50TH ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY OVER FASCISM TO BE CELEBRATED

ZAGREB, Mar 1 (Hina) - Croatian Parliament Speaker, Nedjeljko Mihanovic, who also doubles as the chairman of the special Committee for celebrating the 50th anniversary of the victory over fascism, today told a press conference that "this celebration was aimed at preserving Croatia's national unity and therefore should not hurt anybody's feelings." "We want the celebration of the victory over fascism to be in the interest of the Croatian state and we want it to disprove lies about Croatian fascism," he said. He reminisced that in Croatia in the Second World War there were 450,000 active partisans, and that 60 per cent of the population fought against fascism compared to only 30 per cent in Serbia. According to Mihanovic, President Tudjman is expected to deliver a speech at the celebration, expounding on the historical and political synthesis of Croatia's role in the Second World War. (Hina) mm sd as 011825 MET mar 95