A BRIEF LOOK AT CROATIAN PRESS ON MONDAY

ZAGREB, May 2 (Hina) - Today's issue of the Zagreb daily VJESNIK on the front page features Bosnian President Izetbegovic's open letter to President Tudjman, headlined "Barbarians Threaten Washington Agreement." President Tudjman's Labour Day message also appeares on the front page. The next two pages deal with the most important events on the party scene: the merging of two Social Democratic parties into one and the founding of the Croatian Independent Democrats, under a headline quoting Manolic and Mesic as saying: "We Are Not Leaving Parliament." Today's issue also carries a report on the latest Russian initiative for putting an end to the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina by Vjesnik's reporter in Moscow Bogoljub Lacmanovic. More exacting job requirements for teachers, recently decided by the Culture and Education Ministry, are the subject of an article titled: "Tight Race for Jobs in Education." "Croat-Moslem Friendship Confirmed" headlines a report of the founding of the Association of Refugees from Bosanska Posavina (northern Bosnia). VECERNJI LIST carries a photo feature on the Labour Day celebration in Maksimir Park, attended by President Tudjman. An article headlined "Injection of Shady Capital" deals with the more problematic aspects of privatisation, namely certain loopholes in the Transformation of Ownership Act. Prime Minister Valentic's visit to Iran is duly covered. The paper carries Izetbegovic's letter to Tudjman and runs a story on the celebration of Orthodox Easter in Zagreb, quoting President Tudjman's Easter greetings to the Orthodox religious community. The merging of two Social Democratic parties and the founding of the Independed Democrats appear on the fourth page. Today's editorial by Ante Piskor also discusses the Independent Democrats, whose arrival appears to divide the parliamentary stage in two camps. 021248 MET may 94