HDZ REACTS ON FOREIGN DIPLOMATS' STATEMENTS ON TUDJMAN'S SPEECH

( Editorial: --> 4445 ) ZAGREB, Feb 25 (Hina) - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Wednesday assessed as inappropriate and unfounded the statements and behaviour of foreign diplomats and some foreign political party leaders who reacted to Croatian and HDZ President Franjo Tudjman's speech and other discussions at the ruling party's fourth general convention held last weekend. Following is the full text of the statement the HDZ issued today (unofficial translation): "We consider as inappropriate and basically unfounded the statements and behaviour of some foreign diplomats as well as some political party leaders in other countries made in reaction to the speech of the President of the Republic and the President of the HDZ Franjo Tudjman and discussions by other participants in the Fourth General Convention of the HDZ. "We believe that without thorough and full knowledge of the speech of President Tudjman and understanding of the political and historical sense of the matter the President spoke about, unfounded statements were made by parties of the Bosniak-Muslim people, the spokesman for the office of the High Representative in Bosnia- Herzegovina, Duncan Bullivant, and the U.S. President's special envoy for the implementation of the Dayton agreements, Robert Gelbard. "This in particular refers to those parts focusing on the political and arbitrary changes the then Communist regime made to the historical and natural borders in Bosnia-Herzegovina. These, unfortunately, are facts which cannot be denied. Likewise, the President also commented on the familiar political goals which were the cause of the Serb aggression in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also on unrealised Muslim-Serb plans to divide areas which during history, as now, have been populated by Croats. These goals, after all, led to the Muslim-Croat conflict. Finally, at the Party of Democratic Action congress, party president Alija Izetbegovic himself spoke about the goals of creating a Bosnian state under Islamic laws. "The Republic of Croatia is consistent in respecting and implementing the Dayton agreements in the manner President Tudjman reiterated, and that is Bosnia-Herzegovina as a state of three constituent peoples, two entities which (in line with both the Dayton and Washington agreements) have the right to special relations and, as such, to international ties. On these foundations, the Republic of Croatia will consistently build its relations and cooperation with BH and the Croat-Muslim Federation. President Franjo Tudjman acquainted the U.S. side with this in a letter he forwarded to U.S. President William Clinton on 20 February 1998. "The tactless statements foreign diplomats and party officials made, to their own admission, without basic knowledge of the contents and sense of President Tudjman's speech and the text of the Programme Declaration, in our opinion in no way contribute and can only be detrimental to cooperation in implementing the Washington and Dayton agreements and to the strengthening of peace in neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina", the statement, signed by HDZ Presidency spokesman Drago Krpina, said. (hina) ha jn 251213 MET feb 98