Croatians Firm on Expelling U.N. Force : Balkans: President Tudjman promises ‘the world will see’ peace process accelerate.

Ignoring growing international pressure to change his mind, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Friday reaffirmed his plans to expel the 12,000-member U.N. Protection Force here, promising that afterward “the world will see” the peace process accelerate.

The departure of U.N. monitors after their mandate expires March 31 would remove the only buffer between the Croatian government and Serbian rebels who control nearly one-third of the country.

The United States, among other countries with influence in Croatia, has urged Tudjman to reconsider, arguing that such rash action would endanger the 10-month-old cease-fire between the two sides and could trigger a renewal of fighting throughout the former Yugoslav federation.

“We’ve made it clear that we feel this will create a very dangerous situation,” said Peter Galbraith, the U.S. ambassador to Croatia. “And if war does result, they’ll have to bear the blame.”

The issue came to a head this week when Serbian rebels, from their headquarters in Knin, refused further negotiations with the Zagreb government until they received assurances that the U.N. forces would stay. Earlier, the rebels said they would consider an autonomy plan, drawn up by the United States and its allies, only if the United Nations remains.

However, Tudjman rejected the rebel demands Friday, arguing at a news conference that the conditions were proof that the Serbs “have used UNPROFOR (the U.N. Protection Force) to prolong their occupation of Croatian territory.”

“We can’t stand for further Serb occupation of Croatian territory,” he said. “We can’t wait until the very complicated Bosnia crisis is solved, because it could take a long time.”

Many here view Tudjman’s decision as a sign that he may use military force to take back the land, which borders Bosnia-Herzegovina and is known as the Krajina region. Such a move would likely trigger a violent response from the rebel Serbs, perhaps with support from the well-armed Serbian forces in Bosnia.

But Tudjman insisted Friday that he thought a renewal of the war was “not possible,” though he didn’t rule out isolated incidents of violence.

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Rather, he said, a U.N. departure would end the political stalemate and open the way for talks with rebel Serbs aimed at bringing the Krajina back under Croatian control, with some provisions for Serbian autonomy in regions where they make up a majority.

“We will do everything to seek a peaceful resolution,” Tudjman said. “We expect that common sense will prevail among them, and that they won’t prevent the re-integration of those territories into Croatia.”

The president said he viewed the re-integration as a natural outgrowth of economic agreements that have opened a highway and oil pipeline through Serb-controlled areas.

In a veiled reference to Galbraith, Tudjman warned foreign diplomats to “stop trying to meddle in Croatia’s internal affairs.”

The remark referred to local television and newspaper interviews given this week by Galbraith, who has been responding to Croatian critics who say his autonomy plan for the Krajina would violate the Croatian constitution. In those interviews, the ambassador has argued that constitutions, including the U.S. Constitution, ought to be flexible documents.

Meanwhile, in the town of Bihac, in Bosnia just across the border with Krajina, Muslim-led government troops and rebel Serbian forces battled with tanks and artillery Friday for control of water supplies. The United Nations on Thursday had accused the Bosnian Serbs of launching a “calculated and deliberate attack” against Bihac.