LOWER HOUSE PASSES LAW ON OFFICIAL USAGE OF MINORITY'S LANGUAGE

ZAGREB, April 27 (Hina) - The Croatian National Parliament's House of Representatives on Thursday adopted a draft law on the equal official usage of minorities' language and script in the country. The law was passed in the first reading with a majority vote. One deputy was against it and 19 deputies of the HDZ, HSP and HKDU abstained during the vote. The Sabor's lower house also passed a draft law on reconstruction with a majority vote. The passage of the law on the official usage of a minority's language before state bodies would present a small step for Croatia but a great step for its all citizens and national minorities, since this removes artificial divisions between citizens of the first and second class, said Damir Kajin on behalf of the parliamentary bench of the Istrian Democratic Alliance (IDS). Kajin added that if this act had been adopted considerably earlier, this could have prevented criticism from abroad that Croatia did not respect human rights. On behalf of the Croatian Social Liberal Party's (HSLS) bench, Zrinjka Glovacki-Bernardi believed this passage could help Croatia to improve its position in negotiations about the status of the Croatian national minority in neighbouring countries, as now Zagreb can cite its own law that is based on European standards. However, Boris Kandare who spoke on behalf of the HSP-HKDU (Croatian Party of Rights and Croatian Christian Democratic Union), believed that this law did not match interests of the Croatian people. He claimed that the issue of the official usage of a national minority's language was precisely regulated by the Constitutional Law and the adopted law differed considerably from it. The HSP leader Anto Djapic agreed with him and added that some provisions of the passed law might perhaps lead towards the federalisation of Croatia. Drago Krpina of the Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) viewed the fact that the law be applied in line with the 1991 census as unacceptable, as, thus, demographic changes which happened in the meantime were ignored. Nevio Sestic said that for HDZ deputies it was unacceptable that the official usage of a minority's language be also regulated at the level of county, besides levels of cities, towns and municipalities. For him, it is beyond the standards of the European charter on regional and minorities' languages. On behalf of the bench of national minorities, Furio Radin said Croatia would like to integrate into Europe and therefore the country is ahead of the Continent regarding the issue of minorities' languages. It is absurd that it took six years to discuss such normal request, Radin added. On behalf of the bench of the LS and HNS (Liberal Party and Croatian People's Party), Zlatko Kramaric said some debates had reflected an irrational fear that this law could bring into question the Constitution or even Croatia's independence and sovereignty. He stressed that there was nothing to fear. Katica Sedmak (the bench of Social Democratic Party, or SDP) agreed with Kramaric, explaining that this law does not give anything to anyone, as it is about human rights simply inseparable from each man. Despite many appeals for consensus about this law, HDZ, HSP and HKDU deputies abstained during the vote. At the request of the HDZ party, deputies voted individually (one by one) on draft amendments to the Reconstruction Law. The law was endorsed with a majority vote, while 28 were against it. Those who opposed the law were deputies of the HDZ, HSP and HKDU parties. During Wednesday's debate they said this law negated the precedence of Croatian Homeland War veterans and their families' members in the exercise of rights in reconstruction over other returnees, and opposition parties' members claimed that this law also equalised victims and the aggressor. This law stipulates that all returnees, except from those convicted of war crimes, have the right to the reconstruction of their property. (hina) mm ms