. "I think I share your opinion if I say that I was very pleased with the speech by (a member of Parliament) Dr Pupovac. This is the first speech that I have heard from a representative of the Serbs in Croatia which I fully accept. "It reflects the changes which came about, as I said in my opening address, through the fault of the Serbian imperialist policy in the region and the dragging of the Serb population in Croatia into that policy. We didn't want that kind of outcome, 90 percent of Serbs leaving Croatia. We wanted the Serbs to feel like citizens of Croatia rather than an instrument of foreign, Serbian hegemony over Croatia. "Therefore, I personally and democratic Croatia will lead such a policy, which Dr Pupovac advocated here yesterday, that they should be granted civil rights, the rights of an ethnic community, and that they should be fully integrated into Croatian society," Tudjman said. It is in our interest, not only because of democracy but in the interest of a normal development of Croatia, which is underpopulated, to establish such relations with the Serb community in Croatia, both in legislature and in everyday life, as Pupovac suggested, he said. Commenting on relations with neighbouring countries, Tudjman said: "We have problems with our neighbours today and we will have them in the future. Except for Hungary and Austria, with all the other neighbours there are some problems. With Slovenia, Italy, Bosnia, Serbia. And that must be taken into account, too." Tudjman cited a recent statement by Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic that the Yugoslav flag would be hoisted in Prevlaka, Croatia's southernmost tip bordering Montenegro, sooner or later. "With regard to the normalization of relations with Serbia, two or three speakers have said some things with which we cannot agree and which are not consistent with the wishes of important European and world factors. I have already said that the world did not want Serbia to be completely defeated. We could have continued our victorious advances in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it would no longer have been the liberation of Croatian areas or protection of Croatian strategic interests. We cannot jeopardize Croatia's national and state interests because we might like to see Serbia defeated and destroyed. Policies are not conducted only with one's heart or emotions but also with one's reason," he said. "We have secured our interests politically and militarily by liberating our territory and defeating the Yugoslav army and Serbian imperialist policy," Tudjman said, adding that the world counted on Serbia and was interested in the normalization of relations between Croatia and Serbia. Tudjman said that the normalization of relations with Serbia could also be in Croatia's interest, citing examples of normalization of relations after contlicts between Scandinavian countries, and France and Germany. "It's time we drew the conclusion that the normalization of relations between the independent and sovereign Croatia and Serbia is possible, and whether they (Serbia and Montenegro) want to have their Yugoslavia, it's their business. "But we can't set conditions as if we could exclude Serbia or as if we have to demand their leaders be brought to the Hague- based (international war crimes) tribunal. If we pursued such policy, it would only be detrimental to us," Tudjman said. "An interesting idea has been presented here that Croatia could become a champion of the policy of neutrality. Neutrality in itself is agreeable, but in view of our position and our commitment to strengthening the Croat-Moslem Federation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and linking it to Croatia and Western Europe, the neutral policy of Croatia is not possible," Tudjman stressed. Speaking of the decision on admitting Croatia to the Council of Europe, Tudjman emphasized: "As far as Croatian state policy is concerned, we will not accept or sign any more conditions. (...) We support and will continue to support civilization integrations but we will firmly reject any attempts to be tied to Balkan regional integrations (...) as we believe that it would not strengthen the new international order but only make it more complex and even more antagonistic." "This is what remains important for our international relations, in other words to secure the implementation of the (Dayton) agreements and the stability of the democratic order as well as such policy in the international relations with which we will not for a moment call into question our sovereignty through any kind of one-sidedness," Tudjman concluded. (hina) rm vm jn 261954 MET may 96