PARLIAMENT'S INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE APPROVES APPOINTMENTS

ZAGREB, April 30 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament's Committee on Internal Affairs and National Security on Wednesday gave a positive opinion about a proposal that Damir Loncaric and Franjo Turek be appointed directors of the Intelligence Agency (OA) and Counter- Intelligence Agency (POA) respectively. #L# This completes the process of their appointment, so today they officially and legally became the heads of the two intelligence services, the committee's chairman, Ante Markov, said. Before the committee approved their appointment, Loncaric and Turek were interviewed by its members for two hours behind closed doors. Markov told reporters that they had been asked about all issues which had been mentioned in the media in the past days relating to their work. The committee chairman did not wish to speak about the issues in detail, nor reveal who of the committee members voted against their appointment and who abstained. Unofficial sources say, however, that a member of the Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Josko Kontic, voted against, while the Croatian Democratic Union's and Croatian Party of Rights' Ivan Penic and Vlado Jukic abstained. The proposal to appoint Loncaric and Turek heads of OA and POA was co-signed by the president and prime minister. (hina) lml sb