CROATIAN PRESIDENT GIVES INTERVIEW TO RADIO AND TV

ZAGREB, Aug 29 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman gave an interview to Croatian Radio and Television on Thursday in which he commented on the agreement on the normalization of relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia, which was signed in Belgrade on August 23. In the interview conducted by Croatian Radio Editor in Chief Ivanka Lucev and Croatian Television Editor in Chief Hloverka Novak-Srzic, Tudjman also answered questions on current political, economic and social subjects. "The agreement on the normalization of relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia is really of the greatest and, indeed, historic importance. The justification for such a conclusion arises from the significance of the agreement for the situation at home and Croatia's international position, for new, considerably changed relations between Croatia and Serbia, i.e. Yugoslavia, for the establishment of a new international order and for the strengthening of peace in this part of the world," he said. Asked about the importance and scope of the agreement, which has been described by many as historic, Tudjman stressed that the importance of the agreement also lay in the fact that both sides guaranteed all civil and minority rights to the Serbs in Croatia and to the Croats in Yugoslavia. "With this agreement, Croatia definitely emerged from a state of unresolved conflicts and doubts about its internationally recognized borders, which was all caused or interpreted by Croatia's role in the breakup of Yugoslavia, the organized rebellion of the Serb population and the aggression of the Communist-led Yugoslav army of Serbia and Montenegro against the proclaimed independence of the Croatian state, and even the unfavorable attitude of international factors towards an independent Croatia," Tudjman said. "This is why we can say that the agreement represents a full stop at the end of the final sentence of a historic chapter on the establishment of free, independent and democratic Croatia, the full recognition by its chief adversary of the continuity of its statehood and territorial integrity. Since this is not just a victorious end of this period, but also the rebirth and reconstruction of sovereign Croatia, as powerful as it was during the reign of Kings Tomislav and Kresimir, we can close this centuries-long chapter not just with a full stop, but with a grand exclamation mark," Tudjman said. The most important point of the agreement is that it opened a completely new chapter in the relations between the Croatian and Serbian peoples, he said. "The two peoples played the leading role in the whole history of creating a permanent crisis and causing the final disintegration of the Yugoslav state, but other peoples in the former Yugoslav community, and international factors as well, built their policies both on the principle of reciprocity and conflict between the politics and interests of those two nations," Tudjman said. He said that the agreement finally ended the two-century- long period of their separate and common history. "From the beginning of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century, their separate ideas of creating nation states intertwined and clashed, helped one another, but also suppressed one another. Since they also reflected the special interests of their respective nations, neither ideologists nor entire movements could curb them or reconcile them permanently and overpower them, even by the use of force. It makes no difference whether they tried it exclusively with programmes of territorial expansion or with supra-national Yugoslav programs or wider, social-international and democraticuniversal ones. "Political and cultural representatives of both nations are responsible, although not to the same extent, for all those historical movements, positive attempts, wanderings and deceits, illusions and horrific showdowns. "Over the last two centuries - up to the present day - both nations deluded and exhausted each other, even suppressed each other in the name of hegemony and supranational ideas. "This especially became prominent in and after World War II, and then after the breakup of Yugoslavia which resulted in horrific aggression and victims of homeland war. "However, all this encouraged the maturing of the idea of a historical necessity to put a resolute end to such destructive events, of the historical necessity and purposefulness of the normalization of relations based on mutual recognition, national subjectivity and state integrity. This has been achieved with this agreement, which is based primarily on personal experiences of both nations, but also on those of Scandinavian countries and of the French and German nations which, after centuries of bitter retributions, represent an example of mutual tolerance and cooperation in the present international order," Tudjman said. "It is obvious that the agreement is in the great interest of the two oldest nations in this geopolitically important and sensitive area, especially because this is where the interests of world powers overlap and clash. "The agreement is also of wider interest to the international community for establishing of a new international order and strengthening peace in this part of the world. The agreement enables both nations, instead of exhausting each other, to devote themselves to economic and civilizational development, to become factors of stability and peace rather than of rift and insecurity in the Balkans and Southeast Europe. "Therefore, it is indisputable that the agreement has the farreaching historical importance and the universal positive significance for both nations and the European and world communities," Tudjman said. Asked about different reactions to the signing of the agreement, Tudjman said, "Generally, the Croatian public mostly reacted positively to the agreement". He confirmed