GOVT. SLAMS OBSTRUCTED CONSTITUTING OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN VOJNIC

ZAGREB, June 21 (Hina) - The government condemned at Thursday's closed-door session an attempt made in the municipality of Vojnic on Wednesday to prevent the constitution of authorities elected at last month's election. The government said such conduct was damaging to both the local community and Croatia as a whole. The government requested competent bodies to investigate the events in Vojnic. It bound the Justice Ministry to immediately convene a new constituent session for the Vojnic municipal council, and the Interior Ministry to secure an undisturbed holding of the session. A constituent session was not held on Wednesday after a group of Bosnian Croats, refugees and displaced persons from Bosnia who are currently residing in the Vojnic municipality, prevented councillors of the Social Democrats (SDP), the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), and the Serb People's Party (SNS) from entering municipal headquarters. About 100 people had rallied in front of the building, shouting "We are not giving Croatia". They told reporters they were protesting against SDP's open advocacy of assuming power in Vojnic with the SDSS and the SNP. The government said in a statement today it would "insist on a strict enforcement of the Constitutional Law on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities, and will do everything necessary to make all bodies abide by said law based on data from the latest census on the share national minorities have in the population of municipalities, towns, and counties." (hina) ha sb