PRESIDENT TUDJMAN HOLDS SPEECH BEFORE DEPARTURE FOR VUKOVAR

ZAGREB, June 8 (Hina) - By "the Train For Vukovar - Peace Train" and Croatia's coming to the eastern border and to the Danube River, we were completing the historical victory of the Croatian freedom, of creation of the independent, sovereign and democratic Croatian State which we had introduced into the world community of free and sovereign nations, said Croatian President Franjo Tudjman addressing the gathered citizens who came at Zagreb Central Railway Station on Sunday morning to see off the 'Peace Train'. The 'Peace Train' for Vukovar, on which Tudjman symbolically led the entire Croatia toward Vukovar, eastern Slavonia and the country's eastern border, departed from Zagreb at 09.30 hours Sunday. It consisted of 21 carriages, each from a different Croatian county. On the trip to Vukovar, Tudjman was accompanied by the state leadership, all 21 Croatian counties' representatives, the Diplomatic Corps' members accredited in Croatia, religious dignitaries and other Croatian prominent personalities. At the decorated stage where the cultural and artistic programme began at 08.00 hrs, Zlatko Canjuga, the Zagreb city assembly's president, held a speech ahead of the departure. Addressing many gathered citizens he said that they had come to see off the train for Vukovar that was the train of peace, reconciliation, reconstruction, freedom on which the President was leading us to the Croatian symbol of unity, suffering, plight, but also of the eventual joy in the completion of the several-year-long arduous process of creating the Croatian State, democracy and national freedom. He added that on this day, Zagreb and the whole of Croatia lived one life - the life of people who thought and felt the same for this event. "Take us to Vukovar, President, to show again to Europe and the world that we are the people of the faith in our democratic commitments," Canjuga said in the speech and portrayed this train as the reminder of history, suffering and plight of Vukovar as well as the train of reconstruction looking forward to the future in which each Croatian or each citizen of Croatia would feel what it meant to be free and live for oneself, for the other and for their Croatian people. "Being led by You, Mr. President, Vukovar starts new life today, whereas Zagreb is becoming a firmer defender of democratic principles and freedom of the Croatian State in Europe and the world," he added. After that, President Tudjman, receiving a standing ovation, addressed the gathered citizens of Zagreb, all citizens of Croatia, and first of all, as he said, citizens of Vukovar, all of whom could not yet come back to Vukovar, but in following months and by the next year certainly, all of them would return to their town, to eastern Slavonia, western Sirmium and Baranja, Tudjman stressed. He recalled that two years before they had departure on the 'Freedom Train' from the same place to Split, and said that before that they had had to liberate occupied western areas of Croatia and to achieve victories in the 'Flash' and 'Storm' operations in order to lift the siege round Bihac in western Bosnia and to create conditions for liberating the Croatian areas from Banovina (Banija) to Knin and Zadar with as less as possible victims. "At the grand rally of Split and Dalmatia, they said to me 'Let's Go to Vukovar, President'," he said in Zagreb and added at the time they could have gone to Vukovar by armed force, but opted for the democratic, peaceful solution. We decided so not only because of recommendations of European and world powers and the international community but also because of Croatian national interests to avoid any new victims and destruction and to show to the world that Croatia favoured a democratic, peaceful settlement and would rather that Serbs who recognised Croatia as their homeland may stay than that all Serbs may leave the country, Tudjman said in his speech. That's why we consented to UNTAES (UN Transitional Administration in eastern Slavonia), peaceful reintegration of the Danube river area, and therefore we had lived to experience these days when the peaceful reintegration was about to finish, he said. Following the elections conducted in the entire Croatia including the Croatian Danube river area, we were establishing local authorities - municipal, town, county authorities - as well as the constitutional and legal order, and we were renewing the economic and whole life. Today, we were coming back symbolically to Vukovar, he added. On the train for Vukovar, there were representatives of the whole of Croatia, both of the homeland and the Croatian Diaspora. This was the train of peace, of reconciliation with all who stayed in Croatia and recognised Croatia, who had taken Croatian documents and would like to be Croatian citizens. We guaranteed to them civil and ethnic rights, and wanted them to take part in the construction of Croatia and to build their own life as all other citizens of Croatia did, Tudjman said. Addressing the rally where many displaced people from the Danube river area were present, Tudjman called on them to show still a little patience and understanding for the peaceful solution in order that any more victims would be avoided. He stressed that a drop of Croatian blood was of overriding importance to him, and recalled his words that every inch of the Croatian soil would be returned (to the Croatian rule) at all cost. By this train and Croatia's coming to the eastern border and to the Danube we were completing the historical victory of the Croatian freedom, of creation of the Croatian independent, sovereign and Democratic State which we had introduced into the world community of free and sovereign nations, he said. "We have achieved such strength that nobody can endanger it except if we allowed a handful of Judas Iscariot's sons to stir up disorder and disbelief among us. However, Croatia is so free, so democratic and so strong in everything and according to its democratic order and the might of its armed force, that it is really an international factor which must be taken into account," he stressed and added that Croatia accomplished more than other former socialist countries concerning its internal progress and democratic order as well as economic stability. He added that Croatia would have to invest still more means into reconstruction of the war-ravaged Vukovar and Danube river area that had been exposed to horrible destruction and barbarism. Nevertheless, we would constructed it (the area). We would ask for the help from the world, because we had the right to do so, but we would construct by our own resources, Tudjman said and added that he had called on all county prefects to pledge in Vukovar today each to reconstruct at least one facility. The whole of Croatia would work on that, he vowed. Following high outlays for the war, diplomacy, the establishment of the State, we still had to have (money) for construction of the country, he stressed saying that the Reconstruction Ministry had built 160,000 houses for the two years, and that highway were being opened, while Croatia was the construction site. But Croatia must be a construction site in people, he added. "We must achieve that Croatian revival, spiritual revival in Croatian man, so that we may be aware that we have created and won our freedom and that we have established our State which is the guarantee for the future of ours, of our children and grandchildren as well as for the everlasting Croatia," he stressed and added that this rally proved that the whole of Croatia "is with us on the train for Vukovar, for the free Croatia." "The guarantee for that Croatia will be happy and rich for all citizens, is the authority which has created this, and the guarantee is you, the Croatian people, all Croatian citizens whom I have trusted," he said at the end of his speech ahead of the train's departure. (hina) mš 081316 MET jun 97