CROATIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA HDZ REPS

( Editorial: --> 3066 ) ZAGREB, Aug 11 (Hina) - Croatian President and president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Franjo Tudjman and other Croatian officials on Tuesday received a delegation of the HDZ of Bosnia- Herzegovina headed by its president Ante Jelavic. Tudjman said that according to the Constitution, Croatia is obligated to care for Croats outside of Croatia, the President's Office said in a statement. Through the unity of the Croat national body the independent state of Croatia was established and Croathood in Bosnia-Herzegovina defended, Tudjman said. As a signatory to the Washington and Dayton agreements, Croatia is responsible for their implementation and is interested in the establishment of relations on the basis of these agreements, the statement said. This is especially true for the establishment of special relations between Croatia and the (Muslim-Croat) Bosnian Federation, which have to be defined as soon as possible and given a context, in which Croatia is interested for strategic reasons and state border security. This would also establish the status of Croats in Bosnia- Herzegovina. Tudjman said the Croatian state and political leadership would invite talks with representatives of other Croat parties in Bosnia- Herzegovina and Croat candidates for the Presidency of Bosnia- Herzegovina. Representatives of the HDZ of Bosnia-Herzegovina said the party was prepared for the general elections in September, and expressed conviction that it would receive the majority of Croat votes. Participants in the talks warned about the attempts of international representatives to review the Washington and Dayton agreements, as well as subsequent agreements, which was unacceptable for Croats because most of the proposed changes were to the detriment of the Croat people. The participants also reiterated their determination that the agreements be implemented consistently, and that special relations between Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina be established and defined, with the need for preserving the unity of the Croat people, the statement said. (hina) lml /mbr 111722 MET aug 98