PRESIDENT TUDJMAN GIVES INTERVIEW TO CROATIAN JOURNALISTS

ZAGREB, Oct 22 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Tuesday gave an interview to editors and journalists of Croatian radio, television, newspapers and news agency Hina, on current domestic and foreign policy issues. In response to a question on reasons why Croatia was still exposed to strong international pressure despite its admission to the Council of Europe and its strategic relations with the United States and big European powers, Tudjman said that the reasons lay in the interests of big powers. After gaining independence and its military operations which have changed the balance of power in the region, Croatia does not fit in the plans of some international factors on regional integration processes in southeastern Europe, so that they are still exerting pressure on Croatia, he said. Tudjman said that some powers would like to solve the crisis in the former Yugoslavia Versailles-style, a reference to the Versailles Treaty of 1919, which ended the First World War, under which the Serbian-dominated Kingdom of Yugoslavia was formed. "The European Union is proposing a regional association, as Mr Bildt says, south of Slovenia and north of Greece," he said. On the other hand, there were plans in some American circles for the integration of southeastern Europe, which would also include Bulgaria and Romania or even Hungary and Slovenia. "Neither idea of the integration of the Balkans and southeastern Europe is acceptable to Croatia," Tudjman stressed. The President went on to say that the only real reason for the delay of Croatia's admission to the Council of Europe was the fact that Croatia had not yet had normalized relations with Yugoslavia and because of uncertain developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina with regard to elections. All other problems related to democratic and minority rights were just an excuse, he added. Tudjman said that some countries "which are lecturing us on how we are treating minorities" were forgetting that a democratic country such as France did not recognize its minorities at all. "Or when recommending us that we have to return all Serbs who have fled Croatia they forget that they could not resolve such problems between the Czech Republic and Germany." The President was asked to comment on conflicting Western views on how to achieve a stability and peace in southeastern Europe. The New York Times has recently presented an option according to which only a division of Bosnia-Herzegovina or a protectorate can secure a peace in the former Yugoslavia. Another one has been expressed by the international community's High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Carl Bildt, that peace in southeastern Europe can be guaranteed only by a wider regional integration. "The crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina can be resolved only on the basis of the Washington and Dayton accords." "If it hadn't been for the Washington agreement, and a change in strategic relations subsequently brought about by Croatia, there wouldn't have been the Dayton agreement either. The Dayton agreement is based on the idea that the crisis in Bosnia- Herzegovina should be resolved through preservation of Bosnia- Herzegovina (...) as a state of three sovereign nations and two entities," he said. Tudjman said that Europe resented the United States playing a leading role in the achievement of those agreements. "Europe would actually like to have the agreement compromised and prevented from being implemented and then have Croatia pay for it." "Understandably, there is not only disagreement between Europe and America, there are also differing views within Europe, between chief European powers. Besides, there are also differing views in Bosnia-Herzegovina where some would like to take advantage of the Dayton agreement not just to preserve a single Bosnia but also to impose a unitary Bosnia, which is unacceptable for two other nations," Tudjman said. "We are faced with attempts to compromise the Dayton agreement or to revise it." Asked to comment on a smear campaign against the Ministry of Defence and the Army in some media, Tudjman said that "attacks on the Croatian Army and the highest government officials have no other aim but to destabilize and weaken the Croatian government which led Croatia to its independence and which is leading an independent policy which is in Croatian interests but which is also adjusted to international circumstances." Commenting on allegations that there was large-scale criminality in Croatia, particularly in the ownership transformation, President Tudjman said that there was crime in Croatia just like in other countries. "But they (criminal actions) are not the results of this democratic authorities' volition, but they are the result of disintegration, we had experienced, and the break-up of (former) Yugoslavia, the breakdown of the socialist system, aggression, a state of war," Croatia's President said. Furthermore, the situation which we had objectively, had been prompted by a psychological war launched by all opponents, both in the country and abroad, of the independent democratic Croatia, he added. Tudjman said that during the psychological war theses had been spread that the independent, democratic Croatia was a continuation of the Fascist 'Ustashka NDH' Croatian state (which existed during WW II); stories had been splashed that the democratic Croatian authorities were pursuing a certain Herzegovinian policy not only in Bosnia but also in Croatia, and there were claims that there was a Herzegovinian lobby in Croatia and that crime was everywhere (in Croatia). The last above-mentioned claim resulted in demand that the ownership transformation should be rescinded. "But, a model of the (ownership) transformation and privatization we have carried out in Croatia is such one that objective international financial experts cite it as a model to be set in other countries..." he said adding that experts described the Croatian pattern of transformation and privatization as more favourable and appropriate than examples in other countries. So far in Croatia 2,548 firms have been privatized; privatization has involved 656,000 shareholders, whereas the influx of money in such process totalled over 9 billion kunas, according to Tudjman. Money earned in the privatization, was used for improving the position of retirees, disabled persons, and for financial recovery of the health care, economy and banks, he added. The state leadership of