ZAGREB, 14 Sept (Hina) - At today's Convention of Croatian war invalids, President Franjo Tudjman stressed that he supported the invalids' justified demands for the improvement of their financial position.
ZAGREB, 14 Sept (Hina) - At today's Convention of Croatian war
invalids, President Franjo Tudjman stressed that he supported the
invalids' justified demands for the improvement of their financial
position. #L#
There were still some people, both in Croatia and abroad, who
could not get over the disintegration of former Yugoslavia and
accept the establishment of an independent and sovereign Republic
of Croatia and who were trying to hamper the solution of the
country's problems, Tudjman said.
Croatia had 19,597 war invalids, Tudjman said, adding that
5,734 invalids had been granted pension allowances. Another 2,000
war invalids would become pension allowances. The Defence Ministry
had provided jobs for 5,300 invalids, while Homeguard units were
caring for 2,100 and other units for another 7,000 invalids,
Tudjman said, adding that 4,000 invalids had been given flats,
while flats for another 5,000 invalids were being built.
Tudjman added that he was not completely satisfied with the
pace the problems of war invalids were being solved at, nor with
the work of the state administration.
This year, 1,2 billion kunas had been set aside from the state
budget for the needs of war invalids, and only 450 million kunas
had been spent so far, he said.
The government had completed a bill on the rights of Croatian
defenders. In line with the bill, more than two billion kunas would
be set aside per annum for war invalids, war victims and defenders,
Tudjman said.
The Croatian president also pointed to certain attempts aimed
at manipulating war invalids and destabilizing Croatian authority.
'We have to be aware of the remaining Yugo-Communist
supporters who cannot accept the fact that Yugoslavia and Communism
no longer exist, and who are bewailing the former state with other
like-minded individuals in Europe and America, who did not want
Croatia', Tudjman said.
'Beside those remaining Yugo-Communist supporters', Tudjman
warned, 'there are various would-be politicians who are making
connections with those Yugo-Communist supporters and international
factors who are paying them - to fight the state we have created'.
Tudjman went on to ask who and why was spreading vicious lies
about his closest associates, the Defence Ministry, the Interior
Ministry, about himself and his family. In that context, Tudjman
mentioned 'a paper which is being financed from abroad and which
claims that the Tudjmans have a property worth 700 million
dollars'.
Some 9,000 persons had taken part in the violation of
privatisation laws, Tudjman said, adding that 'only 5% of them are
members of the leading party and all others are non-members of the
governing party. Among these 5%, there are few high-ranking
officials', the Croatian president said.
Pressure was still being exerted on Croatia to join some
Balkan or South-East European associations, Tudjman said.
Croatia was also being pressured into extending the UNTAES
mandate in the Danubian area, since some factors claimed that
without the UNTAES presence in the area it would not be possible to
organise elections, he said, mentioning the example of Bosnia-
Herzegovina, where the organisation of elections had not been
viewed as a major problem.
'An accusation came yesterday from the International Criminal
Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, saying that Croatia had helped the
Bosnian Croats. The accusation came from those people who were able
to rely on Croatian victories and base their policy on its
victories, but such is the world we live in', President Tudjman
said.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia
yesterday reconfirmed its indictment against the Bosnian Croat
Ivica Rajic and accused Croatia of direct involvement in the
conflict in Bosnia.
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