VOJNOVIC'S NATIONALITY ISN'T REASON WHY JUDGES ASSOCIATION OPPOSED HIS CANDIDACY FOR JUDGE

ZAGREB, Oct 30 (Hina) - The president of the Croatian Judges Association (UHS), Vladimir Gredelj, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the reason why the UHS opposed the candidacy of late Milos Vojnovic for a Vukovar County Court judge was not his Serb nationality, but the fact that he "had sided with Serb rebels and undermined the foundations of the Republic of Croatia". #L# The UHS believes that those who undermined the foundations of the state cannot be judges, regardless of their nationality, Gredelj said, adding that some of those people already worked as judges. Extending condolences to Vojnovic's "family, friends and supporters", Gredelj said that at the start of the Serb rebellion in Croatia Vojnovic had accepted one political option. This, Gredelj believes, "has made him permanently unsuitable for the position of a judge". Explaining why he addressed the public after Vojnovic's death, Gredelj said that he had been exposed to "schizophrenic attacks" by Serb party leaders, which were aimed solely at radicalising inter- ethnic relations. Gredelj's statements against Vojnovic's candidacy were condemned by Serb leaders Milan Djukic, Milorad Pupovac and Vojislav Stanimirovic. Gredelj would not answer when asked if he did not think that it was below all moral criteria to continue attacking a dead person, saying only the same question could be addressed to Djukic and Pupovac. Despite Gredelj's invitation, Serb leaders Milan Djukic, Vojislav Stanimirovic, Milorad Pupovac, and Branko Sekuljica, as well as the head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Peter Semneby, and Vukovar County Court president Ante Zeljko did not attend the news conference. (hina) rml sb