'OPEN SOCIETY' FOUNDATION HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Dec 9 (Hina) - The 'Open Society' foundation on Monday voiced concern over "the fact that at the session of the HDZ Head Committee, the President of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Republic of Croatia, Franjo Tudjman read out a list of enemies of the HDZ, and thus of the Croatian state, in which the 'Open Society' foundation and Georg Soros personally are high-ranking." The HDZ President had expounded his interpretation according to which this foundation was one of prominent opponents of the ruling party and thus of the Croatian state, without citing value criteria according to which a certain kind of activities could be regarded as good and useful to Croatia and according to which it could be regarded as not useful or detrimental to Croatia, said Ivan Prpic, the co-chairman of the foundation's executive committee. Prpic refused claims that a group of people from the foundation were working for foreign interests. He said that since Croatia's independence and establishment of the democratic authorities it had become legally permissible and politically necessary in the country to attract people who were "ready to help overcome tradition of authoritarian dictatorial orders." Responding to journalists' questions, Prpic said he did "not believe that there is any reason for ban the work of the foundation." "The foundation is still working in compliance with legal order, our work is public and I am confident that as long as laws are respected there are no prerequisites for banning its work," Prpic said. (hina) jn mš 092253 MET dec 96