that this proved the people's trust in the state policies and the necessity of the normalization. "Of course, reservations, and even doubts, about such an agreement with the aggressor, with the destroyer of Croatia, are understandable. We still very much feel the deep wounds and all sacrifices we have made. It will be a long time until we can suppress and overcome this in the psychological sense. Besides the awareness of the harmful consequences of continuing the war and keeping the accumulated hatred, there is also the awareness of the need for human, Christian forgiveness, for the sake of one's own deliverance from evil. There is also the awareness that those who have caused us unfathomable evil have already been punished," Tudjman said. He said that he was astonished by "doubts and negative estimates of the agreement on the part of some individuals and political parties. This shows that such individuals and parties do not want to or cannot judge from the point of view of past experiences and future national and state interests. "Even in crucial national issues they remain restricted by their personal and party politics. Such people do not understand that in the life of individuals, especially of a nation, we should not succumb only to feelings, put simply - only to love and hate. Those who yielded to trust and love or hate and revenge - were often betrayed and mercilessly forced to sober up. This goes for both the conquerors and the conquered," the President said. "Besides, it has been known from history, sometimes more courage and wisdom is necessary for peace than for war. As regards the international public, we could say that this international public received the agreement, almost without exception, with relief and approval. However, we must bear in mind that in the normalization of relations between Croatia and Serbia some international factors see a possibility of continuing their politics to return Croatia into a framework of Balkan integrations. Of course, some learn hard not only from history, but also from the obvious historical reality," Tudjman said. Asked how the agreement would influence the reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area, Tudjman said that the influence would be huge. "The preparation of the agreement, since Dayton, has decisively influenced the Serbs in the Croatian Danubian area to realize that they have to accept the Croatian state, or leave it. The signing of the agreement facilitates the reintegration process to be completed within this mandate. Croatia may agree to a possible extension of the mandate for three months at most, as opposed to requests for an extension of six months or one year. "Elections for the restoration of local authority can take place by December 15 and the UN Transitional Administration (UNTAES) has to hand over the overall administration to Croatian authorities by April 15 next year at the latest. "The agreement enables the speeding up of the gradual introduction of the Croatian economic and administration system in those areas, and also the return of displaced persons. "However, it is clear that the return of displaced persons could be completed only with the full establishment of Croatian authority," Tudjman said. In response to the question "why the problem of Prevlaka was included in the agreement as a disputed issue," Tudjman said that it was necessary to explain when, how and why this allegedly moot issue emerged. "It became a territorial and security issue at a time when a proposal to resolve the Bosnian crisis by establishing a union of three republics had been discussed within the International Conference on former Yugoslavia. "Since Bosnia-Herzegovina has access to the sea at Neum, under international law all three republics should have been given access to the sea there. Neum was a natural part of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, but Croatia could not agree to its territory being carved up in the future by giving access to the sea to both Serb and Moslem republics. For this reason, a proposal was put forward that both Serb and Moslem republics be given access to the sea at Prevlaka, in the area east of Molunt, provided that Croatia got in return the territory in the Dubrovnik hinterland. Lord Owen also writes about this in his book. "Since the solution to form the union of three republics was rejected, so was the Prevlaka problem as some kind of a 'disputed' territorial issue. This was reaffirmed by the normalization agreement which is based on the recognition of and respect for the territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders of both Croatia and Yugoslavia. "On this basis Croatia didn't have any reason not to agree to this issue remaining disputable - under inverted commas - and to be resolved as a security issue. There's no doubt that from the top of Prevlaka Croatia has complete control of the Bay of Boka Kotorska, but on the other hand, the Dubrovnik area, which is very sensitive and important to Croatia, is threatened from the Yugoslav (Serbian- Montenegrin) side. "Therefore, it would be in our mutual interest to ensure the security of the said areas and to strengthen our mutual confidence through an agreement on the mutual demilitarization of a certain area," he said. Asked to comment on the upcoming elections in Bosnia- Herzegovina and their significance for the Croatian people there, Tudjman said that they were of great importance. "After the elections, a constitutional system should be set up in Bosnia-Herzegovina as envisaged by the Dayton agreement. They should produce legitimate representatives of the three constituent nations and two entities, authorized to resolve all open and, indeed, very complicated issues. Therefore, it is of the greatest importance for the Croatian people in Bosnia-Herzegovina and for all refugees to participate in those elections and to choose such representatives who will know how to continue