PERSONNEL CHANGES START IN SLOBODNA DALMACIJA DAILY

ZAGREB, April 28 (Hina) - The Supervisory Committee of the Split- based daily "Slobodna Dalmacija" on Friday replaced the daily's director Miroslav Ivic and appointed Srdjan Kovacic, previously in charge of coordinating the reconstruction of the city port, head of the daily's management board with a four-year mandate. The Committee had previously postponed the adoption of this decision and it was only on the government's initiative that it made the first step toward the daily's financial rehabilitation. It is expected that the current editor-in-chief, Josip Jovic, will be replaced and that a new management board will be appointed to reorganise this media house. The "Slobodna Dalmacija" workers' union has welcomed the government's decision but it is dissatisfied that the government waited for a year to start solving problems in the daily. The union claims the coalition parties were too busy struggling for influence over the daily, with the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) allegedly being at the forefront. "Slobodna Dalmacija was the paradigm of HDZ-styled ownership transformation plunder and today it is the paradigm of the ruling six-party coalition's accommodationism," union representatives told a news conference in Zagreb yesterday. They requested that the government enable the daily's employees to acquire majority ownership in the upcoming privatisation and to stop meddling in its personnel and editorial policies. The first changes in the daily elicited numerous reactions. Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said he was satisfied with yesterday's replacement of the head of the daily's management Miroslav Ivic, and described the daily's previous policy as "pro- fascist." Addressing reporters at a meeting with citizens in his office in Zagreb, Mesic said he did not approve of political parties interfering in the editorial policy of any daily, including "Slobodna Dalmacija". Government representatives gave similar comments. The daily's majority owner is the state, with an 88% share estimated at some DEM 60 million. The company owes some DEM 40 million to the Dalmatinska Banka alone, which makes the question of its financial reconstruction or bankruptcy the main priority. HSLS vice-president Josko Kontic dismissed claims that his party wanted to win influence over the daily's editorial policy. The HSLS only wants to preserve 1,300 jobs, consolidate the daily and prevent its bankruptcy, he said. Editor-in-chief Josip Jovic said Ivic's replacement was a "political decision which is not aimed at replacing the management board but the editor-in-chief and at changing the daily's editorial policy." Split County prefect Branimir Luksic (Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ) said the reconstruction of the daily was only a front for its "castration." "The only free paper in Croatia is a thorn in the government's side," said Luksic. One of the slogans the HDZ will use in its campaign for the upcoming local elections is "For Slobodna Dalmacija", Luksic said. A committee for the protection of "Slobodna Dalmacija" was set up in Split on Saturday on the initiative of the Headquarters for the Protection of Homeland War Dignity. The initiative was supported by the Split County Workers' Union Federation, Split University Students' Association and the Split City Youth Council. They demand that the latest decision of the Supervisory Committee be revoked and that Miroslav Ivic and Josip Jovic keep their positions as director and editor-in-chief. They claim that Ivic and Jovic, unlike the government, are promoting "the protection of free journalism." (hina) sb rml