HSLS LEADER: MEETING WITH TUDJMAN NOT RECORDED

ZAGREB, May 8 (Hina) - President of the Croatian Social and Liberal Party (HSLS), Drazen Budisa, on Saturday responded to yesterday's statement by a spokesman for the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Ivica Ropus, who announced a possibility that a shorthand record of recent talks between Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and opposition leaders may be presented to the public. Budisa issued a public statement saying that none of the four participants in this week's meeting made any notes during the talks and there was no official shorthand writer at the meeting. Budisa stressed that there had not been recording of the meeting, except, perhaps, that it had been secretly recorded without any knowledge of its participants about it. If the latter case true, it entails a series of questions which I intend to raise after the case is either confirmed or denied, Budisa stressed. The HSLS leader asked the office of Croatian President to forward an audio recording to him, on presumption that the meeting was secretly recorded. At Friday's HDZ news conference, Ropus offered a transcript of the meeting to be presented to the public following statements of opposition leaders, particularly of Budisa, on the contents of the talks and on what had been agreed upon in connection with the election model as well as following Budisa's statement that dispute occurred among HDZ members on the issue of the election model. The HDZ spokesman added that at the recent meeting Tudjman had respected the suggestion of the Opposition Six, as presented by the HSLS leader. Ropus claimed that at that meeting it had not been said that the HDZ would definitely use that model to draft the election law, but that it would take the suggestion as one of the possibilities which could be discussed further. (hina) ms