PRESIDENT TUDJMAN'S INTERVIEW WITH CNN

ZAGREB, Jan 31 (Hina) - The CNN station on Friday aired an interview with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, focusing on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the political situation in Croatia, Croatia's views on recent developments in Yugoslavia and other issues. Asked by the Global View anchor Ralph Begleiter how committed Croatia was to the continued existence of Bosnia as an independent entity, the Croatian President answered that Croatia had signed the Dayton agreement after the Washington Agreement. - As one of the signatories of the Dayton Accord, Croatia resolutely supports its implementation, and in this regard, cooperates fully with the international community and authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. But, of course, there are many problems in fulfilling this agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Asked whether Croatia cooperated with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, the Croatian President replied: - I think that I could say that Croatia alone cooperates quite well, which I couldn't say about other parties. President Tudjman rejected allegations that war crimes suspects were staying in Croatia, stressing that, as far as Croatian authorities knew, there was not a single war criminal in Croatia. Asked whether Croatia had so far transferred any war criminals to The Hague tribunal, President Tudjman replied: - Of course, we transferred Gen. Blaskic, and we also arrested one of the accused who is now under the Croatian judiciary. Begleiter then asked President Tudjman if it was his commitment that parts of Bosnia where many Croats lived, such as western Mostar, should remain Bosnian and not Croatian. - It depends on the solution of the whole Bosnian crisis. But Mostar is a region where there was very hard fighting between the Yugo-Communist and Serbian aggressors and Croats and Moslems, and after that between Croats and Moslems. But we have peace there now. Of course, there are extremists on both sides and who have to be eliminated. But I think that in this region also there would be peace and I hope that there would be also success in the establishment of cantonal and federal authorities. Referring to alleged reports that Moslems were being evicted from their homes in western Mostar, that the Croatian flag was still flying in that part of Bosnia and that the Croatian currency was being used, President Tudjman said this was a one-sided view. "There are many more problems with Moslem extremists than with Croats. The Croatian flag is a normal flag for this region because this is one of the purest Croatian regions," President Tudjman said. He added that there was no common flag as yet and Bosnian Croats had proposed a flag that would be acceptable to both sides. As for the currency, that was a matter to be negotiated between the three parties. Asked to comment on the events in Serbia in the last few weeks and their possible implications for Croatia, President Tudjman said: - Of course, we are very interested in what is going on in Serbia. But what is happening there will not have any influence on Croatia. Croatia wishes to have good relations with all its neighbours, including Serbia. However, good- neighbourly relations do not mean accepting to be drawn into some new associations with Serbia, because we are oriented towards central Europe. But it is very interesting that the leaders of demonstrations are the same leaders who promoted the greater-Serbian idea, I could even say, greater-Serbian imperialism. But that's a matter of internal Serbian relations. The next question was whether a similar turn of events could occur in Croatia, since some analysts believed that the opposition in Croatia was stronger than the opposition in Serbia. President Tudjman replied in the negative, stressing that Croatia had a stable democratic order. - Despite the war and Yugo-Communist and Serbian aggression, in the last six years we have had three elections - one for Parliament and two for President. And there is no comparison between the situation in Croatia and in Serbia. We have a stable economic situation, a stable currency and there is no danger of such a situation in Croatia as we see now in Serbia. Asked whether he would step down and leave power if "by some chance, he was to lose the election" President Tudjman said: - Of course, you should have no doubts about that. But there is no chance that I and the HDZ could lose. We have support from the majority of people. Even the USIA agency made a poll and they concluded that the majority party had the support of 43% of the population and other parties two or three times less. Even supporters of opposition parties now support the current President. With regard to the reintegration of eastern Slavonia, President Tudjman was asked whether all Serbs who once lived there would be allowed to return and live under the Croatian flag. - We agreed to the peaceful reintegration of eastern Slavonia. And we agreed that those Serbian people who accepted the Croatian state could return. But the majority of them had freely left Croatia. You have examples not only in the contemporary horrible events in Yugoslavia but also during World War II and after that when there was such movement of people that they could not all return to their former region. But we guarantee to the Serbian population all human and ethnic rights at the high level of international standards - all those who accept Croatia as their state. President Tudjman went on to refute Mr. Begleiter's statement that 400,000 Serbs had fled the recently-liberated areas. - Four hundred thousand Croatian people, not only Croatians, but also Hungarians, Slovaks, Germans ... were expelled from Yugo- Communist and Serbian aggression. And almost one third of Croatian territory was destroyed. But when we liberated Croatia, the Croatian Government and I personally appealed to the Serbian people to stay in this region. But they left and there weren't four hundred thousand, it was approximately a hundred and fifty thousand people. Apologising over having to ask "a very difficult question," Begleiter asked President Tudjman to say something about his health. - My health state is satisfactory and it is improving very well. So I can perform not only my presidential duties without difficulties but I also enjoy my regular tennis playing. After this meeting I am going to a tennis court. Asked to comment on allegations that he had irreversible stomach cancer, President Tudjman said this information was exaggerated. - Is that information wrong? - In some way, yes. Asked whether he had prospects of continuing as the president of Croatia, President Tudjman answered: - Of course, as I said, I perform all my presidential duties and if you ask me if I will run for another presidential term, the answer is yes. Begleiter concluded by asking President Tudjman if he had any regrets "about the way he may have directed things at the beginning of the war," particularly with regard to Vukovar, or "any regrets about the conduct of Croatian military forces and other Croatians in the course of that war." - Mr. Begleiter, first of all I am proud of all I and the Croatian people have done in escaping from the Communist Yugoslav regime and in the struggle for independence and Croatian democracy. And you cannot judge about the Croatian behaviour during the liberation of Croatian territory if you don't have in mind what happened at the beginning, when the Yugoslav-Communist army and the Serbian aggressors expelled almost half a million Croatian citizens, when they destroyed Vukovar and dozens of other towns. And there is a feeling of frustration among the Croatian people and such terrible feelings are difficult to control. And during the liberation of Croatia some isolated incidents did take place but that was not policy, and we not only tried to prevent them but we also prosecuted the perpetrators. - You have to have in mind that I wanted to prevent any struggle. I proposed to the Yugoslav Government, at the beginning of democratisation, a solution to the Yugoslav crisis - a confederation, but they didn't accept, they began the aggression with the Yugoslav Communist army. After that, they armed the Serbian population in Croatia and began all these war horrors in Croatia and in Bosnia-Herzegovina. So, generally speaking, there is no guilt on either the Croatian or the Bosnian side, President Tudjman concluded. (hina) mm as 312312 MET jan 97