PRESIDENT TUDJMAN'S INTERVIEW (PART 3)

-> HINA 31.12.1993 05:02:00 khvera ED $ $ PRESIDENT TUDJMAN'S INTERVIEW (PART 3) $ ZAGREB, Dec 31 (Hina) - "Croatia did and is doing everything to help the Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina," President Tudjman said in his answer to the question on whether Croatia is helping the Croats in central Bosnia. He also said that Croatia will help not only by direct negotiations with Izetbegovic and Silajdzic but also by engaging those international factors that are interested in that the peace between Muslims and Croats is reached as soon as possible, such as Turkey, Austria, Germany, "including the former President of the European Council V.Claes, whom I had invited to a meeting in Vienna to realize that together." "Unfortunately, so far we were not very successful But, we shall not give up protecting the Croatian people in B-H nor the strategic interests of the Croatian state," President Tudjman. Asked by a viewer whether Croatia was indirectly aiding the aggression on Croats in Bosnia by providing shelter for hundreds of thousands of refugees in Bosnia, President Tudjman replied that is a paradoxical situation, but that "the world would say that we were acting inhumanly if I told Alija Izetbegovic that we shall return all Muslims to Bosnia, unless he stops the offensive on Croats in Bosnia." President Tudjman added that the Muslim formations are known to be renting out tanks and buying ammunition for hard currency from Serbs for fighting Croats in central Bosnia. Asked whether the change of borders or the exchange of territory can serve the establishment of peace, President Tudjman stated that he had told all world diplomats and leaders who were asking that question that Croatia cannot make any territorial concessions, because "Croatia entered into the former Yugoslav state with a much larger territory than that within Croatia's borders in the federal Yugoslavia and the present internationally recognized borders." President Tudjman recalled that he personally had signed with President Izetbegovic an agreement on cooperation and friendship between the Muslim and Croatian republics in the Union of Bosnia- Herzegovina in Geneva on September 14, but that two days after that Izetbegovic signed an agreement with Serbs which practically verified the disintegration of the Union. "The Muslim leaders are now requiring an access to the sea and Neum. They are doing in so categorically that the international community is demanding from Croatia to facilitate that future Muslim state access to the sea. Muslims are seeking territorial sovereignty, which I categorically refused, because we cannot agree to let Neum become a part of the Muslim republic," President Tudjman said and went on: "Then, the European and even Muslim circles produced an idea to give the Muslims access to the sea at the Prevlaka peninsula, and that in return Neum and the Dubrovnik hinterland would go to Croatia. In seeking peace we can take that possibility into consideration." In reference to the violations of the human rights, blowing up of Serbian houses and ejections from apartments, President Tudjman said that Croatia is doing everything to eliminate such events, which are the result of the aggression and war that was imposed on Croatia. 311714 MET dec 93