ZAGREB, March 23 (Hina) - The government has no information indicating that the Counterintelligence Agency (POA) tapped journalists' phones and that this was why POA head Franjo Turek was replaced, as speculated in the media, Prime
Minister Ivo Sanader said during parliamentary question time on Tuesday.
ZAGREB, March 23 (Hina) - The government has no information indicating
that the Counterintelligence Agency (POA) tapped journalists' phones
and that this was why POA head Franjo Turek was replaced, as
speculated in the media, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said during
parliamentary question time on Tuesday.#L#
Pero Kovacevic of the Croatian Party of Rights asked how much truth
there was in speculation that the POA tapped some journalists' phones,
suspecting them of working for foreign secret services and falsely
reporting about the case of Ante Gotovina, the fugitive general wanted
by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Sanader reiterated the government knew nothing about that but was
interested in knowing whether it was true. He said he might have
contributed to speculation as to the reason of Turek's resignation by
voicing dissatisfaction with the work of some intelligence services
two months ago.
The Council for the Civilian Control of Security Agencies yesterday
considered four complaints filed by reporters who suspect that the POA
illegally bugged their telephones, and asked the POA for an official
position, which is expected by the end of the week.
The complaints were sent to the Council after the media alleged that
Turek, who was recently relieved of duty, provided the state
leadership with transcripts of conversations, photographs and video
recordings of five journalists to back his claims that these
journalists spread false information about Gotovina's movements
following orders of British intelligence agents and Croatia's
underground intelligence.
(Hina) ha