NEW YEAR'S TELEVISION INTERVIEW BY CROATIAN PRESIDENT (1)

ZAGREB, Dec 31 (Hina) - "The greatest achievement of the Croatian foreign policy in 1993 was the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 871 which confirmed, like no previous resolution, the territorial integrity of Croatia and its right to the UN Protected Areas, and which linked sanctions against Serbia with the settlement of the crisis in Croatia. At an internal level, this was the Maslenica operation which restored links between northern and southern Croatia, as well as the latest success of the Croatian Government in curbing inflation," said Croatian President Franjo Tudjman in a live broadcast on Croatian Television Thursday night. The president also answered questions by TV viewers. "In 1993 we did not manage to solve the key problem - reintegration of occupied territories into the Croatian constitutional and legal order. We failed because of overall international circumstances, the ongoing crisis in former Yugoslavia and the war in Bosnia. It is surprising to what extent Europe, the United Nations and the United States were divided and how disoriented they were in addressing the problems of Bosnia- Herzegovina. That's why no solution has been found and why it is still uncertain who will take the lead in solving that crisis" said the President. Asked whether the policy relative to the reintegration of Croatian occupied territories could be different, President Tudjman replied that such policy was the only correct one. "Recently I have browsed through a book by General Kadijevic who was the Yugoslav Federal Defence Minister before the war. He clearly said that Belgrade planned to take Zagreb and Varazdin at all costs, but it waited for a motive. Our orientation could not be war only, as we were inferior militarily because the JNA (Yugoslav People's Army) used to be the third or fourth power in Europe. A policy of negotiations was the only possible policy. In that way we saved entire Croatia from being destroyed," stressed President Tudjman. "We have agreed that a quarter of Croatian territory will temporarily be under UN protection, while our opponents have taken on commitments on disarmament. This has not materialized because the divided world community permitted Serbian aggression. Under such circumstance we could not achieve more than we have," said the President. Commenting on objections to his contacts with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, President Tudjman said it was necessary to talk to the opponent in order to achieve peace. "We have made a firm decision to find a solution in a peaceful way, assuring the Serb ethnic community all civil and ethnic rights and territorial autonomy in two districts, Glina and Knin, in which they are in the majority. The implementation of these principles can only be a result of agreement with local Serb authorities but also with Belgrade, which has supported annexation of those areas to a greater Serbia and which is still using those Serbs as an instrument of its policy. Our view is that those areas be gradually and peacefully integrated into Croatia's economic and legal system, but we have made it clear that we will not tolerate a situation contrary to Croatian interests for a long time. Should a political solution turn out to be impossible, we would take military steps to liberate every inch of Croatian land," he emphasized. Asked whether there was a possibility of Serbia provoking another war and attacking Croatia, President Tudjman said he thought such a possibility did not exist. 311400 MET dec 93