A BRIEF LOOK AT CROATIAN PRESS ON THURSDAY

ZAGREB, Dec 14 (Hina) - Today's VJESNIK quotes labour leader Dragutin Lesar on the subject of tomorrow's two-hour stoppage, staged by three major labour unions in Croatia. "The time has come to respond in kind to the attitude of the Government, which pushed things too far by refusing negotiations. If stoppage isn't enough for them, it will be the first step toward a nation-wide general strike," Lesar said. The paper devotes part of the front page to outlining the main points of yesterday's press conference by HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) secretary-general Zlatko Canjuga. In brief, HDZ pronounced itself in favour of media freedom with certain reserves regarding cases of "hostile bias"; denied allegations that Croatia was favouring a division of Bosnia; and defined the rail workers's strike as an attempt at manipulation. The paper covers yesterday's NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels under the headline "UNPROFOR'S Withdrawal a Last-Ditch Option." From yesterday's Government session, VECERNJI LIST quotes Deputy Prime Minister Skegro's report that the Government's family basket, which includes 17 products, fell by 17.5 percent in November compared to the same period last year. The paper carries an interview with Bosnian Federation President Kresimir Zubak, headlined "Peace in Bosnia Won't Come Easily." Zubak discusses reasons for a possible parliamentary crisis in the Croat-Moslem Federation and explains why both the Croats and the Moslems are opposing a confederation between Bosnian Serbs and Yugoslavia. He also speculates on the consequences of UNPROFOR's possible withdrawal from Bosnia-Herzegovina. (hina) mm as 151212 MET dec 94