RETURNEES CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO RECONSTRUCTION LAW

ZAGREB, May 19 (Hina) - If the Croatian National Parliament does not accept remarks and objections of the Association of Croatian returnees (ZPH) about draft amendments to the Reconstruction Law, we shall ask the President of the Republic, Stjepan Mesic, to proclaim the law invalid and return it into a parliamentary procedure. This is the conclusion of the ZPH steering committee and the Association's head, Josip Kompanovic, notified reporters of it after the ZPH held a closed session on Friday. Returnees are pleased and encouraged with the tone of a parliamentary discussion on this matter, but the Association's leadership has made this conclusion as it believes that the current proposed changes equalise the rights of the aggressor and victims of the war. The Association's leadership also concluded that it was unnecessary to add to the law that the family of a convicted war criminal has the same rights as the family of the Homeland War casualties. This will set "a precedent in history." Asked by reporters Kompanovic commented on a draft amendment to the first article of the Reconstruction Law which would erase the expression "a Greater Serbia's aggression" and will read only the Homeland War. Kompanovic said that so far all had known what caused the war and suffering but future generations would perhaps not know and may think then that the Homeland War was the cause for destruction and suffering. Returnees are satisfied with the Government's announcement of a law on the reconstruction of Vukovar and stimulation to economic development in all areas of the special state concern, as those are pre-conditions for the return and existence in this war-stricken eastern Croatian town. The ZPH added that it would be good to motion soon a debate on the draft law on compensation for war damage at the Sabor. (hina) mm ms