DC & IDS: ORTYNSKI REPLACED BY POLITICAL WILL

ZAGREB, April 24 (Hina) - The Democratic Party (DC) and the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) believe that the ruling five-party coalition did not replace Chief State Prosecutor Radovan Ortynski because of their negative evaluation of his work, but rather because of his claims on connections between politics and the judiciary and organised crime and because they wanted to prevent him from presenting evidence supporting his allegations before parliamentary bodies. #L# Speaking at a joint news conference, MPs Vesna Skare Ozbolt (DC) and Damir Kajin (IDS) said that the ruling coalition dismissed Ortynski despite Tuesday's show of support for the setting up of a commission to investigate his claims. The two claimed that the coalition's party benches dismissed Ortynski merely on the basis of their amendment to relieve him of duty pursuant to the Law on the State Prosecution, and not on the basis of his resignation. Skare-Ozbolt stated that the coalition set a precedence in parliament with Ortynski's completely untransparent and politically-motivated replacement. "His dismissal is a punishment because he dared say what he did and that certainly is not in the spirit of democracy, but is rather an act of political violence," she said. Kajin claimed that the Sabor acted "extremely unfairly, hypocritically and low", by relieving Ortynski of duty with an amendment put forward by the coalition, without even attempting to listen to him. "This is just political trading between the coalition parties and the HDZ," Kajin said, adding that this was "indicated by today's vote in the Sabor, where the HDZ first voted for the setting up of the commission of inquiry, and then gave it up." (hina) sp sb