COMMENT PIECE BY MIRKO GALIC (VECERNJI LIST)

ZAGREB, March 30 (Hina) - Today's VECERNJI LIST carries a comment piece by Mirko Galic dealing with the new UNPROFOR mandate, which is expected to be approved today by the Security Council. According to Galic, the UN Secretary-General's attitude to Croatia raises several major points: "Who does the UN recognise as the legitimate authority in Croatia - Tudjman or Martic (Krajina's 'sheriff')? "With whom did UN negotiate the deployment of observers along the Serbian-Bosnian border - with Milosevic or with Rugova (leader of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo)?," Galic says. He contrasted UN attitudes to the Serb minority in Krajina and the Albanian minority in Serbia. "The only difference between Kosovo and Krajina is that Serbia is using force to oppress the Albanian minority in Kosovo - while in Croatia, a Serb minority is blackmailing the whole nation. "If the international community insists on every agreement being first ratified by Knin leaders and their Belgrade bosses, it will buttress Croatian radicals and as good as push Croatia to go to war. "If Martic is given the right to prevent the Croatian state from controlling its own borders for the next hundred years, what other option does Croatia have? Or does somebody want it to go to war? "It would be offensive and humiliating for Croatia if Boutros- Ghali managed to impose his view of the new mandate, which fails to provide for the control of Croatia's international borders and to name Croatia as the mandate's destination. "But neither would the United States emerge from this diplomatic melee without a serious loss of face," Galic concludes. (hina) jn as 301351 MET mar 95