UNIONS MARK 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF DOWNTOWN ZAGREB DEMONSTRATIONS

ZAGREB, Feb 20 (Hina) - The Association of Workers' Trade Unions of Croatia (URSH) and the Croatian Association of Trade Unions (HUS) on Tuesday marked the third anniversary of large union protests when police prevented dozens of thousands of people from rallying on Zagreb's central square. The presidents of the two associations told reporters today they marked Feb. 20 as the "Day of the Right to the Square" to stress the workers' right to publicly express their discontent with the economic and social situation. In the last three years, Croatia's economic and social situation has deteriorated and according to experts, from a latent crisis Croatia has sunk into an all-round recession, said URSH president Boris Kunst. When we pointed to the serious economic and social issues in February 1998, the unemployed figure was 286,000 whereas today it has reached 386,000, said HUS president Zdenko Mucnjak. Even though the unions should call on workers to launch a protest march on Ban Jelacic Square in downtown Zagreb, they will not do so for the time being but do seek that the government expedite solutions to overcome the current crisis, he added. We shall launch demonstrations when we assess the time has come to replace those unable to find a way out, but we shall not get involved in political games, said Kunst. He added that many politicians who had taken part in the demonstrations three years ago, as members of the opposition, had not turned up at today's anniversary but turned their attention away from workers' issue. The two union leaders forwarded to the government a draft of amendments to the Law on Public Assembly, seeking that said law be depoliticised and simplified, as well as a request to the Zagreb City Assembly to rescind any ban or restriction of right to hold demonstrations on Ban Jelacic Square. (hina) ha