RULING PARTIES' MPS LEAVE SABOR WHEN KOVACEVIC SPEAKS

ZAGREB, Oct 17 (Hina) - Most representatives of parties, which constitute the Croatian ruling coalition, walked out of the parliament's hall when an MP, Anto Kovacevic of the Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU), stood up to speak about a proposal that Premier Ivica Racan should express his opinion on Minister Radimir Cacic's statement that the former HDZ authorities had launched aggression against Bosnia. Ruling parties' MPs thus protested against last week's verbal insult when Kovacevic offended another MP, Vesna Pusic, with sexist remarks. After Kovacevic finished his speech today, the parliamentarians came back to their seats. During their argument in a discussion on stripping the immunity of a representative of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) last week, Kovacevic told Pusic that she "was made for bed and not to think with her head." Activists of the women's net on Wednesday morning gathered in front of the parliament's building to protest against Kovacevic's conduct last week. They handed over leaflets to MPs warning about this problem. The activists for women's rights maintain that MP Kovacevic should be excluded from the parliamentary human rights' committee and Mato Arlovic, who chaired the session during the last week's argument between Kovacevic and Pusic, be replaced as the head of the Constitution and political system committee. (hina) ms