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Defiant Croatian Republic Refuses to Disarm Paramilitary Police

Defiant Croatian Republic Refuses to Disarm Paramilitary Police
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January 25, 1991, Section A, Page 7Buy Reprints
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In defiance of mounting threats by Yugoslavia's Communist-led army, the anti-Communist and independence-minded Government of Croatia refused today to disarm paramilitary police, accusing the army of seeking to undermine the republic's young democracy.

The army's warning and Croatia's charges are the latest salvos in an increasingly tense and bitter war of nerves growing out of negotiations among the leaders of Yugoslavia's six republics over the country's future political configuration.

Western diplomats in Belgrade have expressed deep concern that Yugoslav military leaders may use force to stem impulses to even greater sectional autonomy while world attention is focused on the Persian Gulf war and the Soviet Union's crackdown in the Baltic republics. Psychological War Charged

"What we have here is a scenario of psychological war," said Croatia's president, Franjo Tudjman. He is scheduled to call the republic's Parliament into special session on Friday to consider constitutional amendments designed to shore up Croatia's sovereignty.

Mr. Tudjman charged that the national army planned to stage a military coup and had even chosen its own Yugoslav "Jaruzelski," a reference to the Polish military leader, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, who cracked down on the Solidarity labor union in 1981.

For its part, Yugoslavia's Communist-dominated federal presidency, a collective body, issued an ultimatum two weeks ago warning that it would order the army to disarm "illegal" paramilitary organizations that did not surrender their weapons by midnight last Monday.

The Governments of Croatia and Slovenia, the country's wealthiest and most Western-minded republics, have refused to disarm Interior Ministry and territorial defense units, maintaining their legality. Seeking Loose Confederation

Both republics are pressing to transform the Yugoslav federation into a confederation of independent states with their own armed forces.

Arrayed against them is Yugoslavia's largest republic, Serbia, which advocates strengthening the federation, a concept that most Croats and Slovenes interpret as a formulation leading to Serbian domination.

The army's officer corps, which is 70 percent Serb and has close ties to Communist party officials, is believed to strongly favor maintaining the federation, which was formed after World War II by Marshal Tito.

In a statement Wednesday night, the federal Defense Ministry warned that it had initiated legal proceedings in military courts against individuals responsible for organizing "illegal" armed groups.

"If all mobilized armed units in Croatia are not disbanded immediately, the Yugoslav National Army will take action," the Defense Ministry said.

Heavily armed guards from Croatia's forces surround most Croatian government buildings. The republic's leaders have warned repeatedly that they will open fire if the army attempts to take action. Violent Cycle Feared

In the tense standoff, fears are growing that any serious exchange of fire can unleash a cycle of violence in Yugoslavia's frayed patchwork of quarrelsome peoples with different languages and religions.

The Slovenian and Croatian Governments today condemned the army for removing and redeploying Slovene and Croat soldiers from units serving in Slovenia and Croatia and replacing them with soldiers of other ethnic groups from elsewhere in the country. The Croatian Government also reported unusual troop movements.

Mr. Tudjman today called for Croatia's Parliament to adopt measures at Friday's session to make Croatia's laws supreme in the republic. Croatia's Government has also ordered the republic's national bank to prepare a proposal for a new Croatian currency.

Slovenia's Parliament is already considering constitutional amendments that provide for an independent monetary system, including the creation of a new currency and a tax system that will give Slovenia complete control over fiscal activity in the republic.

Both republic Governments have also demanded that Yugoslavia's federal Government immediately prepare a plan to divide up functions of the federal financial system and the internal and foreign debts. Foreign Influence Seen

The Defense Ministry's statement said that Yugoslavia was at the mercy of "secessionist and separatist forces that seek not only the secession of individual nations from the framework of Yugoslavia, a right which no one disputes, but also even the complete breakup of Yugoslavia and its involvement in a civil war.

"It has become all the more obvious that their actions are also in the direct service of some foreign factors."

Moves by Slovenia and Croatia to sever ties with the federal Government have accelerated markedly since the Communist Government of Serbia ordered its national bank to issue $1.8 billion in unbacked money in late December without the approval of federal authorities.

The move, which came a day after Serbian authorities pledged to support strict monetary discipline, undercut the value of the dinar and portended a new round of high inflation throughout Yugoslavia.

Serbia's actions show "that cooperation based on a minimal degree of trust and honesty is no longer possible in Yugoslavia," a Slovenian Government memorandum said.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 7 of the National edition with the headline: Defiant Croatian Republic Refuses to Disarm Paramilitary Police. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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