CROATIA'S OMBUDSMAN RECEIVED NEARLY 2,000 COMPLAINTS IN 2000

ZAGREB, May 20 (Hina) - Croatia's Ombudsman Ante Klaric received almost 2,000 complaints about civil rights violations in 2000, which is a 15 percent increase compared to 1999. #L# A total of 870 of those complaints have been processed, and another 211 of 721 old cases from previous years have been solved, says Klaric in his report to the Croatian Parliament Speaker. In 2000, the Ombudsman received a total of 1,873 complaints or reports about civil rights violations, which is an increase in relation to 1,623 complaints in 1999. For the third consecutive year, most complaints have been filed in Zagreb and Split and in areas previously affected by the war. Eighty five percent of the complaints came from abroad, mostly from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Yugoslavia. Most complaints (86%) refer to violations committed by administrative bodies or bodies with public powers in the area of property rights protection. The number of complaints about property rights violations has increased while the number of complaints about housing rights violations has decreased in relation to 1999. The human rights situation in the area of property rights "is worrying, because property rights have been violated for more than five years and there has been no sign of readiness to start solving that problem," Klaric says. Other most frequent complaints refer to the violations of pension, disability and health insurance rights and labour and welfare rights. The citizens also complained that courts, especially those from Zagreb and Split and the Supreme Court, were too slow in dealing with cases. Klaric also warns about the failure to implement final court verdicts and rulings on the eviction of persons who have forcibly entered other people's flats. According to the report, the number of complaints filed by Croatian war veterans and Homeland War victims has significantly decreased in comparison to previous years. (hina) rml