the current democratic Croatia introduced a system of free market, and controlled legality of actions, and prosecuted offenders and those who misused the system. Tudjman spoke about data on cancelled processes of transformation, withdrawn contracts, and criminal proceedings against economic and white-collar crimes. It was established that out of over 600,000 shareholders involved in the ownership transformation, 9,021 persons violated law. Out of those 9021 offenders, five per cent was the ruling HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) party members (or 470 persons). Out of them, 11 persons were members of the HDZ municipal and town bodies, and five were in county and central party bodies, Tudjman said in order to deny allegations that the governing HDZ party was the main culprit in economic crimes and that it had grabbed at everything. He said that out of 9021 persons who violated law in the transformation, only 274 (or 3 per cent) were working in state administration's bodies. And none of those offenders was a government official or a HDZ presidency member. There were at least 250 millionaires in Croatia's economy, and none of them and none of their relatives was in the state leadership, Tudjman said. He described as empty phrases statements that the HDZ let a few fledgling capitalists had a monopoly and that some Herzegovinian lobby was in power. He said that only between 11 and 16 percent of members of the Croatian Government, and state administrative organizations was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Asked when Croatia might have more efficient judiciary, Tudjman responded that above mentioned data proved the judiciary was working. However, he admitted, the judiciary was still not efficient enough; there were more than a million unsettled cases. He explained that such a number of unsolved cases was the consequence of a crucial transitional period following the breakdown of the (former) Yugoslavia, socialism as well as of the aggression, war and its effects. There are some ides, and I would favour them, that possibilities should be considered of granting amnesty for some transgressions and offenses, committed until the end of the (Homeland) War, i.e. until the August 5, 1995, the Day of Homeland Gratitude so that courts could solve current cases fast and efficiently, Tudjman said. Asked to express his views on the matter of foreign investment and foreign capital in Croatia, President Tudjman said Croatia must be open to foreign capital, taking into consideration the national interests at the same time. He envisaged that the arrival of foreign capital in Croatia would be an incentive to the country's progress, a higher employment rate and improvement of standard of living. "However, we must also think about protection of home production, particularly of agriculture. But, protection of the home production should not back low productivity, high prices and lagging behind in the development of technology," he said. "During the ownership transformation and privatization, we took into consideration the protection of our national and state interests, and we did not allow that our national resources might fall in foreigners' hands," he added. He judged that there were two opposite tendencies - one is toward the complete openness to foreign capital, whereas the other is toward shutting the door for to foreign investment. The first tendency apparently fails to see economic and political consequences of uncontrolled openness and letting foreign factors have control over national resources. The other tendency is trying to prevent granting of concession, and even to prevent the return of Croatian emigrants and their capital. "And, why not give some concessions in infrastructure construction and so on, in order to speed up our progress and resolution of our burning economic issues," Tudjman responded. He stressed that Croatia must prompt emigrants' engagement in the economy, for economic and demographic reasons. Answering the question about the difficult position of retirees, he said next year's decline in the budget's allocation for defence would help improve the position of pensioners. He also said Croatian authorities had to find successful solutions of problems of unemployed people and employees in the state administration. Asked when the so-called Zagreb crisis could be solved Tudjman answered that the crisis would be overcome when the alliance of opposition parties realized that the HDZ party, with 36.5 per cent of vote in Zagreb, had "not only democratic rights, but also commitments." He asked why those parties were not accepting cooperation the HDZ was offering. He said he was sure that the resolution of the Zagreb crisis would be such as to contribute the strengthening of the Croatian democracy rather than weakening and destabilization of the Croatian state. The last question in Tuesday's interview referred to when the Croatian rule would be established in Vukovar. "International factors - first of all, U.S.A, Contact Group member-countries' governments, as well as the U.N. Security Council, must finally realize the justification of the demands of the Croatian displaced people for return, and the justification of the Croatian Government's demand that the (UNTAES) mandate should be no longer extended," he said. Tudjman said he himself and the Croatian Government had told the Transitional Administrator of eastern Slavonia, General Jacques Klein, that under no circumstances there could be any discussion on the mandate's prolongation, as Croatia's refugees, public and parliament opposed that. They also told him that the Parliament had passed a resolution which says that local elections in the area under the Transitional Administration must be held within the scheduled period and that the Transitional Administration must be replaced by the Croatian constitutional and legal system. Tudjman added that he and the Government pointed out to Klein hazards associated with not respecting the demands. "General Klein, in capacity as the Transitional Administrator, committed himself to being able to do that (hand over the power) in early spring, as regards hazards we have pointed out. So, it might happen in April (1997). Then Croatia will be able to come into its Vukovar, the symbol of the independence struggle, of the defence of Croatia .... This means that we will be able to arrive at our border along the Danube, what our national anthem's verses always oblige us to do," said Tudjman at the end of the interview. (hina) jn vm mš 222317 MET oct 96