LOWER HOUSE ENDS THIS WEEK'S SESSION

ZAGREB, Feb 16 (Hina) - Friday's session of the House of Representatives ended with a debate on a proposal by the Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) for establishing a commission of inquiry to investigate the work of state bodies in the protection of information labelled state, military or official secret, the disclosure of which would jeopardise national security and state interests. HDZ's Vladimir Seks said the main task of the commission would be to establish whether the heads of state bodies and state officials had determined special measures of protection of confidential information, as envisaged by the Law on the Protection of the Confidentiality of Information. He said that some media had recently made public confidential information and stressed the commission should establish whether those data had been labelled confidential. He also reminded that some transcripts of late president Franjo Tudjman had been disclosed by the President's Office and that some transcripts had been forwarded to The Hague. It is inadmissible, he said, that despite the government's decision that materials from the President's Office be filed away for a period of 30 years, President Stjepan Mesic claims that he will keep some of the transcripts. HDZ's proposal was refused by all parliamentary benches, except for the Croatian Party of Rights/Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HSP/HKDU) bench. The lower house today also debated HDZ's proposal for establishing a commission of inquiry to probe into the lawfulness of the operation of Croatian Radio Television (HRT). The proposals were not voted on due to lack of quorum. The lower house will vote on the proposals in the continuation of its 10th session, on March 6. (hina) rml