BILL ON MPS' RIGHTS DIVIDES RULING COALITION

ZAGREB, May 24 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament's House of Representatives earlier on Wednesday concluded a debate on a final bill of amendments to the law on the rights of MPs, with voting ensuing in the afternoon. Benches of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) submitted the most amendments to the Legislation Committee-motioned initial draft of the bill, which elicited negative reactions in public even before appearing on parliament's agenda. The amended bill, which has been assessed as an "entirely new bill", however divided the ruling six-party coalition. While the benches of the HSLS, the SDP, and the Croatian Peasants' Party endorsed the bill because their amendments were adopted, those of the Croatian People's Party and the Liberal Party explicitly stated they would not endorse the bill. The Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) bench said "the time is not appropriate" for discussing a law for whose amendments "there is not one justified reason." "A debate in which MPs deal with themselves is rightfully revolting to citizens," IDS' MPs said. MPs of the right-wing Croatian Party of Rights and Croatian Christian Democratic Union on the other hand decided to endorse the bill. They equated MPs' pensions with "political honour." The Croatian Democratic Union bench will endorse the bill if the amendments it motioned are adopted. The principal amendments to the Legislation Committee-motioned bill refer to the right to a dismissal wage and the right to an MP's pension. According to the initial bill, the right to pension extended to MPs of the former Yugoslav federation's parliament if they performed that duty "in the interest of the Republic of Croatia (RH)." Given that it was difficult to state how to evaluate "work (done) in RH's interest" in the period between 25 June 1991, when Croatia's parliament proclaimed independence, and 8 October 1991, when legal ties with the former Yugoslav federation were severed, the amended bill states "it is those delegates who made themselves available at the invitation of the government of the Republic of Croatia." As regards MPs' pensions, the final bill of amendments to the law on the rights of MPs says an MP is entitled to an MP's pension after his mandate expires if he has performed his MP's duty longer than half the length of the mandate, has a minimum 20 years of service and is older than 55, or 50 in the case of women. The current law on the rights of MPs conditions the right to an MP's pension on 18 months of mandate. The final bill of amendments excludes dismissal wages as an institute. (hina) ha jn