the policy which preserved Croatianhood in Bosnia-Herzegovina, by strengthening links with the mother country." The President was also asked to comment on the dissolution of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, the establishment of the Bosnian Croat-Moslem Federation and its links with Croatia, and why he personally and Croatia were held responsible by the international public for the success or failure of the Federation. "The public must be acquainted with the fact that the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia was created, with Croatia's assistance of course, to defend Croatianhood in Bosnia-Herzegovina, at a time when the Serb Republic had already been proclaimed and when the Bosnian Moslem leadership were making plans to create their separate republic. When the United States of America and the European powers, together with Russia, abandoned the concept of the union of three republics, Croatian policy accepted a proposal for creating the Federation on the basis of the Washington agreement. "The public is acquainted with the contents of that agreement. It ended the war with Moslems, ensured the survival of the Croatian people also outside the areas under HVO (Croatian Defence Council) control and ensured the strategic interests of the Croatian state, in line with the interests of the Western powers. "It's not hard to understand that the Croats in Bosnia- Herzegovina could agree to the Federation only on the condition that Croatia guaranteed their existence and future and that the Federation was closely linked to Croatia. Otherwise, they would have been in a more unfavourable position than in the former Yugoslavia and in the former Bosnia-Herzegovina. Therefore it would be extremely unreasonable for them to abandon what they had achieved through great sacrifice with the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. "It should not be forgotten that the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina began in 1992 and lasted until 1994 and even until last year, and that the Croats of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and particularly those from Herzegovina, had earlier helped the Croatian people in defence from Communist-led Yugoslav aggression, from Vukovar to Dubrovnik. Therefore, even from that point of view, Croatia was obliged to extend its assistance and be a guarantee of Croatianhood in Bosnia- Herzegovina. "Croatian policy could agree to the Washington and Dayton accords also because the Bosnian Moslem leadership declared, by accepting those agreements, that it was in its interest to establish permanent links with Croatia. As regards the implementation of the Dayton accords, the point is not in dissolving the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia but in the simultaneous transfer of its powers and the powers of the government of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Federation. That's the essence of the problem. "The Federation ensures the Croatian people full equality and a special role and position. This is also guaranteed by the setup of the federal armed forces which enables the Croatian people to have, or to retain if you want, seperate armed formations up to the size of a corps, which are not under single but joint command. It is further guaranteed by the organization of cantonal government and the special political representation of the Croatian people within the constitutional setup of the Federation. We already have the Joint Council for Cooperation between Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina which will obviously have a greater role with the establishment of a new constitutional system in Bosnia-Herzegovina." "Therefore, "Croatian policy has reasons to be determined in its support of implementing the Washington and Dayton agreements in the interest of ending the Bosnian crisis and in the strategic interests of the Croatian state to establish peace and a new international order," the President said. In response to a question on Croatia's prospects at international and national levels, Tudjman said that - after changing the strategic relations in this part of Europe with its victories, with its constructive role in resolving the Bosnian crisis and with the agreement on the normalization of Croatian- Serbian relations - Croatia definitively ended a period of its renewal and war in which it gained independence. "Today the free, sovereign and democratic Croatia is not only recognized but it is also considered to be an irreplaceable and constructive factor of the new international order in this part of Europe. This enables us to focus all our efforts on resolving the problems of economic and social development, and particularly the social problems: to improve the position of pensioners, war victims and the really, and not formally, unemployed; to remove all remnants of the old, Communist system and all malpractices committed in the process of transition from that system and in the war. "The reconstruction of war-ravaged areas, the return of displaced persons and emigrants, demographic renewal, further privatization, encouragement of production, particularly small private businesses, construction of inftrastructure, in order to raise the standard of living and ensure the well-being of all social strata - are the tasks we have to and are able to deal with now. "We have big problems, but they are insignificant compared to what we have already achieved. Besides, which countries don't have problems, even more difficult ones! The people that endured despite all historical hardships, with the leadership which has known over the past six years how to achieve all those political, economic, diplomatic and military successes - which surprised and amazed the world - will know how to successfully resolve all those tasks facing Croatia on the threshold of its new, never more favourable period," Tudjman concluded. (hina) lm vm 292336 MET aug 96