WAR VETERANS DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM PAVLOVIC'S STATEMENT

ZAGREB, March 28 (Hina) - The leader of the Association of Disabled Croatian Homeland War Veterans (HVIDR), Damir Varazdinac, said on Friday the association distanced itself from statements by its member from Sinj, Drazen Pavlovic. He added that one "should not have paid that much attention to it". #L# Protesting against non-final verdicts in the trial of General Mirko Norac and other indictees from the so-called Gospic Group, Pavlovic said at a HVIDR news conference on Wednesday that he had a message from the Cetina region for "Messrs Mesic, Racan, Manolic and others - may they join comrade Djindjic for breakfast as soon as possible as that is the only way the Croatian state for which we fought can be saved". "The HVIDR does not support such statements, but it believes that they should not have been given that much attention," Varazdinac said at a news conference. The president of the association's court of honour, Zlatko Getliher, said that under its statute the association was bound to carry out an investigation and launch disciplinary proceedings against Pavlovic. After that is done, the association will estimate the actual damage his statements caused to its reputation, Getliher said. The Zagreb County Prosecution on Wednesday requested the police to interview Pavlovic on suspicion that he threatened the premier and the president of the state. The Split police interviewed Pavlovic who said that his statement was "wrongly and malevolently interpreted", that "it never crossed his mind to make death threats" and that he apologised to all who understood his statement as a threat. Zagreb County prosecutor Krunoslav Canjuga said he would decide today whether criminal proceedings would be launched against Pavlovic for threatening the life of an official person. The sentence envisaged for that act ranges from three months to three years. (hina) rml sb