MPS SIGN STATEMENTS APPROVING PUBLICATION OF THEIR DECLARATIONS OF ASSETS

ZAGREB, March 26 (Hina) - Croatian parliamentary deputies were on Friday given forms whereby they should give their consent to their declarations of assets being copied and distributed to the press. The parliament's commission in charge of establishing conflict of interest decided to distribute the forms because of the pressure exerted by some MPs and clubs of deputies to prevent declarations of assets from being made public, commission chairman Antun Kapraljevic said.#L# Kapraljevic told reporters that the commission did not want to decide on its own about the publication of the declarations, which under the Law on Conflict of Interest are not a public document like a tax report. Kapraljevic would not say which deputies and clubs of deputies opposed the publication of the declarations, but there were reports of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) deputies being against it. These claims were dismissed by Ivan Jarnjak, deputy head of the HDZ's club of deputies, who said that his party was in favour of making the declarations public. He said that all HDZ deputies had already submitted their declarations of assets and that most of them had signed statements consenting to their publication. They do not want published only the information that could threaten their personal safety and that of their families, such as home address or car registration plates, Jarnjak explained. Deputies from other parties also agreed to their declarations of assets being published. Declarations of assets of those deputies who approve their publication will be available to reporters next Wednesday. (Hina) rml